7.7. COVID-19 Further Endangering Women in Crisis Zones

Women face distinctive challenges. In Tanzania and Zambia, for instance, where presidential and legislative elections were held in October 2020 and general elections will be held in August 2021, respectively, large social gatherings are not allowed, which makes it harder for women candidates to campaign.96 They thus need to rely on the media for this. However, since in many countries the media is male dominated, women are often not represented in the reporting, especially at the local level.97 Moreover, the elections in Malawi have shown that male leaders have broken rules for political gain and opposition 98

Some women have started using technology like social media and podcasts to develop a stronger presence online.99 Unfortunately, even this resource is scarcer, as men have more access to technology and media. According to UN Women, in sub-Saharan Africa, 24.6% of men compared with 18.4% of women were using the internet in 2017; in North Africa and West Africa the number was 59.5% of men compared with 55.3% of women.100 The Demographic and Health Survey of 2015–2016 in Tanzania showed more men used the internet (only 8% of women compared with 18.7% of men had used the internet within the previous 12 months) and fewer women were exposed to any source of media, be it radio, television or print (46.1% of women do not have access compared with 32.1% of men, with higher proportions in rural areas).101 In other words, both the woman candidate and the woman voter suffer from a disadvantage – in informing voters or being an informed voter.

Moreover, some female opposition politicians have been physically threatened. A female member of parliament from the opposition party and two female activists, all leaders of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe, were abducted in May 2020 while protesting shortcomings in government measures for the indigent during the country’s COVID-19 lockdown and assaulted by whom they allege were state agents.102

The situation of internally displaced women and female refugees is especially precarious as their host countries face the burden of addressing COVID-19.103 As a result of COVID-19 restrictions, the rights of girls and women refugees are affected in the area of movement, personal security, health, economic sustenance and social protection, and they are more vulnerable to SGBV in such circumstances. Observers note that service delivery disruptions arising because of the COVID-19 pandemic decrease women’s access to essential SHRH products and services, including contraceptives, counselling, maternal and newborn health services and treatment for HIV and sexually transmitted infections.104

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a ceasefire during the pandemic on 23 March 2020, a plea echoed by the chair of the African Union Commission (AUC) on 27 March 2020.105 The AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security urged states to uphold the commitments made under UNSCR 1325 to protect women against violence.106 She amplified the AUC chair’s call for warring parties in Africa to cease violence to allow Member States and other actors to combat the pandemic. For example, COVID-19 in part affected the timely implementation of the peace agreement milestones in South Sudan.107

Forty-seven countries of the AU were among the 170 signatories of the UN global ceasefire appeal and nine countries (Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Libya, Niger, Senegal, Sudan, South Sudan) joined the call for a ceasefire, but not all governments actually brokered a peace agreement and, in the case of Libya, an increase in violence was observed.108 Despite 139 CSOs asking for a ceasefire, no formal agreement has yet been concluded in DR Congo.109 Since the country is also dealing with an Ebola outbreak, this has especially dire consequences for the women in the region, who are largely among the informal workers and form the majority of the 5 million displaced people. 110 In Burkina Faso, 1 million people have been displaced as a result of violence while the country is battling not only the pandemic but also drought provoked by climate change.111 People’s inability to harvest because their crops are not growing owing to lack of water or because of the displacement means that as much as 10% of the population do not have enough food.112