Dixya Poudel

Like each year, the world celebrated International Women's Day on March 8. The United Nations (UN) creates a theme for Women's Day every year and this year it is "Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world." It is certainly opportune to the current scenario. The pandemic has highlighted the stark reality of gender inequality and the prevalent discrimination against women. As the global economy stalls, women have either lost their jobs or have been confined to unpaid jobs with little benefits.
Even before the pandemic, it was girls and women who spent most of their time doing domestic work. Such works further have to be carried out without any expectations of gratitude from family members. It is the females who usually bring up their young ones and also cater to their families’ social obligations. Things are worse in underdeveloped nations where most women are bound to unpaid jobs that only consign them to the margins of their households. They rarely get a chance to be heard. Instead, from sunrise to sundown, they attend to their domestic responsibilities.
However, they carry on their traditional roles with feelings of love. In many households, it is women who are the foundation of the families' unity. They oblige to their responsibilities while sacrificing their lives for the betterment of the rest of the families. Such restricted life isn’t easy. And a future that seems devoid of any assurances on personal growth can be arduous. While life might be better for privileged women, they are still bound to patriarchal norms and customs.
According to studies, the pandemic will push additional 96 million people into extreme poverty and 47 million of them will be girls and women. It will further increase the gender poverty gap and will limit the educational opportunities of girls and young women. By the end of COVID crisis, it is estimated that 11 million girls might leave their schools. Such statistics highlight all the grim situations caused by the wreckages of the pandemic.
With the lack of educational opportunities and increasing unemployment, the girls and women worldwide could revert to unpaid work in domestic settings. And underdeveloped societies could backpedal to child marriages, teen motherhood and gender based violence. Particularly, gender based violence has increased globally in the past few months caused by the aggravated socio-economic downturns. The fallout could be worse for women who are made vulnerable due to their race, ethnicity, and poverty.
Likewise, single women with children are liable to suffer the consequences of economic instability. So are women who are refugees and migrant workers. What can be done to elevate the socioeconomic status of women? Steps such as economic support packages, family and child benefits, skill development programs, literacy and educational incentives are necessary. Government and non-government organisations must introduce social protection for economic security towards women. As such, women-led businesses need all the support they can get from their communities.
Likewise, women must be the source of strength for one another. And the world with women leaders will certainly be a better one. Each year during International Women's Day there are rallying outcries over gender inequality and the need for women empowerment. However, for a successful outcome, the themes regarding women empowerment and equality must be a day to day discussion.