Agarwala and Ghumaan_Covid-19_Impact of Covid-19 on women in South Asia

Abstract

The first reports of COVID-19 cases were traced in Wuhan City, China, in late December 2019, post which, the deadly virus rapidly registered itself into the category of pandemics. It has continued to upend lives across the world ever since. “Lockdowns” have ensued, aimed at saving lives by putting the virus on leash, and preventing health systems from being overrun. Such quarantine measures have led to economic depression, leaving millions jobless, befalling deplorably the more vulnerable sections of society, women and girls being the primary unseen targets globally. The socio-economic downturns of the pandemic, such as closure of work places, child day-care facilities, schools, decrease in cross-country migration, and so on, have impacted women across different strata. In this article, we have attempted to collect and collate information related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls in South Asia. Owing to unavailability of sufficient research literature on the gendered aspect of COVID-19 in South Asia, we present excerpts and case studies from various local sources like newspapers, blogs, online archives, press releases, journal articles, and some statistics of gendered impact of COVID-19 from well-respected sources. Through this article we aim to illuminate the reader about the plight of women in such a distressful time, a matter particularly less-focused on by the governments in South Asia, at the same time highlight the importance of addressing the alarming issue of staggering gender imbalance in bringing our world back to an equilibrium and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Lives and sustenance of migrant Indian women in Indenture and COVID-19

“…The significant challenge faced by women is accessing bathrooms. The public toilets of slums were overcrowded as an outcome of the closure (Agarwala & Kaur-Ghumaan, 2021). Access to open locations for use as restrooms is particularly problematic because of male monitoring, which was less common prior to the outbreak.…”

Application of Artificial Intelligence in Marine Corrosion Prediction and Detection

“…Therefore, longterm corrosion detection is an excellent method to prevent catastrophic marine structure accidents. In addition to financial advantages, early detection of structural deterioration before failure can also minimize hazardous situations for both people and the environment and prevent catastrophic failures of structures [12,13]. The approximate cost can be reduced by 18-35% using proper strategy [4].…”