Pandemic and women’s health: Are the statistics showing us the real picture?

In the 21st century, when the world was moving further towards development and prosperity, Covid-19 arrived in our lives. 

Being a contagious disease,  it  has managed to create anxiety all over the world. 

Many people have died worldwide, many are dealing with economic hardship, and many are trying to cope with the new normal situation. 

Initially it was anticipated that Covid-19  was going to infect only the elderly because Italy saw a huge death rate among their elderly people. 

With the passage of time, it became evident that men were at a higher risk than women in terms of getting infected. 

A recent study in Bangladesh showed that males were disproportionately affected in terms of infections (71%) and deaths (77%) than females. 

Although both medical science and statistics point towards men being at a higher risk during the Covid-19 situation, still women as a group have to go through a lot during this pandemic, and there is not enough research on these issues. 

Any pandemic that the world has endured has always left a gender impact globally and most of the time the impact is negative on women's health and their daily life. 

The outbreak of the Ebola virus during 2014-2017 has also shown us that. 

Women as a group not only have to deal with the crisis only, they have to deal with sexual and reproductive health issues because of the social norms which always makes women's position more vulnerable in the society. 

During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the biggest threat to women's and girls' lives was not the virus but the shutdown of routine health services and people's fear of going to health facilities where they could get infected. 

Any pandemic that the world has endured has always left a gender impact globally and most of the time the impact is negative on women’s health and their daily life. Photo: REUTERS

Thousands of lives were lost when safe delivery, neonatal, and family planning services became inaccessible due to the outbreak. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has also impacted women's sexual and reproductive life and its adverse effects will be felt in the near future. 

Although statistics say that women are at a lower risk of getting infected, there are many female doctors and nurses working as frontliners. 

Both women and men working in the health sector are exposed to the virus, but worldwide women are potentially more at risk of infection because they make up the majority (76 %) of healthcare workers. 

More than 94% of nurses are female in Bangladesh, and more than 90% of community health workers are female. They are vulnerable to the infection and risking their lives during this pandemic. 

Maternal health service was disrupted immediately following the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in Bangladesh. 

Many hospitals have been turned into Covid-19 care centres. As a result, women are facing many troubles to get access to antenatal and postnatal care. 

All forms of institutional delivery (normal delivery, active management of the third stage of labor (AMTSL), and c-section) were 15% and 20% lower in April 2020, following the lockdown, compared to April 2019. 

Lower access to maternal health care services will lead to a long-term negative impact. There will be a risk of increasing maternal and infant mortality as well. 

Not only that, because of the Covid-19 lockdown, there is an adverse effect on the supply chain of contraceptives in many countries, which is leading to many unwanted pregnancies. 

An unmet need for sexual and reproductive health care is increasing day by day. Women have to endure these problems silently as talking about sexual and reproductive health care is considered taboo in many countries.

Not only physically, but also mentally women are suffering due to the Covid-19 situation. During the lockdown, women and girls faced domestic and sexual violence, they suffered from mental illnesses too. There was news of a suicides as well. 

Many working women are staying at home and they have to carry out both personal and professional work at the same time which is doubling or tripling their burden. 

As a Women and Gender Studies student, I have seen many garment workers and household maids being tortured by their spouses or in-laws just because they are not getting a salary due to the lockdown. 

These stories are not coming out. They are struggling with economic hardship and at the same time, their safety is being compromised.    

Any pandemic leads to a chaotic situation but it is undeniable that women as a group have to go through additional burdens that policy makers mostly ignore.  

As mentioned earlier, Covid-19 is making women's access to sexual and reproductive health care more difficult. 

Government and non-governmental organisations need to take more steps to ensure women's sexual and reproductive health security during  Covid-19. 

I think the time has come when women should be aware of their sexual and reproductive health care needs and talk about them openly to get help. 

At the same time, they need to speak up to resist any kind of physical or mental violence against them.      

Subata Riya is a student of Women and Gender Studies at the University of Dhaka

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard