Problems Faced by Indian Women’s During the lockdown

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woman lockdown problem

People from all around the globe have a hard time because of the global spread of coronavirus. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak which followed with the nation lockdown for several months. It is not right to say who has been affected the most due to lockdown because all people have suffered to a large extent, but here in this article we will discuss the problems faced by Indian women during the lockdown. 

The roles and responsibilities of Indian women in our society are very high, as a patriarchal society, we did not consider or even think about their contribution towards the family. Despite being the most important part of the family they have very low decision making powers. Before the corona outbreak, the life of Indian women was very hard with restrictions at every step, lockdown magnified the issues such as mental health, safety, financial security, daily work pressure, and so on. 

During lockdown caregiving expectation suddenly spikes, failing which leads to several problems faced by the women such as domestic violence, extra caregiving works, a low impact on the family, family lifestyle disturbance, etc. 

Let us just magnify the problems faced by women during the lockdown in India.

Single Women (Working)

According to Census data, India has the largest number of single women in its entire history. It includes widows, never-married, divorced, abandoned, etc. We can not deny the fact that the life of a single woman in Indian society is very difficult. They have been suffering from social rules and regulations which indeed demands more and more living space for the single woman than the current independence. Lockdown has affected them in buying for the sanitaryware products as most of the medical shops have very limited opening time with most shops were closed due to which there is silence on the streets and this is a threat to their safety

For single women living alone in urban areas, financial stability is very important especially in a society where wage equality is still a taboo in most of the Indian business sectors.

Even though women entrepreneurship in our country is growing exponentially, women in different fields have emerged as strong leaders. 

Imagine the situation of single living women when you have no other option to go for grocery alone when nobody is outside, double-checking the locked gate in the night in the fear of someone might be roaming around. Even if they get infected with the coronavirus nobody will be available for them to take them to the hospitals. 

Problems Faced by Single Women (Working) in India Due to Lockdown

  • Financial Insecurities
  • Security Issues 
  • Loneliness
  • Grocery Related Problems

Story 1. Priyanka is working for a marketing company living with her brother, bhabhi, and younger cousin in Ashok Nagar, Delhi. After the lockdown like other IT company employees, Priyanka is also doing work from home. It could have been good for but the problem starts when her bhabhi went to her maternal home before lockdown. For Priyanka managing household work and office, work is not an easy task, she gets frustrated as she has to wake up early in the morning planning to cook for the three meals for her 2 brothers and herself. Due to office workload, she has to stretch the working hours as according to her manager “you are in a comfortable home environment, office travel time is saved as she is working from the home”. 

Managing office work such as being ready for presentation, client calls, etc along with what to cook throughout the day makes her very frustrated which she noticed have started to reflect on both the places. Due to these numerous pressures, her mental and physical health seems to go down. This can be solved if her brothers can help in doing the household work by throwing the thought from their minds, as both men and women are equal in all aspects.

Married Woman (Non-Working)

It is a debatable topic to consider if the lockdown has given them a safe haven or a prison. For married women, the behavior of family entirely matters. Those people who consider women as a material like they might have given them pain in different forms, it can be verbal, physical, or mental.

Problems Faced by Married Woman (Non-Working) in India Due to Lockdown

  • Increase in Domestic Violence
  • Sudden Increase in Household Work Pressure
  • Effect on Mental and Physical Health
  • Financial Issues

Story 2. Most married women in our Indian society have been facing problems during the lockdown. Due to job losses men are forced to stay at home without having a source of income. This leads to abuses in several different forms most common is physical abuse. Some reports even confirm that domestic violence cases against women have increased in the corona lockdown. 

Daily household work pressure was less stressful before the corona lockdown but it has been increased in the domestic work as most of the family members are staying at the home. Our Indian family mostly depends on the women for the home cleaning, cloth cleaning, and most importantly for the 3-time food meals. 

Married Woman (Working)

Managing both household and office work at the same time is not an easy task to do. Either you are a single or married working woman, household work is your duty as per our society. This is a harsh reality for the working woman during the lockdown and considered it the worst lockdown problem for the woman. 

Story 3. Two weeks before lockdown Anita is a newly married working woman and she is just enjoying her mid-twenties. She thought lockdown will be a pleasant experience, it will give her ample time to spend quality time with her husband. As social distancing is the major part of lockdown, so no maid to do household work. For her doing both office work and household work becomes a very daunting task, sometimes she has to skip her meal due to busy schedules. After all the stressed work throughout the day when she has time to get rest During the night, her husband wants to make love. 

Every time she has to make her in-laws because for them their son has a more respectful job than her daughter-in-law. This dreadful mentality still exists in our society that men have to earn and women after marriage have to do the household work. 

The Bottom Line

The stress in our life due to hectic life is mounting at a rapid pace and with the current pandemic situation outside due to which the heat of stress is taken more by women than the other gender.