Di Maria De Paoli
The data shows that in India women have a marginal role in the world of work. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this situation worse: now women have to take after their children that can no longer go to school and, at the same time, they have to take care of the house. Moreover, marriage doesn’t bring benefit to Indian women: there – unlike what happens in Italy – having a husband
forces women not to work. The government has tried to help women improve their condition, but it can do much more: only
11% of central government’s employees are women. The government has imposed some rules to benefit women at work: for example, it regulated the working hours. However, it can be more beneficial to women giving them a salary that can give them independence from their husbands.
Women are waiting for progress and concret results. In the meantime, they are facing up and fighting against all the obstacles that they meet and some of them managed to achieve high goals and assert themselves in different fields. Women should have the same chances as men: mostly during COVID-19 pandemic they are disadvantaged because they have to work from home and simultaneously take after their children that aren’t allowed to go to school. And this covid-related problem isn’t found only in India but in all parts of the world: every family in which young children are used to go to school is affected by the closure of schools and as to reorganize their routine, whether parents continue to work outside the home (and children have to stay alone at home during all school hours), whether they start to work from home (and while they are working, they have to take care of their children). This situation should change even outside the emergency COVID-19. Datas prove the very low number of working Indian women who are justly paid. These datas can’;t be ignored by the government, which should analyze the situation and take serious action. Moreover, the measures of the government should be taken immediately without waiting any more time.
