It is not an understatement to say that COVID-19 has taken the world by a storm. The global spread of the pandemic and susequent official responses have unearthed gendered socio-economic disparities which are chronic and yet overlooked.
Long before COVID-19 exposed the vulnerabilities of health sectors worldwide, nurses in Lebanon persevered through less than ideal circumstances for years with issues such as abuse, discrimination, and underpayment. Even though these issues have been repeatedly raised to the Order of Nurses, no significant development came to be. These issues, coupled with the current pandemic, could potentially turn this shortage into a national crisis.
I don’t know how we could have survived without frontliners. I don’t know how many people in this city knew the schedule of their street cleaners before the quarantine. I had never before seen his face, I still don’t know anything about him, but he is the reason why I open the door and step out everyday without having to worry about our streets being clean. Suddenly, our morning routine went from rushing out of the house – to get to a meeting, being late to a date, not wanting to miss this movie, and needing to see that friend – to a realization that we would never survive without him and other frontliners.
It’s normal not to feel OK in those times of Corona. We are coping with immense change that has forced us out of our comfort zone and established routines. Our worlds are now characterized by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity، and Ambiguity or simply said VUCA. Our days and lives have become unpredictable. Things keep changing forcing us to be in constant readjustment. We are operating in the dark without total understanding of the situation. Our financial security is at risk while we are fearful of getting the virus and loosing loved ones. This new reality is quite unsettling, impacting our health and well-being.
Food security, as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization, means that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life. Food insecurity, on the other hand, is a severe public health concern affecting approximately 2 billion people in the world .It is primarily concentrated in low- and middle-income countries particularly in MENA -the Middle East and North Africa region -with 11.8% experiencing severe food insecurity.
Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early March of this year, the Jordanian government took strict measures, remarkably controlling the virus for months and limiting its spread. It meant imposing the Defence Law’s orders, applying a full curfew for weeks, then allowing some movement under strict and firm controls. The most crucial government decision to stop the pandemic involved the closure of Jordanian educational institutions, the suspension of flights, and shutting down border crossings.
Written by Ansam Al Tammam and translated by Ghassan Makarem Salma Ahmad, a 24-year-old graphic designer, 1 graphic designer, quit her job without mentioning the reasons. But that was the only way for her to put an end to her manager’s harassment. “I kept trying to avoid him and being with him in the same […]
Working women remain a controversy in the region, where experts ranging from psychologists to religious leaders can be heard on television and radio shows, attempting to justify, defend or condemn the presence of women in the workforce. Not having the lived experience of a woman in the Arab World is not uncommon among the invited public figures. Yet, whether with or against, they seem to be trusted with the “analysis” of a woman’s psyche, anatomy and “nature”, and these mechanisms’ “compatibility” with what it takes to get a job and sustain one.
As the world economy struggles to stay afloat amidst complications associated with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, economists are forced to revisit withstanding economic systems that govern our lives. This unforeseen hit to the global economy has only further proven how current policies and practices fail to adequately cater for the vulnerable and the marginalized; bringing to broad daylight persisting class and gender struggles.
Self-care is the new empowerment: a woman taking responsibility to care for her body, mind and soul. In times of stress and uncertainty, we easily neglect our needs as we attempt to take charge of pressing matters and end up becoming depleted. Practicing self-care on a regular basis builds the vitality, focus and clarity that are needed to manage challenging times.