Empowering Women in India at Every Stage of Life

We are continually focused on empowering women and girls at every stage of their lives and supporting their holistic well-being and this work is now more important than ever, as the status and opportunities of women and girls in India is under threat of reverting back several decades’ worth of progress, to a time before their voices were heard, their potential was recognized, and their contributions to society were valued. They are facing a much less familiar road ahead, one we must and cannot let them face alone. 

In the rural villages of India, as with the poor in other parts of the country, it's the men who have lost their jobs. Many women have had to find a way to earn a living to support the family financially while also managing the household, cooking meals, and supporting children and elders. But this isn’t even the full price of the pandemic that women have had to pay. The amount of abuse—physical, emotional, mental, financial—has been unprecedented. Women are putting their lives on the line to support their family. Many have even been eating less at the sacrifice of their own health, so their families do not go hungry - putting themselves even more at risk of becoming ill from COVID-19.

In order to combat these inequities the women are facing, we are providing relief to rural villages for COVID, specifically with a focus on uplifting women and girls throughout the pandemic, and setting them up for long-term success once this crisis has abated.

We are currently providing many resources that impact women and girls in rural India including:

• Providing much needed home-supplies to assist women as they care for their loved ones who are COVID positive by distributing COVID medical kits (thermometers, sanitizer, oximeter, PPE kits, and vitamins), and family hygiene kits to keep those isolated at home safe.
• Providing consistent access to MHM supplies during the shutdown by distributing more than 500,000 sanitary napkins for free to hospitals, COVID care centers, and directly to women in need.
• Assisting women to feed their families through the provision of more than 5,000 Food Rations that can feed a family for a month.
• Lifting the burden off of women in rural villages who are caring for their sick family members and whose families do not have the option of isolating elsewhere, through the implementation of 6 isolation and relief centers open with beds, food, medical supplies, rapid testing, sanitary napkins, medical screenings, and comfort for isolation and pre critical stage patients. We are on our way to having 10 centers. By moving into isolation centers, the responsibilities of caring for sick individuals is removed from the women who are also managing the full responsibility of caring for their families and homes each day. 
• Helping the women who are left to manage their homes and families after a loved one passes away through our COVID Support Hotline to seek guidance and support on getting aid, food, financial support, etc.

Links:

• Desai Foundation COVID Response