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.
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.
Today women strive daily to pave their way into equality while bearing systemic barriers and disadvantages. Women’s career advancement has not always been a given, it is something we battled fiercely to achieve. And still, despite many battles and victory, women suffer from injustices in the workplace.
When Lebanon’s anti-government revolution kicked off on October 17, women carved out their own spaces in the protests that swept across the country. They demanded an end to corruption and sectarian politics, cried out against the deteriorating living standards and financial crisis, and rallied against the patriarchal system that renders them secondary citizens by all standards.
On the night of October 17, 2019, people went down to the streets in Lebanon. We all had a similar feeling, not sure what it was, but it definitely included anger. Thus started the revolution in Lebanon. People went down the streets full of hope, everyone thought: this is it. It’s happening. At first, it was full of adrenaline, no one knew what was going on but we knew we had to stand our ground. Shortly after the first night, after the violence and tear gas, people noticed what kind of police state we live in and the amount of hate built up over the decades for this government, I realized this was going to take time. Time, energy, and sacrifices.