Gender Inequalities and COVID-19: an International Women's Day Special

2020 marked the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most progressive blueprint on women’s rights adopted by countries and was intended to be a ground-breaking year for gender equality. Instead, as COVID-19 continues to rage and ravage our communities, the hard-won gains made in the past decades are at risk of being rolled back. How have women been hit by the pandemic? Which groups of women are the most at risk/vulnerable? How is the impact different for rural and urban women? How should countries frame gender-sensitive policies to mitigate the impact? What is the way ahead for women? To unpack these questions and more, our host, Sruthi Palaniappan is joined by Amanda Sadalla, a consultant for UNICEF Brazil on fighting and preventing violence against women and girls. To explore this discussion further our correspondent, Mayra Gramani engages with Marina Ganzarolli, a Brazilian lawyer who specialises in Women’s Rights and Diversity and is the creator of the “Me Too Brazil” movement. In addition, to offering an expert glimpse on the impact of the pandemic on women in South Asia, our correspondent, Nandita Venkatesan is joined by Dr Dipa Sinha, who is an Assistant Professor at Ambedkar University in India and a regular contributor on social justice issues, women’s rights and food security.  The executive producer for this season of OPP is Lian Ryan-Hume. This episode was researched and produced by Nandita Venkatesan and Mayra Gramani. And this episode was edited by Allisha Azlan, Lian Ryan-Hume and Sruthi Palaniappan. To keep up with the latest on our episodes, follow us on Instagram @OxfordPolicyPod_ and Twitter @OxfordPolicyPod.