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View all search resultsCOVID-19 crisis has exacerbated gender inequalities: Activists
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T
he ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia continues to disproportionately affect women, exacerbating gender inequalities that were already present in the country, women’s rights activists say.
The 40 organizations that belong to the Women’s Awakening Alliance have gathered data on women’s experiences nationwide and have found that the health crisis has intensified existing social and economic inequalities between men and women.
“The pandemic has exposed the fault lines on women’s issues in myriad ways,” Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) chairwoman Asfinawati said in a webinar on Sunday.
Health care was one of these fault lines.
Lusi Peilouw, an activist from Ambon, Maluku, said that some pregnant women had to pay more for maternal health care because hospitals required patients to undergo COVID-19 swab and rapid tests.
“Some women were even denied labor and delivery services by the hospital because their rapid test results came back positive,” she added.
The government’s response to the pandemic has also brought unintended consequences for women.
