The legacy of public action and gender-sensitivity of the pandemic response in Kerala State, India

Autor: Mridul Eapen, R. Ramakumar
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
P470 Other Economic Systems: Performance and Prospects
Economics and Econometrics
Economic growth
Gender-responsive policy
Sociology and Political Science
H410 Public Goods
Psychological intervention
Public policy
India
O200 Development Planning and Policy: General
H750 State and Local Government: Health
Education
Welfare
Public Pensions
H530 National Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
O210 Planning Models
Planning Policy
Political science
O53 Asia including Middle East
Pandemic
P480 Other Economic Systems: Political Economy
Legal Institutions
Property Rights
Natural Resources
Energy
Environment
Regional Studies
P000 Economic Systems: General
H510 National Government Expenditures and Health
Government
Original Paper
H550 Social Security and Public Pensions
Gender sensitivity
H520 National Government Expenditures and Education
I150 Health and Economic Development
I380 Welfare
Well-Being
and Poverty: Government Programs
Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
Mental health
Kerala
Intervention (law)
H840 Disaster Aid
Preparedness
International political economy
I140 Health and Inequality
Covid-19
Finance
Zdroj: Economia Politica
ISSN: 1973-820X
1120-2890
Popis: Kerala State, India has received global attention in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its response effectively attended to the health pandemic and focussed on economic relief. This paper attempts to understand how gender-responsive Kerala’s policies were. Kerala’s success was due to its historical preparedness and contemporary policy innovations. Over the years, public action was able to ensure that the state and the society were equipped to meet the challenges of a disaster, such as of the pandemic. In the 1990s, when India sought to limit state intervention and promote market-based solutions, public policy in Kerala shifted gears to deepen state intervention by promoting community participation and empowering women. As in other Indian States, the pandemic in Kerala too led to losses of female employment, rise in gender-based violence, a deterioration of women’s mental health and rise in unequal care burdens. But Kerala’s response was distinctive. Several policy interventions had foregrounded women’s needs, which helped ensure gender-sensitivity in Kerala’s pandemic response. Kerala’s economic relief package included cash support, employment, free food provision and zero-interest loans to women. Through helplines, the government reached out and helped women report instances of violence and mental stress. The gender-sensitivity of Kerala’s pandemic response is a rich guide as a demonstration of its possibilities and a reminder of the essential pre-requisites to achieve it.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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