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India has undoubtedly woken up to the spirit of humanity as evidenced by an entire civil army of Corona warriors, who are helping the medical fraternity and administration rein in the spiral. What is unprecedented, though, is the extent of participation of women around the country in the fight against the virus. First at the frontline are nurses and care givers, who are separated from their families while handling the epidemic, contracting the infection and yet discharging their duties. Then there are three women constables from Delhi’s Greater Kailash Police station, who are working tirelessly with a sewing machine to stitch cloth masks for the poor who are unable to afford them. Not only are they stitching them, they are sanitising the finished products by soaking them in a solution of water and sodium hypochlorite, before ironing them and distributing the masks to labourers and those living in slum clusters. Together, the trio of (s)heroes in uniform has made and distributed around 200 masks. Some women volunteers in distant towns are donning protective suits to help the police enforce the lockdown and social distancing protocols. Everyone knows about Minal Bhosale, a virologist from Pune, who created the first Indian testing kit for the virus and gave birth to a daughter the day after she finished it. Internationally, too, the contribution of women in this fight against the virus is noteworthy. There are teams of women scientists who are working round-the-clock in the race for a vaccine. Rebecca Sirull was the first human to sign up for a vaccine trial. Turning oneself into a guinea pig needs some courage, more so if one has dependents. But Rebecca took that risk, ignoring side effects. In China’s Wuhan district, female medics shaved their heads so that they could perform better and in an efficient manner, preventing the spread of the virus which thrives in hair. These are just a few examples of courage and dedication.

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The lockdown has created a tougher situation for women working professionals. With the call for social distancing, families are now holed up together 24x7 and must attempt to carry on with their professional lives while assuming household duties as well. Women now have to work from home as well as work for their homes. With an inherent sexism still latent in many households, most women aren’t lucky enough to have progressive and supportive partners who would readily extend a helping hand and share the workload. In the medical community, too, women have turned out to be more resilient to the impact of the virus and research is showing that more men succumb to it than women because of their inherent immunity and strength. Time the world recognises that there is nothing called gendered roles anymore.

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(Courtesy: The Pioneer)

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India has undoubtedly woken up to the spirit of humanity as evidenced by an entire civil army of Corona warriors, who are helping the medical fraternity and administration rein in the spiral. What is unprecedented, though, is the extent of participation of women around the country in the fight against the virus. First at the frontline are nurses and care givers, who are separated from their families while handling the epidemic, contracting the infection and yet discharging their duties. Then there are three women constables from Delhi’s Greater Kailash Police station, who are working tirelessly with a sewing machine to stitch cloth masks for the poor who are unable to afford them. Not only are they stitching them, they are sanitising the finished products by soaking them in a solution of water and sodium hypochlorite, before ironing them and distributing the masks to labourers and those living in slum clusters. Together, the trio of (s)heroes in uniform has made and distributed around 200 masks. Some women volunteers in distant towns are donning protective suits to help the police enforce the lockdown and social distancing protocols. Everyone knows about Minal Bhosale, a virologist from Pune, who created the first Indian testing kit for the virus and gave birth to a daughter the day after she finished it. Internationally, too, the contribution of women in this fight against the virus is noteworthy. There are teams of women scientists who are working round-the-clock in the race for a vaccine. Rebecca Sirull was the first human to sign up for a vaccine trial. Turning oneself into a guinea pig needs some courage, more so if one has dependents. But Rebecca took that risk, ignoring side effects. In China’s Wuhan district, female medics shaved their heads so that they could perform better and in an efficient manner, preventing the spread of the virus which thrives in hair. These are just a few examples of courage and dedication.

The lockdown has created a tougher situation for women working professionals. With the call for social distancing, families are now holed up together 24x7 and must attempt to carry on with their professional lives while assuming household duties as well. Women now have to work from home as well as work for their homes. With an inherent sexism still latent in many households, most women aren’t lucky enough to have progressive and supportive partners who would readily extend a helping hand and share the workload. In the medical community, too, women have turned out to be more resilient to the impact of the virus and research is showing that more men succumb to it than women because of their inherent immunity and strength. Time the world recognises that there is nothing called gendered roles anymore.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)