A toast to good health!

INTRODUCTION The Government of India announced the nationwide lockdown in March 2020 in order to contain COVID-19.  The lockdown had a devastating impact on the nation’s economy, gross domestic product contracted by 23.9% year on year in the first quarter of 2020-21 forcing a large section of the population to shut down their businesses, migrant workers had to walk hundreds of kilometres by foot (which also resulted in the death of many due to exertion, shortage of drinking water and the extremely hot weather) in order to reach their villages. The pandemic impacted the livelihoods of people across India but what wasn't discussed at large was the impact it had on women.    WOMEN’S UNEMPLOYMENT AND INCREASE IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE According to a study, women's employment is 19% more at risk than men and the gender poverty gap is expected to worsen well into 2030. The previous epidemics like Ebola(2014-16), Zika (2016) suggests that women who lost their jobs due to outbreak of such d