Women Today
COVID-19 pandemic is a chance
to promote gender equality

Head
Strategy, Investment and Impact Division
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria

Osamu Kunii

Women and girls have been disproportionately
affected by disasters and pandemics in the past. That is
also the case in the COVID-19 crisis.
Lockdowns and stay-at-home orders due to thepandemic have brought homes originally considered thesafest place into the hotbed of gender-based violence.
Reports of domestic violence have tripled and the calls
to helplines for domestic violence had increased seventimes during the COVID-19 crisis. Nearly 1,000 womenand girls were reported missing and are feared deadsince a lockdown was imposed in a Latin Americancountry. The United Nations is warning of it as “Shadow
Pandemic.”
Nevertheless, even in the pre-COVID period,
gender-based violence was one of the most prevalent
human rights violations in the world with at least one inthree women experiencing it in a life time. Even in
Switzerland, which according to Forbes in June 2020
has been ranked as the safest place in the world, morethan 50 daily reported cases of domestic violenceoccurred in the pre-COVID period.
Moreover, as many women have to provide face toface services as essential workers like nurses andhelpers, they are threatened by COVID-19. In Spainand Italy, about 70% of medical personnel infected with
COVID-19 were women and many of their lives werelost.
Due to COVID-19 crisis, an estimated 25 million
people would be unemployed, and up to 35 million could
fall into working poverty, which could affect twice as
many women working in the informal sector than men.
As women have been shouldering a disproportionate
share of increasing responsibilities for managing thehousehold related to their husbands’ work-at-home,children’s school and daycare closure, and special
attention and care to the elderly at home, they havebeen forced more and more to quit their outside jobs.
Caring for kids due to school or daycare closure with thesubsequent income drop has hit single mothers hard.
Then what should we do? While various measures
are needed to prevent gender-based violence, to protect
victims, to minimize the burden of care for children andthe elderly due to school and daycare closure, and toprovide social protection for unemployed women, I
would like to elaborate my views through my experienceand work.
I believe we could turn this COVID-19 crisis into achance to advance gender equality. For that purpose,

No.89 February 2021

the following three points would be important.
First, we need to visualize what kind of genderissues exist exactly based on data, facts, and logic. We
also need to show the significance of measures and the
direction to move forward and sort everything out. I am
engaged in breaking down of human rights barriers
and gender issues related to HIV/AIDS. I haverecognized the importance of identifying and visualizing
the issues and findings specific to countries of concern
while clearly showing the concrete action plans forsolution or mitigation with relevant stakeholders.
Second, we need to get men and decision-makers
involved and engaged in promoting gender equality.
Working at home due to COVID-19 crisis has made men
and decision-makers experience the challenging
situations to balance work and life. A recent study
shows that men who felt that the care for children andthe elderly is very hard work are twice as many as
women who felt the same, and about 40% of male
respondents think that they need to contribute todomestic chores and affairs. While politicians, policymakers, and senior managers in public and private
sectors are also aware of such issues, now is the chance
to change their norms, culture, and mindsets to promote
gender equality.
Now people, families, societies, and countries areseeking their “new normal.”This is the great opportunity to demonstrate what
new normal life and society are for women, girls, LGBT,and other minorities to live a comfortable and decent
life without feeling isolated, discriminated, or unfair.
What we need is not just discussions but real actions tochange and transform. I would like to continue to be achampion of gender equality.

Pro file
Osamu Kunii has over 25 years of experience in global
health, especially humanitarian assistance, infectious
diseases control, reproductive, maternal and child health,health systems and policy through National Center for
Global Health and Medicine, Japan Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Nagasaki University, Research Institute of Tropical
Medicine, and UNICEF. He is currently in charge of 4
departments including Community, Rights and Gender
Department in the Global Fund.

1

Current Issues Series
Climate Crisis and Gender (Part 2)
Pro file

Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University

Professor Emeritus of Kyoto University, Senior Fellow of the Institute for Global
Environmental Strategies (IGES), Chairman of the Japan Society for GNH Studies. Before
holding these positions, worked at several institutions including the Ministry ofEnvironment of Japan, the Environment Directorate of the OECD, United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), and as Professor of Global
Environmental Policy at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies of the Kyoto
University. Major research areas are sustainability studies as well as climate change
policies and global environmental policies from the viewpoint of environmental governance.

Kazuo Matsushita
The year 2020 began with a COVID-19 disaster andended with a COVID-19 disaster. On the other hand,the damage caused by the climate crisis is also becoming
apparent in the world. The climate crisis and the
COVID-19 disaster are issues that affect the survival of
humankind, and they are urgent issues that theinternational community must address in a coordinatedmanner. The destruction of ecosystems due to climatechange and other factors is behind the outbreak ofinfectious diseases, and the globalization of economic
activities is accelerating infectious diseases and climatechange. The damage caused by these crises is amplified
by social inequalities and disparities, and the mostaffected are the socially vulnerable and the povertystricken. There is a need to transition into an economic
society that is less prone to infectious diseases and can
avoid the climate change crisis.

In addition, women are more likely than men to sufferfrom poor mental health, spousal abuse, and foodinsecurity in the aftermath of extreme weather events.1
Carbon Brief quotes a specialist that this tendency has
more to do with social gender roles than physiologicaldifferences, and climate change tends to exacerbate
gender and other existing inequalities. An example ofthis is the impact of climate change on maternal health.
Maternal health risks increase as a result of climatechange impacts, often leading to reduced access to
reproductive and maternal care services.

Addressing gender inequality is “critical”
to climate adaptation
Carbon Brief further reports that efforts to improve
gender inequality are critical to improving climate
adaptation.3 It discusses research demonstrating that
increasing the proportion of women in key positions inhealth care, education, and government will be effective
in helping society as a whole adapt more quickly andappropriately to the impacts of climate change.
Vulnerability to climate change impacts depends on
factors such as income, occupation, and education. In
many countries, women are more vulnerable to climatechange impacts due to traditional social norms andstructures that deprive them of access to resources,
decision-making, and information. The article quotes a
research analyst that societies with the most genderinequality are often most vulnerable to climate change.
Conversely, countries with greater gender equality tend
to take more proactive action against climate change
and are thus less vulnerable to its adverse effects. Thereis a mutually reinforcing relationship between improving
gender inequality and enhancing climate resilience,
which helps to create a “virtuous circle of sustainable
and equitable development.”
According to another quote in the article, climate
policies also tend to progress when women are better
represented in government. Women’s representation inparliament can move countries to adopt more stringent
climate change policies, which may lead to reduced CO2
emissions.

Women are more vulnerable to the adverse
effects of climate change than men
According to Carbon Brief,1 a recent review of studies
empirically demonstrates that women are more
vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change thanmen. The article summarises that among the 130 peerreviewed studies analysed, 89 of them (68%) found thatwomen are more affected by the health impacts associatedwith climate change than men. It quotes the example ofheat waves in France, China, and India as well as oftropical cyclones in Bangladesh and the Philippines
where women are more likely to die.
UN Women Japan Liaison Office2 remarks that theunderlying factor that makes women more vulnerable
in crises and post-disaster situations is compound
discrimination against women. For example, it draws
on a study on the 1991 cyclone in Bangladesh where themortality rate for men aged 20-44 was 15 per 1,000
while the rate for women amounted to 71 per 1,000. It
also reports that in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, morethan 70% of the deaths from the 2004 tsunami were
women. Likewise, 61% of the deaths from the 2008
Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar were women.
1 Carbon Brief, Mapped: How climate change disproportionately affects
women’s health, 29 October 2020, https://www.carbonbrief.org/mappedhow-climate-change-disproportionately-affects-womens-health3 Carbon Brief, Tackling gender inequality is ‘crucial’ for climate adaptation,
15 December 2020, https://www.carbonbrief.org/tackling-gender-inequalityis-crucial-for-climate-adaptation

2 UN Women Japan Liaison Office https://japan.unwomen.org/ja/how-wework/flagship-programme-initiative/risk-changing-climate

2

No.89 February 2021

31st Kitakyushu Conference on Asian Women

Climate Change and Gender
Date
Location

October 8, 2020
Zoom Webinar (online)
Live screening at Kitakyushu Municipal Gender Equality Center MOVE

The 31st Kitakyushu Conference on Asian Women (KCAW 2020) was held on the theme of climate change and gender. In orderto prevent the spread of COVID-19, this conference was, for the first time, held online via Zoom Webinar. It was also screened liveat the Kitakyushu Municipal Gender Equality Center MOVE, which allowed participants to choose a viewing method of theirpreference. The Webinar enjoyed registrations from all over the world with more than 190 participants, the highest number ever.

KCAW 2020 hosted two keynote speeches and two
presentations by community-based organizations (CBOs).
Goal 5 (Gender Equality) and Goal 13 (Climate Action) of
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) werediscussed. The first keynote speech was by Kunzang
Lhamu, then-Director of the National Commission for
Women and Children (NCWC) in Bhutan, who spoke on
the country’s challenges and measures related to climatechange and gender. It was followed by a second keynote
speech by Emiko Murakami, Director of Business
Promotion, Kitakyushu Asian Center for Low Carbon

Society, City of Kitakyushu, who introduced the City’s
projects to promote and develop low carbon society in
Asia. Finally, two CBOs reported on their activities under
the themes of “integrating women’s perspectives indisaster shelter management” and “efforts to reduce
global warming.”
KFAW’s new initiatives this year also included
uploading to YouTube an archived video of the Webinar
for a limited time. This allowed those who were not able tojoin the live Webinar to access the presentations for abouta month in December 2020.

Keynote Speech 1

Climate change and gender: challenges and measures in Bhutan
Kunzang Lhamu, former Director of the National Commission for Women and Children, Royal Government of Bhutan(Currently Director General, Department of Employment and Human Resources, Ministry of Labour and Human Resources)
Standing on the idea that aspiring for happiness is thegoal of everyone, Bhutan bases every development policyon the philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH).
This philosophy attempts to achieve a balance between
material well-being and spiritual, emotional as well as
cultural needs through a human-centered development
approach. With regard to how GNH promotes genderequality and environment, one cannot be achieved without
the other. In addition, Bhutan’s constitution states thatenvironmental stewardship is the duty of every citizen,
mandating that at least 60% of the country be maintained
under forest cover for all times to come. This contributes
to Bhutan’s being carbon neutral, with negative net
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Bhutan is still new tointegrating gender into climate actions, and examples ofsuch recent initiatives include solar dryers as sustainable
food preservation techniques, eco-stoves using less fuelwood, and waste recycling training for women and youths.
Gender gaps are particularly large in waste
management sectors, and distinct gender roles areobserved due to the fact that women take up household
work and maintenance in most societies. For example,
disposal and transport tend to be taken care of by men
while waste sorting, picking, and cleaning at transfer
centers are predominantly performed by women. In
addition, women’s engagement in the waste sector is often

Kunzang Lhamu from Bhutan, a landlocked
Himalayan country, gave a keynote speech on Bhutan’s
gender-responsive initiatives on climate change. Lhamu,a Royal Government of Bhutan’s leading gender equality
expert, had also contributed an opening article in Asian
Breeze, issue 88. Due to the global spread of COVID-19,
she was unable to come to Japan and hence joined us
remotely via Zoom. Her speech was given in the form of a
dialogue with Mitsuko Horiuchi, President of KFAW,
which allowed the two to exchange opinions as well.
Lhamu is the former Director of the National
Commission for Women and Children (NCWC), which isthe nodal government agency to protect and promote therights of women and children (i.e. national gendermachinery) in Bhutan. The Constitution of the Kingdomof Bhutan (2008) makes strong commitments towards
eliminating all forms of discrimination and exploitation
against women and children. The NCWC coordinates,
formulates, monitors, reports, and advocates for genderrelated interventions in the country.

No.89 February 2021

3

informal with low or no wages. The lack of protection andjob security are also issues.
Although Bhutan’s National Waste Management
Strategy emphasizes the need to integrate gender,
institutional capacities to connect waste management,
climate action, and gender issues are yet to be established.
While efforts are being made to ensure equal gender
representation in the Disaster Management Committee
and to provide gender-conscious amenities and facilities,
it is necessary to empower and train women to take onleadership roles, to participate actively in decisionmaking, and to be the change agents in climate action.
Despite the important role that women play in coping
and adapting to the impacts of climate change, their
voices are yet to be heard. We must acknowledge thatwomen and men have different capacities which influence
their contributions to adaptation, mitigation, and disasterrisk management. As Lhamu concluded, women play a
critical role in family and community life, making it all
the more imperative to engage women in every stage ofclimate decision-making.
Promoting women’s inclusive, active, and meaningful
participation in decision-making is also an important
issue in Japan. In October 2020, the Suga administration
announced a policy agenda to achieve net zero GHG
emissions by 2050. KFAW hopes that this keynote speechprovided the audience with an opportunity to learn from
Bhutan’s environmental measures and to reflect on how
every citizen can work together, regardless of gender, toaccomplish carbon neutrality in the next years to come.

Keynote Speech 2

Kitakyushu City’s activities for green cities’ promotion in Asia
Emiko Murakami, Director of Business Promotion, Kitakyushu Asian Center for Low Carbon Society
Emiko Murakami of the Kitakyushu Asian Center for
Low Carbon Society presented the City’s environmental
initiatives to pursue the transition of Asia into a low
carbon area. Having developed as an industrial city sincethe 20th century, Kitakyushu has a history of sufferingfrom pollution during the 1950s. Facing serious damage
caused by industrial pollution, women who are concerned
about the health of their family launched a citizen’s
movement to demand action of businesses and thegovernment. What is notable about this campaign is thatthese women investigated the situation and collectedscientific data by themselves to back up their demands.
Citizen’s campaigns like this led the City to overcome its
pollution and later apply its then-developed environmental
technologies in international cooperation.
In recent years, the City of Kitakyushu has beenworking to establish an eco-town with the goal of creatinga recycling-based society. Indeed, the amount of renewableenergy generated in the city is the second largest inJapan. In addition, the City also utilizes its environmental
technologies to work with Asian cities to help solve theirpollution problems.
For example, in Surabaya, Indonesia, where large
amount of waste used to be brought into landfills unsorted
and thus causing odors, the City of Kitakyushu provided
training on waste sorting and recycling in local
communities. As a result, the situation improved
gradually. The City also carried out a project to makecompost from the sorted food wastes and to use it to growgreenery in the local communities. This enabled theSurabaya citizens to recognize the significance of wastesorting.

Kitakyushu also works with Davao City, Philippines,
to address their waste-related problems. As availability ofelectricity is low in Davao, the energy-from-waste
technology has been selected as one of the solutions.
Murakami emphasized the necessity of waste sorting
here as well since it plays a critical role in ensuring
efficient energy generation. In order to make waste easierto burn, it is essential to recycle as much as possible.
Finally, in order to deliver environmental projects
effectively, it is essential to carry out activities rooted inlocal communities. Since the best method for wastesorting and recycling is different from country to country,
it is important to formulate measures that are practical
for those who engage in daily waste sorting tasks.
Therefore, Kitakyushu Asian Center for Low Carbon
Society implements recycling policies that incorporate
perspectives of women who often perform waste sorting at
home. Murakami concluded that initiatives designed withwomen’s perspectives tend to be more long-lasting andsustainable. Her presentation provided insights on theimportance of women’s participation in addressing wasterelated issues.

4No.89 February 2021

CBO presentations
Presentation 1

Integrating women’s perspectives in disaster shelter management
Kimiko Ōba, Director of KIZUNA Asakura Disaster Support Center for Mothers and Children

In July 2017, Asakura City in Fukuoka Prefecture
suffered severe damage due to the Northern Kyushu
Flood. Subsequently, Kimiko Ōba established KIZUNA
Asakura Disaster Support Center for Mothers andChildren as the first volunteer-run shelter designed
specifically for women and children in Japan. In her
presentation, she spoke about the importance of designing
support with women’s perspectives.
During the post-flood recovery process, gymnasiums
were converted into shelters where nearly 100 people had
to share the space to rest on the floor without air
conditioners despite the hot summer weather. Among theevacuees, there were mothers, infants, and children who
were under high stress from prolonged life in shelters.
One of the challenges at evacuation centers is support
for persons requiring special care, such as the elderly, thedisabled, the pregnant, infants, and foreign citizens withlimited Japanese. Ōba saw the need to design support foreach group as each has different needs for support andcare. She also felt the importance of providing dedicatedcare for newborn babies and pregnant mothers as quickly
as possible. This led her to open KIZUNA using a facility ofa temporarily closed OB/GYN clinic.
Since KIZUNA uses a former obstetrician’s office withprivate rooms, users were able to maintain their privacy,

which made it ideal as a shelter for women and children.
In addition, vacant rooms provided free lodging for female
volunteers from across the country. The center was also
used as a base for providing services such as mental andphysical care for users.
Ōba concluded her speech by expressing her hope that
more centers like KIZUNA will be built across the worldin the future.
Natural disasters can occur anytime, anywhere. Ōba’s
presentation provided an opportunity to think about whatis necessary for creating a disaster-resilient society where
the needs of each victim are respected.

Presentation 2

Efforts to reduce global warming
Ryoko Kizawa, Director of the NPO GENKI Net for Creating a Sustainable Society

Ryoko Kizawa of the GENKI Net for Creating a
Sustainable Society (GENKI Net) discussed their publicawareness activities on waste sorting and recycling aswell as on the importance of the “3Rs (Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle),” a key concept for promoting a recycling-basedsociety. GENKI Net has been active since 1996 whenwaste-related problems became a social issue.
Goal 12 of the SDGs, i.e., Responsible Consumption, is
pertinent to each one of us. Kizawa began her presentation
by stating that now is the time for each person to change
our awareness and behavior.
GENKI Net works in partnership with citizens,businesses, and governments. For example, there was a
proposal made at GENKI Net’s multi-stakeholder meeting
to make medals for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games fromregenerated metal collected from recycled small
appliances. After being discussed at the subsequentmeetings, this proposal was put into practice and becamea nationwide project involving public participation.
GENKI Net is also engaged in community training on
disposal of containers and packaging. In order to provide
correct information even to those who are not interested

No.89 February 2021

in recycling, the NPO has developed interesting, funprograms that attract people’s attention and implements
them frequently at community events. In developing suchprograms, they made special efforts to integrate women’s
knowledge and perspectives. GENKI Net actively
encourages the effective use of word-of–mouthcommunication and youth participation as both areimportant to make local activities sustainable.
All of these activities contribute to the reduction ofgreenhouse gases, which in turn leads to the mitigation ofclimate change.
Kizawa concluded that the NPO hopes to facilitate thecreation of diverse recycling-based communities, notthrough criticism or conflict but through proposals
incorporating citizen’s perspectives and through provisionof opportunities for community learning. In the postWebinar questionnaire, some participants commented
that they were strongly inspired and encouraged by how
GENKI Net’s activities are rooted in the community
without blaming anyone. Kizawa’s talk provided theaudience with the opportunity to reflect on climate actions
that each individual could take.

5

KFAW Asian Gender Researchers
Network Seminar

CEDAW and the SDGs: how can Japan move up on the Global Gender Gap Index ranking?
Date:

November 14, 2020

Location: 	Zoom Webinar (online)
Live screening at Kitakyushu Municipal Gender Equality Center MOVE
Speakers: 	Hiroko Akizuki, Professor, Asia University;
Member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women
Yasuko Yamashita, Professor Emeritus, Bunkyo Gakuin University;
Co-President of the Japanese Association of International
Women’s Rights

Hiroko Akizuki and Yasuko Yamashita, who are leading
gender researchers, gave lectures on the link between theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women (CEDAW) and theSustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The basic principleof the CEDAW is the transformation of stereotyped genderroles, i.e., establishment of complete gender equality. In
addition, the Preamble of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development includes a statement reading “[The 17
Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets] seek torealize the human rights of all and to achieve genderequality and the empowerment of all women and girls.”
This means that human rights and gender equality are likea horizontal skewer pertaining to all 17 SDGs.
Understanding and acting on the CEDAW, therefore, relates
closely to achieving the SDGs.

Hiroko Akizuki

Yasuko Yamashita

the developed countries’ rankings, but also among thelowest in the entire world. One of the major factors
contributing
toJapan’spoor
standingistheunderrepresentation of women in politics. There is anurgent need to introduce a quota system that establishes aminimum number of female legislators to be elected into an
assembly, as this would facilitate the reflection of women’s
perspectives and opinions in policies and bills as well as theenactment of legislation against any overarching, factual
discrimination in the society. (According to the InterParliamentary Union, about two-thirds of the countries
have adopted a quota system in various fields.)
While 2020 marks 35 years since the ratification of the
CEDAW, its recognition rate in Japan is only 37.4% (2019).
In addition, Japan still has not ratified its Optional Protocol(OP-CEDAW), which incorporates an individual complaints
mechanism. This effectively nullifies the convention in
Japan as the ratification of the OP-CEDAW is essential forthe full enforcement of the CEDAW.

There are three key elements necessary to achieve fullgender equality. First, to attain effective (and not justconceptual) gender equality. Under the Constitution ofJapan, men and women are legally equal and the Civil Codeof Japan guarantees the right to select the surname ofeither spouse at the time of marriage. In reality, however,
96% of married couple choose their husband’s surname,which represents deeply ingrained patriarchy andmisogyny. Second, to end discrimination in social customs
and practices by individuals, organizations, and firms.
Domestic quarrels, which were in the past regarded as
something not to interfere in, are now recognized as
domestic abuse, and the police intervene with appropriate
action. Finally, to adopt interim special measures until
gender equality is fully established. Although the law says
to treat all persons equally, de facto gender inequality still
exists against certain groups. Thus, the provision offavorable treatment for those weakly positioned is needed
and does not carry out reverse discrimination.

The CEDAW is not something in a distant world but aconvention very closely related to our daily lives. We must
consider both the CEDAW and the SDGs when we work toachieve the fundamental goal of gender equality.

Japan ranks 121st among 153 countries in the 2020
Global Gender Gap Index. This is not only at the bottom of

6

No.89 February 2021

The 30 Foreign Correspondent ReportthNo help for helping hands– Impact of COVID-19 on female
domestic workers in India
Disha Arora (India)

Pro file
An award-winning feminist documentary filmmaker anddevelopment communications specialist. Committed tochallenging
social systems and ideologies which promote
ISSN 0918-8266
gender-based discrimination. Produces films that highlight the
impact of social structures on women’s rights and tells stories
of women who are re-writing the social narratives to fully
realize their human rights and build a just and peaceful world.

COVID-19 has earned itself a popular tag of “pandemic
of inequality.” This title rightly fits the virus as its effects
vary according to the inequalities in place. The poor are
suffering more; marginalized communities are more at risk
while developed countries (except for few) can cope up better
due to higher resources. This makes it clear that the effectof COVID-19 on different population groups is not uniform.
Domestic workers are one such population group that has
faced severe challenges due to COVID-19. This article
examines the case of the impact of COVID-19 on female
domestic workers in India.

ISSN 0918-8266

ISSN 0918-8266

housing at the location they migrate to. Bearing rent of
housing thus became a serious problem for domestic workers.
Another major crisis was the lack of food security causedby economic losses among the domestic labor class. Although
the government announced the distribution of basic ration
for low-income households, like many other workers in the
Indian informal sector, women in domestic labor workforce
face the lack of documentation (such as ration cards,
residency proof etc.). This made many domestic laborers
incapable of availing the benefits of specific government
schemes started as a response to COVID-19.

Domestic labor in India
According to the ILO, around 3 million women in India
are employed in domestic labor. However, this is a severe
underestimation of the actual number of domestic laborers
which is estimated to be in between 20 million to 80 million,
thus suggesting that the exact number of female domestic
laborers is also relatively high (source: ILO, 2020). The
domestic labor group in India represents extreme
marginalization which is defined by economic class, caste,urban migration etc. Women under this group face multiple
disadvantages on account of socio-cultural conditions. Mostof the labor laws in India do not apply to domestic laborers.
Thus, the worsened impact of COVID-19 on female domestic
workers is a combined effect of the absence of protective laws
and socio-economic conditions.

Reasons for crisis
The biggest reason for this effect on women in thedomestic labor force was the lack of any specific government
sanctions for the target group. An indefinite nationwide
lockdown was announced on March 23, 2020. This lockdown
imposed several mobility and economic restrictions, making
domestic laborers incapable of continuing their employment.
Several Resident Welfare Associations imposed restrictions
on the entry of domestic laborers into housing societies
during the lockdown and even after that. Women in domestic
labor workforce also faced stigma on account of being
potential virus carriers, making their situation even moredifficult.

Measures to alleviate the crisis
Impact of COVID-19
Despite the predictabilityof this problem, it was not
appropriately tackled at themacro-level, which resulted inseveral losses for this group.
Most of the domestic workers
in India are migrants, andthey (especially lower-income
migrants) often do not own

Millions of female domestic
workers were pushed into
extreme poverty during COVID-19.
PHOTO BY DIPLEENA SAIKIA

We can argue that the significant reason for crisis borneby female domestic laborers is the absence of specific stateintervention. The approach to handle this crisis must be
two-fold - immediate relief measures and long-term
solutions. The immediate actions can include more inclusive
economic packages for low-income groups, desensitization ofcommunity to remove the stigma against domestic workers,
and the creation of alternate employment opportunities. The
long-term solutions involve revamping of the informal sector
by strengthening labor laws pertaining to this sector.

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Two respondents
will be selected to win an eco-gold bookmark with the motif of Kokura Castle.
LocationofThis bookmark is made locally from metal recovered from recycled appliances.
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