ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Human Rights on Sunday released the Gendered Impact and Implications of Covid-19 in Pakistan, a policy brief analysing the potentially disproportionate impact of the outbreakon women and girls.

Prepared with UNWomen and the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), the brief explores specific vulnerabilities facing women and girls as the coronavirus spreads and makes broad policy recommendations to mitigate immediate risks and prevent the exacerbation of existing gender gaps.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the ministry said the brief delves into the larger political, social and economic impact of Covid-19 and presents an analysis of the potentially disproportionate impact on women and girls with a focus on thematic areas such as education, health, labour, forced participation, time use and mobility, financial empowerment and gender-based violence (GBV).

The brief emphasises reducing the impact on girls’ education through tele-school initiatives and increased public and private partnerships to develop learning content and increase accessibility of learning materials to children through computers, televisions and smartphones.

Prolonged school closures due to Covid-19 are adversely effecting education and could exacerbate gender inequalities in educational attainment. Moreover, it outlines specific measures that could be utilised to encourage girls in rural areas to return to school once the situation normalises.

Another recommendation contained in the brief is that of ensuring the continuation of basic and reproductive health services for women. It highlights the importance of encouraging women to visit hospitals and clinics for pre and postnatal checkups as well as keeping them informed about prevention protocols and the conditions in which they should seek medical help and care in order to avoid complications during delivery.

The brief indicates that women already face many hurdles in accessing healthcare and are also likely to have heightened exposure to the virus as the burden of caring for the ill often falls on them. The Covid-19 response must take the specific needs and vulnerabilities of women into consideration.

It also highlights the importance of devising mechanisms for providing regular support to the more vulnerable segments of the labour market and building economic resilience amongst women.

Most women in the labour force are part of the informal low wage market, home-based workers or work for small and medium size enterprises and thus suffer from low income security and lack of access to safety nets and social protection in times of crisis.

Targeted cash and loan programmes as well as access to financial services was a critical area of intervention to mitigaterisks and the impact of Covid-19 on women in Pakistan. Such efforts were already underway through the Ehsaas programme and the Prime Minister’s Covid Relief Fund.

With regard to strong evidence that suggested that emergency measures instituted to cope with epidemics increased the risk of domestic abuse, the brief recommended that GBV services be integrated in response efforts as essential services.

Restrictions on mobility warrant adapted solutions to GBV service provision such as a shift towards remote and technology-based support, it said.

In the statement, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari emphasised the importance of ensuring access to GBV services is not interrupted.

“Women are more vulnerable during a lockdown because they often have to live with abusers and may find it difficult to even call for help. The Ministry of Human Rights has ensured that our helpline and women crisis shelters remain operational during the crisis, with specific protocols in place to prevent the spread of the virus. We are also working towards ensuring that the police, health workers, and social workers are responding to specific and critical needs of women during this time,” she said.

Human Rights Secretary Rabiya Javeri Agha urged stakeholders to adopt a gender-integrated approach to the Covid-19 response at multiple levels.

She said: “This policy brief and gender analysis should serve as an essential resource document to guide stakeholders to effectively address gender inequalities emerging in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic in Pakistan.”

The brief highlighted the importance of including female leadership in policy making and response efforts. Representation from women commissions and women development departments should be ensured in decision-making bodies and gender parity should be promoted in the recruitment of staff and volunteers for COVID-19 response teams.

It reminded stakeholders of the need to generate sex disaggregated data and primary micro-level research required for effective policy making, as the lack of disaggregated data hinders targeted and effective relief response in times of crisis and humanitarian emergency.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2020