Since the pandemic began, women have faced the brunt of it. Some are being forced out of their jobs because they have inadequate childcare coverage due to school closures or are simply made redundant by their employers as they can no longer afford to have them on payroll. Service industries like hotel, restaurants, bars and retail outlets which tend to typically employ women have suffered the most because of social distancing restrictions.
I can’t begin to imagine the financial and psychological toll this is taking on women who have come under such strain and even more so now that gender-based violence seems to be at an all-time high everywhere. Women are trapped if they also happen to live with abusive partners.
We love to look at the metropoles as ideal cities which have done everything right, but the truth is women are being failed everywhere, in different ways. Just a few days ago there were protests and vigils kept for Sarah Everard in the UK after she was kidnapped and murdered by a police officer. In the USA, just a few days ago, 8 people were shot and killed, six of whom were Asian women
