1st study on women’s rights during spread of pandemic

KUWAIT CITY, June 14: A recent study revealed that women working in medical facilities are more vulnerable to coronavirus infection and causing their families to be infected, since the study stated that (83 %) of the infected women caused their family members to contract the virus.

The study released by the Kuwait Society for Human Rights (KSHR) in cooperation with the U.S. Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is the first study on the women’s rights in the State of Kuwait during the spread of epidemics, and it includes the situations of women of all age groups; from the age group of 18 years and above.

The study also stated that the social conditions which accompanied the spread of Covid-19 for the sample respondents imposed on women to stay at home for more time, bear the burden of caring for children and elder, having more household tasks and works, in addition to the quarantine and deprivation of social interaction. Such factors have lead violence to take different forms in the midst of Covid-19, whereby the emotional violence came in the first place; including the psychological abuse at (25 %), then the economic, verbal and physical violence, and it further stated that violence is considered one of the inequality’s manifestations in the relationship between both genders and a tool for practicing power and control. Of course, violence rates rise in emergencies, including the epidemic outbreaks.

The study, which was released as one of the activities of the integration project for the promotion of gender equality, aimed at identifying the level of health awareness of Corona pandemic’s risks, together with the availability of the adequate requirements of protection and prevention for women in Kuwait. It also attempted to reveal the social conditions that women experienced during the spread of the Corona epidemic.

At the same time when the study identified the protection and prevention measures at homes, places of study and work, and the measures taken by those who are concerned with women, it also identified women’s fears and expectations from the spread of the corona epidemic, stating that there is an increase in the level of psychological anxiety in the study sample at 68 % of the study sample, together with the concern of being vulnerable to the virus at 59 %, while the concerns of female employees and students about losing their jobs and study have appeared at 53 %, and this is of course reflects on the female employees’ fears of losing their wages.

The study can be found by clicking on the following link: Arabic: https://kuwaithr.org/news/society-news/item/dow nload/38_82fbcb9a275bcd7a674e7e0e677f4e30.html

English: https://kuwaithr.org/news/society-news/item/do wnload/39_88a748dfd8aa0436dc2dcefa4a11f1aa.htmlorg/ news/society-news/item/download/39_88a748dfd8aa0436dc 2dcefa4a11f1aa.html