For Arab Women and Girls, the Crisis Is Just Beginning

Article originally published by Reader Supported News

he current pandemic has had an unprecedented global impact – we are all affected by this collective crisis. And yet, the virus and its aftermath will discriminate more strongly against those who were already marginalised, namely women and girls. In the Arab region, where I now work, women were vulnerable before the crisis. And their crisis is just beginning.

I have spent my career as a humanitarian aid worker in insecure environments around the world, supporting women to mitigate the risks they face in those settings – notably as a result of a more hidden global pandemic, violence against women. Everywhere I have worked – from Afghanistan to Mali to Haiti – women and girls suffer more. It does not matter whether this is due to a conflict, a natural disaster or an epidemic.

Already volatile prior to COVID-19 due to socioeconomic instabilities and protracted humanitarian crises, the Arab region is uniquely affected by this global pandemic, with more than 62.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

In the Arab region, nearly half of the female population of 84 million is not connected to the Internet nor has access to a mobile phone. This, coupled with alarming literacy rates – approximately 67 percent of women and 81 percent of men – means that women are disproportionately unable to access accurate information about the virus to help them prepare, respond and survive . . .