A Gender-Sensitive Response is Missing From the COVID-19 Crisis

Apr 16, 2020 | Jamila Razzaq
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Razia with her six children and a drug-addicted husband lives in one room in a three-room compound shared with 20 other people. Pre-COVID-19, all the residents were rarely present in the compound at the same time. However, now they all are inside the house queuing to use a single toilet, a makeshift bathing shed, and a corner of the compound to cook rapidly disappearing food supplies. Razia is just one example of the many women Aappa Aziz Trust works with in the slums of an urban center in Pakistan. Social distancing for women like Razia who are solely responsible for household chores and care is near impossible. Compounded by unhygienic conditions, the vulnerability of these women and their families to COVID-19 is enormous.