Contributed by Yusuf

In the first three parts of this series I talked about the impact of the coronavirus on the livelihoods, healthcare and education of the urban poor. In this situation, as in so many other crises that affect the poor, it is often women and girls who bear the biggest burdens. This final part looks at the gendered impacts of this crisis.

Increased gender disadvantage

“What is that?” I ask my friend Shabnam* in horror, pointing to the scars on her wrist. My heart already knows the answer, though, and her words only confirm it: newly married a month ago at the age of 15, she has started to self-harm.

In the slum I work, I personally know four girls aged under 18 whose parents have tried to marry them off in the past 6 months. As has been documented in many countries, the economic hardships of lockdown, plus school closures, have led to numerous young girls being married prematurely. In India, another factor adds fuel to the fire: sensing an opportunity to escape without the huge costs normally associated with a big wedding banquet, many urban poor families have rushed through marriages in lockdown so as to have an excuse not to invite all the relatives. The years to come will undoubtedly see many hastily arranged marriages fail, with tremendous social fallout.

As if child marriages weren’t bad enough, domestic violence has spiked under lockdown, as people remain confined in tight spaces together and economic tensions run high. Even as we have entered phases of Unlock, domestic violence remains highly prevalent in urban poor communities.

Policy suggestions

1. Increase resource allocation for NGOs and government agencies working to prevent child marriages and domestic violence.

2. Consider cash transfers to teenage girls, conditional on remaining unmarried.

Conclusion

The coronavirus pandemic, and government responses to it, have had severe and long-term impacts on the livelihood, health, education and gender relationships of the urban poor. Even as the country gradually unlocks, hundreds of millions of people continue to be deprived of basic rights. It is the responsibility of the state, and of civil society, to understand and empathise with the unprecedented difficulties the poor are facing, and to take compassionate, clear-eyed and coordinated action to address this calamity.

* Names changed for privacy.

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