Abstract
The crisis befalling women during COVID-19 in India is of seismic proportions affecting 620 million women from diverse sociocultural, religious and caste backgrounds and who are bound by deep-rooted patriarchy. The pandemic’s devastating effects are unfolding in menacing ways and affecting almost every domain of women’s’ lives to an almost irreparable extent—mental and physical health, income and livelihood, education and career, kinship and childcare, roles and status in society. The present study uses the qualitative method phenomenology, interviewing 12 Indian women on their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has affected their lives at home and work. The accounts of these women are then explained and discussed through the lens of feminist movements and related literature of India, juxtaposing their voices with experiences surrounding women of this country during the pandemic. The findings have been subjected to phenomenological analysis which brought out issues related to women’s backbreaking domestic work, mental and physical abuse, effects of patriarchy on their lives, social isolation and poverty.
The COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented disaster for all across the world, continues to cause a health and humanitarian crisis of epic proportions and where no day passes without people succumbing to it. The entire world suffers incalculable loss and life-altering experiences that will scar humans for life.
While this is generally true in cases of past pandemics (WHO, 2019), the current pandemic has disproportionately impacted women more than men. With already existing gender inequalities in education, job opportunities, and healthcare, women are more likely to bear the effects of economic insecurity and diminished access to essential health services (Boniol et al., 2019; Kapoor et al., 2019). The power dynamics increase their vulnerabilities during a crisis implying that pandemics are not gender-neutral (Simba & Ngcobo, 2020). For women, lockdowns on female-dominated industries and increased engagement in unpaid and domestic work, social distancing, the caregiving role of women have increased considerably, often at the expense of their own physical and mental health (Alon et al., 2020; Gausman & Langer, 2020). It threatens to deter women from engaging in paid work (Wenham et al., 2020) and hence lead to decreased academic and professional productivity (Viglione, 2020). According to Chauhan (2020), among women, marital status and employment status were seen as key determinants of women’s burden of unpaid work with married and unemployed women, spending the highest time. Studies also reflect gender differences in job performance and job satisfaction with couples working from home (Boneva et al., 2020; Feng & Savani, 2020). It is therefore true that though ‘the pandemic is not gendered, the human response to it is’ (Anand & Nanda, 2020).
Personal and environmental cleanliness during the pandemic made water an increasingly precious commodity for low-income households in India. Because water and toilet sources being outside their premises, the primary responsibility for water collection for household and community sanitation falls on women and girls. Faced with an exponential rise in demand for water during the pandemic, rural and poor women have been increasingly exposed to the virus by queuing up for hours and having to walk long distances more frequently to procure it (UN Women, 2020). Wutich et al. (2020) provide a comprehensive analysis of how cultural responsibilities on women and girls to provide water and clean homes during COVID-19 are likely to facilitate the growing relationship between water insecurity and poor mental health.
The severe economic impact of the pandemic in India has led to (a) an increase in poverty, that is, pushing more people below the poverty line, (b) worsening of socio-economic inequalities affecting health and nutrition indices, and (c) compromise in health-related precautions (Anser et al., 2020; Gopalan & Mishra, 2020). A study by Lahoti et al. (2020) through phone interviews across approximately 5,000 households spanning 12 Indian states found 77% of households consuming less food than before and 66% losing employment. The World Food Programme (2020) predicted a doubling of people likely to face a food crisis and warned of a hunger pandemic, especially for women and girls who bear the responsibility of feeding the family and are likely to sacrifice the food that is available for their children and families by eating less and eating last, resulting in malnutrition and increasing susceptibility to disease (CARE, 2020).
Beyond being an economic and health crisis, COVID-19 has escalated into a social nightmare for women. Gopal et al. (2020) found that women demonstrated a greater increase in stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms during the lockdown which they attribute to an increased household burden, limited time for themselves, social isolation, restrictions on physical mobility and increased exposure to domestic violence (DV). The sexual and reproductive health rights of women have been violated during the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in increasing levels of unplanned pregnancies resulting from prolonged homestays, lack in production and access of contraceptive commodities, and financial difficulties in purchasing condoms or contraceptive pills. Many women with unwanted pregnancies have been denied medical and surgical options of abortion since there is a debate if abortion should be considered as an essential health service during the pandemic (Sharma et al., 2020; Vora et al., 2020).
The pandemic has witnessed a dramatic surge in violence against girls and women globally and in India, resulting in the United Nations calling it a ‘shadow pandemic’ (UN Women, 2020). Research also indicates women to be at a greater risk of violence and abuse during pandemics due to forcing women to be in close proximity with their abusers (Chandan et al., 2020) during the lockdown and isolation policies in many countries. Also, the prevalence of DV has been associated with disadvantaged socio-economic, demographic and contextual characteristics (Martin et al. 1999; Panda & Agarwal, 2005). For example, withholding food is a documented form of abuse in Indian households that correlates with an increase in poor nutritional outcomes (Raj et al., 2006), and gender-based violence due to substance abuse in Indian households have escalated mental health issues like stress and anxiety related to isolation and economic instability (Krishnan et al., 2020).
Feminism and literature are perhaps the closest vocal canons representing women’s issues. Despite major gains over the last century, gender inequality is still widespread, and hence feminism remains relevant (Swirsky & Angelone, 2015) in modern-day discourse. Bhasin and Khan (1986) define feminism in India as an awareness of women’s oppression and exploitation in society, at work and within the family, and conscious action to change this situation.
Indian feminism from the mid-nineteenth century to the present has sought to address issues of inequalities and rights in the domain of education, home, marriage, inheritance, workforce and politics. Unlike the feminist movements of the west, the first phase of feminism in India was initiated by men and later joined by women. For example, Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833) crusaded against sati (widow immolation), polygamy and child marriage and fought for education and property inheritance rights of women. Dwarakanath Ganguly (1844–1898) a social reformer whose weekly journal Abalabandhab (the friend of ‘the weaker sex’) has been noted as the first journal in the world devoted solely to the liberation of women by Kopf (1979), and Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–1891) was the most prominent campaigner for widow remarriage and education for girls.
Women’s participation in India’s independence struggle in the mid-twentieth century led to awareness about their role and rights which resulted in the introduction of civic rights of women in the Indian constitution and greater autonomy through independent women’s organizations. Post-independence feminists began crusades for equality of women in the workforce and challenged wage inequalities. Presently, the Indian feminist movement looks beyond women as useful members of society and advocates empowerment towards personal decisions and the right to self-determination.
Savitribai Phule (1831–1897), an Indian social reformer, educationalist and poet regarded as the mother of Indian feminism, played a vital role in improving women’s rights in India, fighting for the abolishment of discrimination based on caste and gender. Feminist activists Tarabai Shinde (1850–1910) protested against patriarchy and caste and Kamini Roy (1864–1933) fought for women’s suffrage. Sarala Devi Chaudhurani (1872–1945) founded the first women’s organization in India towards promoting female education, and political activist, suffragist, freedom fighter and poetess Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949) worked for women’s emancipation, equal rights and encouraged more women to join the freedom struggle. Vina Mazumdar (1927–2013) along with other post-independence feminists like economist and writer Devaki Jain (born in 1933), writer Sudesh Vaid (born in 1940), historian and film-maker Uma Chakravarti (born in 1941) and academician Madhu Kishwar (born in 1951) were trailblazers in women’s studies who combined activism with scholarly research by raising awareness of gender inequalities and other forms of injustices through ground activism and strengthening women’s movements in India.
This article attempts to address the central question of how women in India have suffered and coped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authors focus on culturally-rooted experiences of women through their voices along with their perceptions of the sufferings of other women. Corollaries stemming from the central question asked:
What vital issues are Indian women having to confront and adjust to during the pandemic under an overarching culture of inequality, justice and hardened societal patriarchy? Referring to Indian feminist movements and literature, how has women’s emancipation helped Indian women during the pandemic on their experiences relating to money, family, health, profession and status?
Method
The study uses the qualitative research design of phenomenology (Creswell et al., 2007) gathering data through interviews which provide an insight into the issue through multiple participants leading to the understanding of the trials and tribulations faced by the women during the COVID-19 pandemic. The design allows the researchers to describe and understand the effects of the pandemic in the own words of the women participants.
As suggested by Yin (2003), the authors of this study have adopted the replication logic, designating similar procedures to the participants. While this study does not intend to generalize the issues and problems confronted by women, the researchers here with the method of phenomenology try to also promote an understanding of a summarized view about their concerns through juxtaposed voices of other women in their lives instead of their voices only.
Study Participants
The selection process of the participants was purposive to include a sample of 12 women who were likely to provide relevant perspectives on the subject of the article and representing two states of India (West Bengal and Maharashtra). The 12 participants were aged between 25 and 60 years; 11 were married women and one unmarried; eight were engaged in paid work, three were unpaid domestic workers, and one was a student; eight belonged to upper and middle socio-economic classes while the remaining four were from either lower-middle or lower socio-economic levels. Six belonged to nuclear families, four from joint families ( living with close relatives under one roof) and the remaining two from extended nuclear families (living with some seniors).
Participant Recruitment
The participants after being identified from the desired demographics were first contacted over the telephone. Considering the time and pandemic-related accessibility constraints, a sample size of 10 participants was agreed upon by the researchers. After approaching 21 women, 13 agreed but eventually one dropped out due to personal issues. After two telephone conversations, consent was taken from the participants (verbally and through a well-articulated online consent form). The purpose and procedure of the study were then explained during the first conversation. The second conversation focused on estimating the readiness levels of participants and addressing their concerns. Both these conversations helped in ice-breaking and enabling comfort in responding to the questions during the interview.
An ethical committee approved the procedures undertaken in the study. Assurance of complete confidentiality was provided to participants mentioning that while quoting their concerns the research article would under no circumstances reveal their identities. Respondents were given unconditional rights to discontinue the interview if they were either uncomfortable or unhappy with the questions asked.
Data Collection
The data collection occurred in November and December 2020, to avoid gross variations due to further effects of the pandemic and keep uniformity. A total of 9 out of 12 participants were acquaintances of the researchers while the remaining 3 were referrals fulfilling the conditions of the desired sample.
With both researchers being psychologists, women and interested in gender issues, this study was undertaken with a considerable level of passion, yet treated with objectivity. Their understanding of the problem and the extent of asking structured predesigned questions were finalized before they interviewed different sets of participants individually. Though the interviews were open-ended and flexible, researchers had pre-decided a fixed questioning protocol that allowed directing their questions for further probing. This was followed judiciously by both researchers thus assuring optimum unanimity in recording and reporting responses. Questions focused on issues faced by the participants during the pandemic including their and their families’ physical and mental health, challenges they faced and compromises they had to make during the pandemic, and their perception of sufferings of other women and support needed by them in the society. The interview questions were formed considering the important aspects from the literature review that were relevant to the purpose of the study. The questions were originally framed in English and translated into the native languages for the four participants who were not well-versed with English. These four interviews were conducted in the native language while all others were in English.
The participants were requested to meet the interviewer on the given date and time. Video conferencing links were sent to 10 women and data from two others who were poor, were collected face-to-face and by telephone, respectively. The in-depth interviews were held for 35 to 60 minutes, with an average interview time of 45 minutes. It was ascertained that no one other than the participant and the interviewer was present during the interview. It was examined that the participants remained engaged, attentive and invested during the entire interview period and especially when responding to the interviewer’s probing questions. The interviewers paraphrased their responses and were continuously communicating with respondents to make them feel heard and understood.
The interviews were audio-recorded with the help of the recording option for the video-conferencing and an audio recorder for the face-to-face interviews. The interviews were then transcribed, four interviews were translated to English by the researchers who are well-versed with both the native languages and English. Care was taken that the culturally bounded terms in the native language were appropriately translated without change in meaning since both the native languages and English have matching language systems.
Trustworthiness
The researchers tried to establish trustworthiness of the study as described by Nowell et al. (2017). A consistency was carried out throughout the process of the study—interviewing, transcribing and analysing the data, with an open mind approach (avoiding pre-determined categories of meaning) to the data for the possible meanings. The researchers not only looked for commonalities but also the uniqueness in the experiences for each participant and considering the feminist perspective during interpretation. The reflexivity and credibility of this process were tried to be established by reflective questioning and counter-arguments among the researchers, hence broadening thinking and getting new insights to write the analysis. The possibility for transferability was escalated with the help of purposeful sampling, detailed descriptions of the participants and the lived experiences.
Analysis
The data were analysed as Creswell et al. (2007) described Moustakas’ (1994) approach. The researchers went through the translated transcripts thoroughly and underlined statements made by the participants and brought out the quotes that provided an understanding of the participants ’ lived experiences during the pandemic and their perception of the lived experiences of others. These statements were then put under broader themes which were formed by looking at the experiences communicated by the participants. The researchers went back and forth through the transcripts and the themes to check if any idea was being missed out.
The broad themes identified for inquiry and discussion were grouped as follows: (a) the wrath of poverty, (b) roles women play, their freedom and space, (c) inequality, loss of identity and esteem, (d) the wounds of DV, and (e) stress and mental illness.
Findings and Discussion
Despite decades of political, social and literary movements towards the empowerment of women, many issues continue to plague women even today. In this section, authors seek to connect the problems of Indian women over decades with the modern-day woman’s perspective during the pandemic. Discussion on study findings is classified into themes with a broader perspective of India’s struggle for the empowerment of women. While the authors are aware that issues of inequality and discrimination women face are systemic and not restricted to global isolated events like the COVID-19 pandemic, the starkness of the extent of inequality and injustice becomes more apparent during such a crisis. Responses of the 12 Indian women in the study further validates this notion. As one participant said, ‘the lockdown was one of the most startling moments in everyone’s lives…altogether a different experience’.
The Wrath of Poverty
A quote by Mother Teresa, a canonized Roman Catholic nun who worked for the poor in India says, ‘When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed’. Indian Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen (1999) denotes poverty as unfreedom (a term used by him instead of lack of freedom) of political rights and choice, vulnerability to coercive relations, and exclusion from economic choices and protections. With a disproportionately high number of daily wage earners from low socio-economic households, who are women, joblessness can leave them little money for even basic food.
The voices of and about women from poverty-stricken families were expressed by respondents of the study via statements such as ‘During lockdown, domestic help went back to her village … no money to pay rent … when she returned, she was unrecognizable … looked like a skeleton…’, ‘society functions on the backs of poor women … especially domestic workers … who are unrecognized, legally unprotected … dependent on their employers’ whims … with solely having to rely on their creativity, ingenuity and inner strength to stay above water…’.
Though the Indian society greatly relies on these poor women as domestic workers, they were left with no jobs due to movement restrictions and lockdown leading to acute impoverishment. Through this study, respondents confirmed the ramifications of the pandemic on poor families, especially women supporting Anser et al.’s (2020) claim that poverty made it extremely difficult for them to cope with issues of hunger and health. Due to prevailing patriarchy which only got worse during the pandemic, poor women in India suffered from hunger and malnutrition to a much greater extent than poor Indian men.
Roles Women Play, Their Freedom and Space
Eminent Indian writer and social activist for marginalized communities, Mahesweta Devi (2004), exposes how traditional deification of motherhood in India often conceals collective exploitation and attempts to restrict women to their socially prescribed roles while denying them the right to articulate their individual needs and desires. The gender role theory (Bem, 1974) posits that society defines family roles as central to women’s identity but not for men. As India’s only woman Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) said, ‘To be liberated, a woman must feel free to be herself, not in rivalry to a man but in the context of her own capacity and her personality’.
Floodgates opened for participants while talking about how the pandemic had encroached upon their already narrow freedoms and spaces. They expressed themselves stating, ‘An entire world has been lost by women during the lockdown, their privacy…their freedom…cannot even talk with friends…feel like being spied under a camera’, ‘Indian women talking about compromises they make? Never!’. In a moment of agitation, one respondent exclaimed, ‘I am facing intense pressure from relatives to get married,… this interference makes me angry, crushing my confidence to think independently…’, ‘…how taken for granted women are…how little voice they have…neglect of women is normalized in our society’.
While women suffer inequalities across several issues, they seem to take considerable pride in being responsible for their families’ wellbeing, expressed through statements like ‘my friend gave up her well-paying job to take care of her young children…I know she is unhappy…’, ‘My sister-in-law, a working woman, strongly believes household responsibilities are exclusively hers and hence faces a lot of physical and emotional issues’. One woman said that when she offered to take up a job to help family income her husband said ‘Why now? We are already suffering’.
The findings clearly pointed towards women being unhappy about losing their freedom and personal space during the pandemic as a result of men staying and working from home, giving them no time and privacy to confabulate about their stresses and strains with other women, further increasing their feelings of isolation. Indian monk Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) said, ‘the idea of perfect womanhood is perfect independence. There is no hope of rise for that family or country where there is no estimation of women, where they live in sadness’.
The present study also clearly brought out the caring and nurturing role of women through prioritizing household and childcare responsibilities over job requirements leading to professional compromises during the pandemic, as reported by Alon et al. (2020) and Boneva et al. (2020). Whether these women desire these roles willingly or are socially and culturally indoctrinated is a complex process that needs careful attention.
Inequality, Loss of Identity and Esteem
According to Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen (1999), gender inequality is not one problem, it’s a collection of problems. Apart from education, several subtle and often interconnected factors continue to cause gender gaps the root of which lies in its patriarchal system which propagates gender inequality in India. Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880–1932), a feminist writer and educator, widely regarded as a pioneer of women’s liberation in South Asia, notes that women’s inferior economic position was mainly due to lack of education.
The extent of inequality that plagues women in almost every aspect of life becomes evident through the women in this study with one saying, ‘…all kinds of inequalities got exacerbated and pronounced during the pandemic…increased work burden of women…men making more demands and not participating’, ‘when familial resources are limited boys always get the benefit’. Feeling the pain of other women, two respondents lamented that ‘a mother of a toddler…otherwise full of energy, struggled with work….just couldn’t cope…was in a very bad shape’, and ‘a widow I know was furloughed for 3 months…finally lost her job…if she were a man, she would not have been thrown out so easily…’. A young woman at the crossroads of life remarked resignedly, ‘Pandemic affected my plans for higher studies…lack of finances…parents want to save money to fund my brother’s graduation…’.
The acknowledgment of an unequal life of women, especially during the pandemic is apparent from the quotes above. They perceived themselves to be victims of unequal and unjust practices in workplace and home, because they were the ‘second sex’, where separate gender boundaries were set in the Indian society (Anand & Nanda, 2020). Women in India in some way or the other become quarries of the patriarchal mindset of society, knowingly or unknowingly and it pervades home, workplace and community. The pandemic has given proof of escalation of such inequalities through the lives and voices of women of the study.
The Wounds of Domestic Violence (DV)
Prolific Indian writer and poet, Amrita Pritam subtly talks about DV as stories that are not on paper but written on the bodies and minds of women (Pritam, 1950). 70 years later, we still find violence against women unabated. Gangoli (2007) analysed and addressed legal campaigns that can make positive changes in women’s lives or legitimize oppressive state patriarchies including DV.
Interestingly, in the present study, we noted a stark silence from participants on the topic of effects of the pandemic on DV on women. Even after repeated reference to DV by the interviewers, they evaded talking about it. They, however, admitted fleetingly about the existence of DV with one participant saying ‘abuse of young women is rampant…extreme trauma…nowhere to escape…’, ‘violence reported less from poor than middle class educated women… could be under-reported…’. According to Radhakrishnan et al. (2020), though complaints of women against their abusers have increased manifold, 86% of those experiencing violence in India generally never seek help and 77% do not mention it. Worried about the effects of the pandemic on the home environment, one respondent said, ‘Men who earlier drank with friends outside home, are now doing so in front of children, misbehaving…getting violent…affecting home environment…letting out their frustrations on women’.
Only one of the 12 respondents, a victim of DV herself, linked alcohol addiction to DV and said,
My husband has beaten me for 20 years…he drinks, then beats, then drinks…no work for 7 years…but now during pandemic, he is not getting alcohol easily, he gets angry and destructive…my son too has started drinking …no job…beats up his father…my daughter is petrified…this is my fate….
Even with restrained responses on DV, the problem of alcohol-related violence during the pandemic is clearly visible as stated by Krishnan et al. (2020) according to whom reduced procurement of alcohol increased the exasperation among the men hence leading to DV.
Stress and Mental Illness
Davar (1998) discusses issues like epidemiology of mental suffering, the causes of mental illness in terms of socio-demography, violence and culturally specific distress behaviours, and the female ‘self’ in Indian women and highlights their mental health issues from both feminism and social science perspectives. The women in our study were very vocal when it came to expressing mental health issues during these despairing times alluding to reasons that contributed to this unenviable situation. More than personal stress, those of the family were more often articulated with statements such as, ‘Due to anxiety, my husband could not have intercourse…caused stress and frustration…I tried calming him…’, ‘during lockdown there was no income…I stressed about it every day’, ‘husband resigned from his job just before the pandemic…still unemployed…stress has shot up…uncertainty remains’. The helplessness of one respondent was evident through her words ‘my mother did not have medicines…no money…got very ill…I was so frightened…who could I go to?’, and another respondent saying, ‘I have lost contact with many during the pandemic…with Covid in my family…social distancing has led to lack of empathy which is worse…’. Positive comments illustrated that having a supportive family, staying calm during the crisis was very helpful during the pandemic. One said, ‘Though my family is orthodox, my husband helped me with household chores, I managed with my office work…made life easier…also practiced meditation and underwent counselling…’.
In the lines of the study by Gopal et al. (2020), this study also showed how worry, stress, anxiety of women during the pandemic centred around conflicts, the burden of household chores and limited contact with people. In the face of the never-ending pandemic, for which they were completely unprepared, women have been the recipients of inequality, diminished resources and abuse. Though for some participants the compromises, minimal contact with close ones, increased household chores led to stress and affected their mental health, they remained resilient and hopeful.
Conclusions
Women are the real heroes of this crisis, even if they are not recognized as such. But curiously, there seems to be a lack of awareness that women are actually shouldering the response to this crisis. Even if they are saving lives, they remain unsung heroes. (Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women)
This study has given a glimpse of the struggles and battles of Indian women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though women in this study were varied and had different life trajectories, they were all connected through a common thread of inequality, abuse and neglect. All across, the experiences and opinions reported by respondents leave no doubt about the fact that women across the world have been greatly impacted by the pandemic, irrespective of age, dwelling, occupation, marital status, socio-economic level and education. The pandemic has been a sort of ‘leveller’ that has exposed the vulnerabilities of this gender across all demographic variables. Collective sociopolitical, gender and class movements along with literary writings across the world, fighting towards better lives for women may have resulted in the emancipation of women, but what we see also, is how far we lag. In the context of India, the problem is even more complex because of its massive diversity and sheer numbers.
Limitations of the study include only three contact sessions with the participants with only one consisting of the interview and though the participants were purposely selected there was no equal representation of women from various socio-economic statuses. Also, the study needed to focus on the educational attainment of these women which would enrich our understanding of their struggles, dilemmas and coping strategies during the pandemic. Further, most of the participants were acquaintances of one or another of the researchers which might have resulted in not revealing or avoiding the topic of DV.
Women, irrespective of age, educational levels, urban–rural dwelling, types of family they live in and socio-economic class they belong to, faced varying levels of difficulties, oppression, inequalities and abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Global issues like work and family gender equality, poverty, education, health, DV and sanitation are at the top of their needs, requirements and aspirations which mirror the Envision 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. These goals are intricately woven together and particularly relevant to developing countries like India and therefore need to be addressed urgently and on a war footing.
Footnotes
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all respondents for their time and support.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.