Archive for category: Women

Information and news about woman issues

HIV Affects Women in Sub-Saharan Africa

Women Are Disproportionately Affected by HIV

Young women between the ages of 15 and 24 make up approximately 9.8% of sub-Saharan Africa’s total population, but they account for 20% of the region’s confirmed cases of HIV. While part of the reason why HIV affects women the most is due to basic biology and the fact that women are more likely to contract HIV, it also has to do with economic, cultural and legal factors present in sub-Saharan Africa.

Poverty and the Spread of HIV

The good news is that poverty is declining globally. The bad news is that extreme poverty is becoming ever more prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where experts believe that 90% of impoverished people will live by 2030. A struggling economy warrants little room for government expenditures on healthcare and education, so not only are many poor people in sub-Saharan Africa not able to access affordable methods of HIV prevention and treatment, but they also do not receive substantial education on how to prevent its spread. Specifically, in this region, 70% of young women have not learned about the risks, treatments and preventions of HIV.

Without promising futures, it is not uncommon for young women to resort to transactional sex or early marriage for support. Both customs are associated with less condom use, sexual violence and multiple partners. Both transactional sex and child marriage often result in a significant age gap between partners. Evidence shows that HIV in men becomes more prevalent with age, so higher age gaps cause HIV to affect young women.

Cultural and Political Barriers

Gender norms that accompany older man/younger woman relationships also add how HIV disproportionately affects women. In order to feel masculine, men tend to assert their dominance by having many partners, refusing to get tested for sexually transmitted infections and not wearing a condom during sex. These practices reinforce ideals that perpetuate sexual health as a woman’s responsibility and are some of the reasons for why HIV affects women so significantly.

Culturally, there is much stigma surrounding premarital sex, having multiple partners and being a woman with HIV. There are many reports of unsupportive healthcare professionals, denial of service and miscommunication about results concerning HIV status. Coupled with the fear of horror stories of forced sterilization, forced abortions and forced virginity examinations, there are high barriers discouraging women from accessing the care they need.

Restrictive policies also make it difficult for young women to access information about their sexual health. In a study that received results from 110 countries, over half of the responding African countries required parental or spousal consent for women under 18 to receive HIV testing. Although these laws may be to protect children, it actually prevents young women from accessing sexual and reproductive medical care. For places that do offer HIV services, many are exclusively for married women with children, so most young women do not fit the criteria to obtain testing. Additionally, nearly half of the responding African countries reported having age restrictions for buying condoms.

Action Plan

The statistics look grim, but the World Health Organization’s five-year plan to reduce the number of HIV infections and deaths is in full swing. Its goals include increasing testing, eliminating discriminatory laws and creating larger global access to testing for sexually transmitted infections.

The plan includes five specific tactics the WHO intends to use, which cover assessing the situation, deciding which services to provide, how to provide these services, financing the efforts and implementing structural change. In the end, the WHO aims to end the AIDS epidemic by prioritizing preventative measures like wearing condoms and education about injection safety, allocate more resources towards ending gender-based violence and discrimination, introducing a harm-reduction intervention package and much more.

If WHO carries out this plan correctly, it will reach hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are young women residing in sub-Saharan Africa. It should also equitably deliver HIV services to those who are most in need.

– Rebecca Blanke
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Pregnant Women and Children In the Yemen Crisis

Pregnant Women and Children
The Yemeni Civil War began in 2015 and has become a humanitarian crisis, devastating families and communities. The conflict between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels continues with no end in sight. More than 80 percent of the population, about 24 million people, lack food, health care and safe living conditions. Those who need assistance most are pregnant women, newborns and children.

Childcare and the Civil War

The civil war in Yemen prevents the most defenseless people in Yemeni society — pregnant women, newborns and children — from receiving life-saving medical treatment on time. At MSF’s Taiz Houban Mother and Child Hospital, the number of children and newborns dead on arrival at the location has doubled from 52 in 2016 to 103 in 2018. The most prevalent causes of death in newborns were prematurity, deprivation of oxygen known as birth asphyxia and severe infection.

Families struggle to find access to limited medical facilities and must navigate frontlines and checkpoints to receive care. Additionally, the Yemenis’ ability to access healthcare of any kind has dramatically diminished. Due to the declining economy that has devalued people’s savings, the vast majority depend on insufficient public healthcare.

Despite the conditions pregnant women and children during the Yemen Crisis are facing, several organizations aim to help these disadvantaged Yemenis receive the care they need.

Stay Safe Mama Project

The United Nations Population Fund, with help from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has launched the Stay Safe Mama project so that pregnant women in Yemen can safely deliver their babies. As a result, 300 health facilities have been enhanced with reproductive health kits, medicine and supplies for maternity units. The project also supports midwives in local communities so that pregnant women and children during the Yemen Crisis who don’t have access to a hospital can still obtain the care they deserve. Aisha, a 27-year-old, who fled the violence from her village in Hodeida and now lives in a small shack with multiple relatives and children, received healthcare through a center organized under the ‘Stay Safe Mama’ project.

“The care I received at the center was beyond what I expected,” Aisha told representatives from UNFPA. Aisha also said that she “had regular check-ups, and when it was time to give birth, [she] was not worried anymore. [She] gave birth to a healthy baby girl.”

Responsive Governance Project

The Responsive Governance Project (RGP), with the assistance of the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID), provides instruction to improve the skills and knowledge of midwives. Additionally, RGP’s main priority is to provide pregnant women and children during the Yemen Crisis access to emergency obstetrical and natal care. Dr. Jamila Alraabi, the Deputy Health and Population Minister, states that the RGP has supported her agency and local health councils to improve maternal health policies.

In speaking with Jeff Baron from Counterpart International, Dr. Alraabi said that “no one can work alone, and no one can achieve success alone. It should be a partnership, and this is our hope in Yemen, that we will not have a woman die from preventable causes.”

UNICEF and Yemen

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) provides Yemenis access to health treatment and access to safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene. As of August 2019, UNICEF maintained over 3,700 health centers and aided around 730,000 pregnant and lactating women by providing basic health care services. Additionally, 11.8 million children were vaccinated for measles and rubella, and 200,000 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition. Going forward, UNICEF’s efforts will focus on “strengthening systems, improving access to primary health care, as well as malnutrition management and disease outbreak response, including maintaining vaccination coverage.”

These three organizations are just examples of the efforts raising awareness and providing aid toward the Yemen Crisis. Children continue to be killed and injured during the conflict. Before COVID-19, 2 million children under the age of five were dying from acute malnutrition and in need of treatment. In addition to this, around 70 percent of the arriving pregnant women experience “obstructed labor, prolonged labor, eclampsia, uterine rupture or post-partum bleeding” and other life-threatening conditions. While the conflict continues, these organizations are making efforts that have helped many women and children in Yemen. 

– Mia Mendez
Photo: Flickr

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6 Things to Know About Obstetric Violence

Obstetric Violence
Of all topics concerning women, obstetric violence is one of the most taboo. Obstetric violence involves patients experiencing abuse, neglect or disrespect at the hands of their OB-GYN, particularly during childbirth. A study by the WHO which followed and interviewed over 2000 women pre- and post-childbirth in Ghana, Nigeria and Guinea concluded that 42% of respondents experienced discrimination or verbal or physical abuse. This abuse includes slapping, mocking, forced episiotomies and unnecessary medication or cesarean sections. Here are six things to know about obstetric violence.

6 Things to Know About Obstetric Violence

  1. Power disparities between doctors and patients discourage women from objecting to or speaking out against abusive practices. According to the Latin American Journal of Nursing, the unequal power relationships with patients leads to “the loss of the woman’s autonomy and her right to decide on matters related to her body.” As a result, women are prone to experiencing different forms of violence during labor and delivery care.
  2. Obstetric violence is not limited to pregnant women. It can occur during any OB-GYN visits and includes invasive practices, denial of pain, refusal of treatment, verbal humiliation and non-consensual touching. According to another study by the WHO, 49.9% of women in Ghana reported undergoing vaginal examinations performed without their permission.
  3. Specific groups of women are more likely to be mistreated than others. Ethnic minority, low income, unmarried, adolescent and migrant women are more likely to be mistreated by an OB-GYN. According to the WHO, “Younger, unmarried women were more likely to have non-consented vaginal examinations.” The midwives and doctors often justified abusive treatment as punishment for women they found “uncooperative.”
  4. Obstetric violence discourages women from consulting maternal health services or OB-GYNs. This could cause medical complications to go unnoticed and untreated, potentially leading to maternal or child mortality. Women who experience abusive treatment from medical professionals may also suffer serious complications, however. The abuse often leads to permanent emotional, mental and physical damage. It also presents a health hazard at the community level, as the prevalence of obstetric violence encourages the idea that such treatment is normal.
  5. Countries have recently started defining obstetric violence. In 2006, Venezuela defined it as the “appropriation of the female body and reproductive processes by health professionals.” Similarly, Argentina’s definition is “cruel, dishonorable, inhuman, humiliating threatening treatment by health professionals, causing physical, psychological and emotional harm to assisted women.” Defining mistreatment by health professionals in legislation is the first step to combatting it on a legal level.
  6. NGOs such as Make Mothers Matter (MMM) are fighting obstetric violence. MMM “works in synergy with grassroots organizations around the globe” to empower women. It recognizes the potential women have as leaders for change. The NGO places emphasis on the importance of proper treatment of women and mothers at the hands of their OB-GYN being crucial for child wellbeing and development. In addition, MMM exposes the dangers of obstetric violence and spreads awareness to bodies of governments capable of creating real change.

Obstetric violence violates fundamental women’s rights. Fighting it will involve recognizing the role gender inequality has in creating hierarchical dynamics between doctor and patient. Efforts by governments and NGOs to end mistreatment by OB-GYNs will improve the physical and mental welfare of women and children around the world.

– Mathilde Venet
Photo: Flickr

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The Role of Women During COVID-19

Women During COVID-19Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, women have assumed positions of leadership in several fields to fight the virus. Women work hard at home to take care of their families, while also constituting a majority of those on the front lines in the global healthcare industry. They are discovering innovative new ways to generate income through agriculture, and are even manufacturing masks in refugee camps. Here are a few of the many heroic responsibilities undertaken by women during COVID-19.

Women at Home

Worldwide, almost 22% of women care for their families through unpaid labor, while only about 2% of men provide this kind of care. As caregivers at home, women play a crucial role in maintaining the safety of their families and communities. This task goes well beyond managing others’ physical health; women cook, clean, supervise children and elders and gather resources like water and wood. In addition, with lockdown measures, kids and other family members are home more often, increasing demands on these women.

Women in Healthcare

During the COVID-19 pandemic, women have taken the lead in providing medical care for patients. Because women make up 70% of the global healthcare and social services industries, many women have now become essential workers and hold the huge task of caring for patients, often at the expense of their own safety.

Healthcare workers like Dr. Entela Kolovani of Albania have been treating patients day and night since the pandemic hit in March. Women in healthcare are juggling several roles as they take care of those who are sick while trying to avoid endangering their families. Women are working longer hours and facing new challenges every day. In describing her nurses, Dr. Kolovani said, “Their work never ends, from making up the beds of patients, to performing therapies, taking tests and filling in documents. I am so deeply grateful to them.”

Women in Agriculture

The role of women during COVID-19 is not just limited to the healthcare field. Globally, nearly one out of every three women are employed in the agricultural industry; women in rural settings have inspired their communities to take safety precautions and earn income through farming. For example, in northwestern China, women in rural villages are ensuring compliance with social distancing practices are met and learning the trade of pig farming to earn extra income for their families. One such woman, Yan Shenglian, is training other women in this trade and teaching them the importance of women in the agricultural sector during COVID-19.

In addition, women in Cote d’Ivoire worked with UNICEF and the World Food Programme to spread health and sanitation measures to other women farmers. Along with the work already being done to encourage efficient farming practices, women in these rural villages are prioritizing food security and safety during COVID-19.

Women as Refugees

Of those affected by the pandemic, refugees have been disproportionately impacted. Nearly 80% of refugees are concentrated in low-income countries, where access to proper sanitation and basic resources is limited. As nearly half of all refugees are girls and women, the effect of COVID-19 on women refugees is especially high. However, these individuals have also stepped up to fight the pandemic. In partnership with the U.N., Rohingya women in the world’s largest refugee camp have made more than 50,000 masks for distribution. This initiative involved almost 50 families with female breadwinners, allowing these women to bring additional income to their families and teaching lasting leadership skills.

Looking Forward

Women have stepped up to lead the fight against the pandemic in a plethora of ways. They are keeping communities safe while generating income. These are just a few examples of the many critical roles adopted by women during COVID-19; there is no doubt that their presence will continue to be instrumental throughout the pandemic and beyond.

– Anita Durairaj
Photo: Unsplash

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8 Facts About Women’s Poverty in Peru

Poverty in Peru
Peru has gradually reduced poverty over the past decade. Currently, approximately 6 million Peruvians live under the national poverty line in comparison to 16 million in 2004. This is remarkable progress in tackling poverty in Peru. Around 20.5% of Peru’s population lives in poverty nonetheless. Most of them are indigenous Quechua and Aymara communities living in the rural Sierra region. Despite their essential role in the economy, women bear the greatest burdens of extreme poverty in Peru. Here are eight facts about women’s poverty in Peru.

8 Facts About Women’s Poverty in Peru

  1. Women account for the majority of the population living in extreme poverty. In the Piura, Cajamarca, La Libertad and Apurímac districts, extreme poverty affects 25.7% of women. This is over three times the national average.
  2. In 2020, Peru scored 0.65 in the gender gap index, meaning that women are 35% less likely to have economic equality with men. In fact, 30.4% of women in Peru receive no personal income. Women who do receive personal income still make 30% less per month than men. Fortunately, Peru passed Law No. 30709 in 2017, prohibiting pay discrimination by gender. On July 1, 2019, The National Superintendency of Labor Inspection put the law into effect.
  3. Women are essential to Peru’s economy. The average rural woman accounts for 80% of her family’s labor force, working in agriculture, livestock and traditional household care. Women’s underpaid and underrepresented labor allows household men to search for temporary work.
  4. Women hold few influential roles in the workforce and politics, due to Peru’s traditional views about the role of women. This means women face higher rates of unemployment and poverty.
  5. Girls and women suffer from higher illiteracy rates than boys and men. Illiteracy among women in rural areas is 33.7% in comparison to 10.9% of men. In urban areas, where 7.4% of women and 2.4% of men are illiterate, women still face unequal opportunities in education. Organizations like Peruvian Hearts and the Sacred Valley Project give girls, especially those in rural areas, opportunities for further education in the form of scholarships, tuition and boarding schools.
  6. Peruvian women and girls often face violence and discrimination. Between 2009 and 2015, domestic violence and gender-based crimes killed more than 700 women. In 2006, 69% of women reported that they had suffered physical violence. These reports were higher in rural areas. In 2015, Peru adopted Law No. 30364 aiming to eradicate all forms of violence against women and family members. Over time, the implementation of Law No. 30364 has improved, leading to the creation of a Gender Justice Commission composed of women judges. Reporting domestic violence is now easier and safer. Groups like Ni Una Menos raise awareness about violence against Peruvian women. Last year, it organized a protest in Lima to demand justice and government action for victims of gender violence.
  7. Peruvian women face limited access to reproductive and maternal healthcare. Choices regarding birth control are slim, and resources are often hard to find or too expensive. The fight for reproductive rights is ongoing. In 2014, Peru issued national guidelines for legal abortions in the case of sexual assault. Therapeutic abortion has been legal since 1924, however, access was not secure until 2014. Increased spending on reproductive healthcare over the past decade has improved access to birth control and other contraceptives. Organizations in Peru like PROMSEX promote sexual health and reproductive rights through political advocacy.
  8. Environmental challenges impact women the most in Peru. Resources like clean water, energy and food are scarcer in rural areas of Peru. Since women secure these resources, they bear the pressures of environmental challenges. Taxing jobs like collecting firewood and gathering clean water are becoming even more difficult as resources become scarce. These burdens make families vulnerable, forcing women to put family before health. Additionally, women’s lack of representation in government denies them information and resources that mitigate the effects of climate change.

Hope for the Future

Gender inequality worsens women’s poverty in Peru. Recent legislation and activism have begun to bridge this gap and focus on women’s rights. For example, political representation for women is near 30% and growing. Economic equality is also growing thanks to Law No. 30609 that prohibits pay discrimination between genders. Additionally, reforms to domestic violence services have reduced crime against women in Peru.

Meanwhile, women’s rights organizations like Womankind Worldwide are partnering with Peruvian organization FEPROMU in efforts to educate women and develop leadership skills. The organizations Women’s Empowerment Coalition and Awamaki partnered in 2019 to build an artisan center in Huilloc. The women’s association can now weave and make textiles and train women for leadership.

Government reform and the activism of women’s organizations have allowed helped the women of Peru to climb toward gender equality. This progress should hopefully lessen women’s poverty in Peru.

– Dalton Dunning
Photo: Flickr

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Eritrean Women Fight Gendered Poverty

Eritrean Women Fight Gendered PovertyThe Eritrean War of Independence oversaw a liberation on two fronts. The first was a divergence from Ethiopian colonial rule and the creation of a free Eritrea. The second was a women’s emancipation from culturally embedded subordination and the development of a semi-feminist state. The women’s movement began alongside the Eritrean War of Independence in 1961. It was quick to gain support and traction. The movement allowed women freedoms they did not have pre-revolution. However, as the state transitioned its focus towards a restructuring of administrative processes, the women’s movement lost steam and support. Now the Eritrean women fight gendered poverty. They are fighting issues such as malnutrition, the pan-African AIDS epidemic and limited access to education and health resources.

Poverty and Eritrea

According to the World Health Organization, 53% of Eritreans are living below the poverty line. Further research conducted by UNICEF reported that female-headed households in Eritrea tended to be the poorest. Many long-standing traditions in Eritrean society, pre-dating the civil war, are sources of this income disparity between male and female-headed households. An example of these gender norms is the fact that Eritrean women were not allowed to own property; this often led to unemployment and as a result, a lower income. These outdated expectations cause female ex-combatants a great deal of difficulty in readjusting to gendered cultural norms.

The National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW)

Poverty hit the women of Eritrea women hard, but that has not stopped them from fighting. The National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) is a direct response to the feminist movement born out of the liberation war.

As an organization, the NUEW works with communities of women, including demobilized women fighters. The organization lifts women out of poverty through a combination of literacy programs, vocational training, income-generating activities and micro-credit schemes. In addition, another big part of the NUEW’s mission is promoting women’s participation in local and national government. In working closely with the Government of the State of Eritrea (GSE), the NUEW secured a hold on 30% of elected positions for women. After additional advocacy, the NUEW is working with the GSE to increase that number. The NUEW provided more than just relief programs to women in poverty; it created a space where women were able to have their voices heard.

While Eritrean women have had to overcome numerous hurdles in post-independence Eritrea, they did not do so alone. Eritrean women are fighting gendered poverty. The NUEW provides an invaluable service to Eritrean women through advocacy, education and relief programs. Today, the NUEW is working towards the total emancipation of women and continuing their efforts to raise their country up one woman at a time.

– Elizabeth Price

Photo: Flickr

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5 Ways that Global Poverty Affects Women

women are more affected by global poverty
Women often make up the backbone of home and society, however, global poverty often affects women the most. Women across the globe are still fighting for equality in their workplaces, general society and in their own homes. This inequality is a significant factor why women make up the bulk of the impoverished population in the world.

According to data that the U.S. Census Bureau released in 2017, the maximum rate of poverty for men was 7% while the minimum poverty rate for women was 9.7%. Depending on the race and demographics, this rate only tends to increase. Here are five ways that global poverty affects women.

5 Ways that Global Poverty Affects Women

  1. Gender Wage Gap: The availability of equally paid jobs is critical in making women independent and hence improving any economy. According to the World Economic Forum, the annual average earnings of the men around the world was $23,000 in 2018. In contrast, the global average of annual earnings of women was only $12,000. The international intergovernmental economic organization G7 inferred from collected data that the gender wage gap is prevalent throughout the world. Furthermore, G7 determined that the gender wage gap does not depend on the current financial status of any country. The G7 claimed that the global average gender wage gap was still 17% in the year 2016. Moreover, discrepancies in the wages that employers paid to women, even in developed countries, affected women in economically weaker countries and low-paying jobs significantly.
  2. Job Segregation:  The International Labor Organization (ILO) found that nearly 80% of the female labor force works in the service sectors and less-paid clerical jobs contrary to managerial, professional or leadership roles. More women in administrative positions would bring in diverse and complementing perspectives into the idea pool. An increase in females in administrative positions would also allow an insight into the female consumers’ psyche. All of these benefits, plus an increase in creativity, would consequently increase revenue. In most countries, including many developed countries, the number of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is unquestionably lesser than men. Only 28% of employees in STEM fields, which are the fastest-growing with higher paid jobs, are women. In addition to conservative social norms and gender bias, the lack of female role models also contributes to the smaller women labor force in STEM fields.
  3. Motherhood: Pregnancy can often be the tipping point in any woman’s career path. While women may face wage penalties, men might win salary premiums. Women frequently choose to take time off to stay at home and care for their children. However, the career break adversely affects their salaries even after they return to work. From the data that a study in Denmark conducted, a country with high gender equality measures, the salary of women sharply dropped nearly 3% after the birth of the first child and never recovered.
  4. Unpaid Caregiving: Another way that global poverty affects women is that they often don the role of caregivers for the elders and children in a family more than men, which is unpaid work. This extra work, nearly twice to 10 times the work that men do, is worth almost $11 trillion per year. Although women’s unpaid work amounts to nearly four years more work than men, women still earn less at their paid jobs. This is most likely due to the fact that women prefer part-time and easily transferable jobs after having a baby, in order to provide proper care for the child. Policies targeting lower childcare costs might help women in the long run. Additionally, policies focusing on incentives for men in sharing the childcare and domestic chores would also help women greatly. In general, providing any sort of assistance to alleviate the extra work of women would help in the long run. For example, women in Malawi spend 54 minutes a day on average collecting water. Providing labor-saving infrastructure results in less time obtaining water and more paid hours for women. Gender inequality in developing countries costs their economies $9 trillion per year. In Latin America, women’s paid work increased between 2000 and 2010. This resulted in a 30% reduction in poverty.
  5. Gender-biased Illiteracy: In low-income countries, the average literacy rate of men is 70% and 50% for women. In the 2014 World Value Survey, 26% of people across the world said that university education is comparatively more essential for a boy than a girl. A 2016 study in Nepal revealed that the poorer households sacrificed the literacy of daughters for better job prospects for sons.

How Organizations are Helping

Countries around the world have begun to realize that the inclusion of women, especially in leadership roles, is necessary for sustained, overall development. LivelyHoods, a nonprofit organization, noticed that the women were mainly the ones who dealt with household energy. In Kenya, indoor pollution due to smoke from conventional stoves causes 13,000 deaths per year. In an effort to combat indoor pollution, LivelyHoods employed the rural women population in Kenya to distribute life-improving, affordable, clean-energy products to the local population. The network of saleswomen that the organization employed distributed eco-friendly products like solar products, clean-burning cookstoves and many others. Of the top 10% of the salesforce, 90% are women who earn up to $1,000 per month. Over 1,500 trained women employees have distributed 26,000 clean energy products so far. This is an inspiring example of how indispensable women are to global development.

Ideas for Moving Forward

To help impoverished women improve their quality of life, governments could offer publicly financed schemes of extended leaves of absence for new mothers; replace individual taxation with family taxation so that the burden on the secondary earners, who are mostly women, lifts; provide tax benefits for low-wage earners; reduce the childcare cost for working women; encourage businesses to develop better practices like pay transparency and regular wage assessment based on gender; conduct free workshops for women to impart vocational skills as well as to spread awareness of various available job opportunities; offer equal job opportunities to women; conduct workshops in the men’s workplaces to show them how their personal and nation’s economy will flourish by sharing the childcare and domestic duties. Even implementing just a few of these tactics could help reduce the inequality women around the world face.

– Nirkkuna Nagaraj 
Photo: Flickr

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Women in the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis

Women in the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis
The Borgen Project has published this article and podcast episode, “Inside the Lives of Women Living Through World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis,” with permission from The World Food Program (WFP) USA. “Hacking Hunger” is the organization’s podcast that features stories of people around the world who are struggling with hunger and thought-provoking conversations with humanitarians who are working to solve it.

 

Hunger is cruel to everyone, but it’s not completely blind. Women – especially in times of war – are more at risk of the suffering it bestows. Women are 60 percent more likely to suffer from hunger and its consequences. They eat last and least and are often forced to drop out of school or marry early when there isn’t enough food.

Yemen is no exception to this rule, and as the nation’s conflict drags into its fifth year, women find themselves in increasingly difficult circumstances. But women are resilient, and despite their suffering, they find ways to remain hopeful and strong.

In this episode of Hacking Hunger, we spoke with Annabel Symington, head of communications for WFP in Yemen. She’s been working in Yemen for the past year and offered us insights into the unique challenges, stories and strength of women living through this war.

Click below to listen to Annabel Symington provide stories about women in Yemen during the present war.

 

 

Photo: Flickr

 

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The Dilaasa Centre During COVID-19

Dilaasa Centre Remains a Resource During COVID-19

People all over the world have been in lockdown amidst the outbreak of COVID-19, and because of this, many things have changed. However, one thing that has received less publicity and protest is the rise in domestic violence against women. It is a basic human right to live in today’s world without experiencing physical or mental harm by those of the opposite sex, yet it is prevalent in today’s societies across the world, increasing even more during the battle against COVID-19. Thankfully, there are resources that women and girls can reach out to when they are feeling threatened, even during times of social distancing, such as the Dilaasia Centre. One of the places that have seen an increase in violence against women is India, a country with a population of over 1.3 billion people. The Borgen Project spoke with the Dilaasa Centre, a crisis center for women and girls experiencing gender-based and domestic violence, to find out more about just how COVID-19 is affecting India’s female population.

A Global Increase in Violence

According to an article in The New York Times, hotlines worldwide have seen an increase in domestic violence calls. Meanwhile, in the past 12 months, 243 million girls between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced sexual or physical violence.

According to the United Nations Populations Fund (UNPFA), one of the reasons behind the increase in global domestic violence includes the higher likelihood of violent acts when people are locked down in their homes with their spouses and family members. Another contributor is the reduced access to resources during lockdown that most victims of domestic violence can usually turn to, such as centers, hotlines or possibly even other places of refuge. Other reasons for the increase in domestic violence reports include stress, economic anxiety, the loss of people’s jobs, increased alcohol consumption and the lack of police response. According to NDTV, some Indian women have reached out to groups such as the National Commission for Women (NCW) who help fight gender inequality in India by offering help in domestic violence incidents.

According to a U.N. study, places that have seen the largest increase in domestic violence due to COVID-19 lockdowns include France (30% increase in domestic violence reports), Cyprus (30% increase in domestic violence hotline calls), Singapore (33% increase in domestic violence hotline calls), Argentina (25% increase in emergency calls based on domestic violence), Germany, Canada, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.

The same study found that the COVID-19 pandemic will most likely result in a 75% reduction in the global progress to end gender-based violence. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that globally, 35% of women have experienced gender-based violence in their lives. The UNPFA study suggests that if the COVID-19 lockdown continues globally for another 6 months, the number of gender-based acts of violence could increase by 31 million.

India’s Gender-Based Violence

The women and girls living in India have experienced mistreatment for a very long time, partly because it is a patriarchal society and many laws are discriminatory against women. For example, The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act of 1956 says that the fathers of the family are the natural guardians of the children of the family.

Women also experience marital rape and find themselves victims of violent crimes. Every day in India, there are around 20 dowry deaths or situations in which husbands’ and in-laws’ continuous harassment over the dowry causes married women to suffer murder or forces them to commit suicide. Honor killings are also quite common, wherein the husband murders his wife because she brings some type of “shame” upon him. Between 2015-2018, India saw reports of 300 cases of honor killings alone. Other practices include molestation, torture and bride burning, all of which occur when the woman or girl is going to be a bride, but her family declines to pay a dowry, resulting in her murder. Meanwhile, according to an article, “31 percent of married women in India have experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence by their spouses.”

Many consider males to be the preferred gender in India. Families often prefer having boys over girls because of the advantages they inherit from ideas that exist in society. This cycle continues the underrepresentation and lack of respect for women and girls in the country.

Since India’s lockdown on March 24, 2020, the number of domestic violence cases across India has increased. From March 23rd to April 16th alone, the NCW received 587 complaints of domestic violence or abuse. Thankfully, there are crisis centers that have remained open during the lockdown to help women and girls suffering from domestic violence.

India’s Dilaasa Centre

The Dilaasa Centre is a crisis-intervention center, established in 2000, located in the Municipal Secondary Hospitals in Mumbai, India. The first center emerged in the KB Bhabha Hospital in Bandra, Mumbai. The centers were a joint creation of the Public Health Department of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and the Center for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT). In previous years, CEHAT worked towards four main goals to advocate for an end to violence against women and girls. The four goals are to help with women’s health and finances, health legislation and patient’s rights, women’s health and violence and health. Most focus on health because of the way violence impacts women’s health and well-being.

The Dilaasa Centre has two main objectives: to see that all women and children receive proper care during times of violence and to educate health professionals, such as doctors and nurses, to know the signs of domestic violence. The Centre told The Borgen Project that “The crisis center, in brief, provided psychological support, an emergency shelter in the hospital, police aide; legal intervention and of course medical and medicolegal support since 2000.” The other Municipal Secondary Hospitals with Dilaasa Centres are in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Dehli, Kerala, Meghalaya and Gujarat.

According to the Dilaasa Centre, each of its facilities serves 250 to 300 women and children or girls between the ages of 6 and 80 every year, with some survivors of sexual violence being as young as 3-years-old. Most of the Dilaasa Centre’s patients are of low-or-middle income status. Some survivors who visit the Dilaasa Centre are married, separated or divorced. “Women approach Dilaasa with varied expectations,” the Dilaasa Centre said. “While most want the ‘violence to stop,’ the ‘husband to improve his behavior’ and to ‘live with husband peacefully,’ a significant number come to explore if they have any legal avenues to stop [the] violence.” Dilaasa said that when it comes to actual interventions, a very small number seek that kind of help, as well as only a few looking for shelter. The center also sees a large number of rape survivors since it connects to the hospital.

“As a hospital-based crisis intervention center, we play a crucial role in providing services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence,” the center said. In fact, statistics have proven that survivors of violence use health services more than those who do not experience domestic violence. According to WHO, women who experience domestic violence end up having more health issues than those who do not experience it.

Since COVID-19 began, there have been surges in domestic violence cases across the globe and in India. The workers and counselors the Dilaasa Centre are “essential,” just like the doctors and nurses in the hospital, and the counselors have begun doing virtual or audio calls to those suffering from domestic violence and are trapped at home. According to the center, many women no longer have access to phones or cell phones and are stuck in their homes with their abusers on a daily basis.

The center told The Borgen Project that “CEHAT strives to generate evidence on the role of [the] health sector and establishing services in a health setting for women.” The Dilaasa Centre hopes that in the future it can oversee the opening of more centers in hospitals when there is a need for educating others on gender-based violence in India.

The Good News

While women and girls in India are suffering from domestic violence during COVID-19 because of the country’s national lockdown, there are ways that Indian women and girls can still find help during these trying times. U.N. Women has written a domestic violence COVID-19 response, in which it outlines ways to reduce the impact the lockdown has had on women. It recommends that governments provide additional resources for women and girls in their response plans, governments make pre-existing resources even stronger for women and girls during the lockdown, police and government workers receive education about the facts regarding the rise in domestic violence cases during COVID-19, women and girls be the focus when looking at solutions to the pandemic and that government collect the correct types of data to ensure safer and better outcomes for females in future pandemics. The NCW has also developed its own domestic abuse/violence hotline number for WhatsApp, an app that allows people to make calls and text internationally. There are also crisis centers, like the Dilaasa Centre, that remain open during the lockdowns.

Gender-based violence has been occurring in many countries for generations, and unfortunately, patriarchal societies remain the same today. COVID-19 has presented a special set of circumstances where all families must remain at home together, which also presents a rare opportunity for people around the world to become more educated and aware of the prevalence of gender-based violence in our cultures. While the world waits for the day when women and men receive equal treatment and for women to no longer be in harm’s way, there are resources like the Dilaasa Centre that create a safe place of confidentiality, hope and refuge for women and girls suffering from domestic violence.

– Marlee Septak
Photo: Flickr

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Women in the Garment Industry in Bangladesh

Women in the Garment Industry
Breaking the ceiling of the minimum living cost per day remains a challenge for millions of the poorest people on the earth, especially women. Amongst the causes of poverty, the fact that women are often not part of the labor force is one of the biggest quagmires that keeps them struggling. However, one area that women in the developing world often work in is the garment industry. In fact, there are many women working in the garment industry in Bangladesh today.

Bangladesh’s garment industry’s products make up the majority of what it exports. The expansion of the garment industry is quickly pulling people out of poverty in Bangladesh. Women are the major source of labor, where they make up 80 percent of workers. One might ask whether the garment and textile industry could be a gateway for women in the rest of the world to escape poverty.

Demand for Growth

Despite the fact that international trade has recently encountered uncertainty, a report from Mckinsey pointed out that the demand for growth from major populated countries, such as India and Indonesia, will continually saturate the market. With the demand continually persisting, many expect that the supply will continue to expand as well.

Beyond Asia, many in Africa see opportunities in the rising garment industry. Case studies from the African Development Bank Group indicate that women make up a significant part of the garment industry in Africa. In Ethiopia and Cote d’Ivoire, the two major cotton cultivators in the world, 80 percent of garment workers are women. Moreover, these countries’ start-up entrepreneurs are largely women.

Lifting Women Out of Poverty

The rising figures of women in the garment industry excite people’s outlook on the economy, but this is not the final answer to lifting women out of poverty. The problems of delayed or no and low payment, forced labor, dangerous working environments and other exploitation of women pull the world’s attention and push for reform. From a global perspective, the campaign for humanitarian improvement is one major goal of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Beyond economic growth, acquiring decent work conditions, gender equality and opportunity for education matter when it comes to empowering women workers.

In Bangladesh, the international garment industry used to benefit from cheap labor because of loose legislative regulations and awful working conditions. More recently, the situation of underpayment has received challenges. For example, garment workers in Bangladesh raised their issues of low wages and poor working conditions, causing unrest and subsequently leading to Bangladesh increasing the minimum wage by 5 percent. This may seem minor, but it greatly impacted the garment industry in Bangladesh and started the process of reform. Consequential bills, including the signing of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, constantly forge the formal framework to ensure the well-being of women in the garment industry.

The development of the global garment industry is a good hammer for women to smash the wall of poverty, but they still require more. The problems rooted in the most impoverished countries are not only “money concerned.” Social injustice and gender bias also influence the liberation of women. Luckily, the action of women and their social power is opening another window for reforms and improvement.

– Dingnan Zhang
Photo: Flickr