Thread by @monaeltahawy

5 ways that women in Asia (can apply globally) are bearing the brunt of the upheaval around #coronavirus h/t @heatherbarr1

1. School closures
2. Domestic violence
3. Frontline care workers
4. Migrant domestic helpers
5. Longer term economic impact

bbc.com/news/world-asi…

1. School closure

"Having schools closed does not help stop the virus entirely from spreading. It only increases burdens of working mothers," #coronavirus

2. Domestic violence

“With millions of people in #China spending time indoors, rights activists say there have been increasing instances of domestic violence.” #cornoravirus

3. Frontline care workers

Women form 70% of workers in the health and social sector, according to the WHO.

“Chinese media has been promoting stories praising the "saintliness" and "warrior-like" nature of women working on the frontline as nurses. But what is the reality?

4. Migrant domestic helpers

An estimated 400,000 women work as domestic staff in Hong Kong, most of them coming from the Philippines and Indonesia. They are growing increasingly anxious about not only their precarious work status, but also ability to find protective items.

5. Longer term economic impact

“low income women are particularly affected by the slowdown in consumption as they tend to be employed in hospitality, retail or other service industries." #coronavirus

"Crisis always exacerbates gender inequality," says Maria Holtsberg, humanitarian and disaster risk advisor at UN Women Asia and Pacific.

All the above will be relevant for other parts of the world where #Coronavirus is spreading - #Italy, #France, #USA, #UK, #Egypt, #Iran etc

It’s imperative to understand and to clearly see that all the above applies across the world, wherever there is upheaval around the spread of #CoronavirusPandemic is. It is not specific nor exclusive to Asia. “Crisis always exacerbates gender inequality”: remember that.