Sri Lankas high number of women-headed households are especially hit hard by Covid-19 particularly because women are losing their livelihoods faster than men, the United Nations said.

More than a quarter of all households some 25.8% or 1.4 million are female-headed and more than half are by women who lost their partners in the separatist war.

In a media statement, UN Women in Sri Lanka representative, Ramaaya Salgado said women are particularly affected because they are exposed to hard-hit economic sectors, have less access to social protection and are more likely to be burdened with unpaid care and domestic work.

Salgado who is the country focal point for the subject added that women heads of households, in particular, carry a double burden in caring for their dependents and being the sole breadwinner of the family.

Long-term investment in social protection is needed to ensure female heads of households are resilient in the face of crisis situations. Hence, womens economic empowerment must be at the heart of COVID-19 response and recovery she said.

Describing a typical woman, the UN said, has been struggling to make ends meet since her husband died 15 years ago due to the conflict.

The release cited a woman named Tharshini who had been badly affected since the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns that started last year.

Her income from poultry farming has dropped, and her eldest daughter, who they relied on for household expenses, has found no daily-wage work.

During the lockdown, we had to take loans from our neighbours, said Tharshani. We were struggling to find the money for food, and my son had to go to school every day without breakfast. I was afraid he might not be able to continue his education, said the mother of three.

Recovering from the COVID-19 crisis must include urgent policy action to introduce economic support packages for vulnerable women, according to the UN Women publication Gender Equality in the Wake of COVID-19 the statement added.

Further, the publication highlights that eliminating inequality in the labour market is more urgent than ever. This includes addressing issues related to occupational segregation, gender pay gaps and inadequate access to affordable childcare. Data on socioeconomic effects as well as improved and up-to-date gender-responsive data collection systems are also vital to understanding the pandemics impact on different groups of women.

Last year, with support from the Government of Australia (DFAT), UN Women in Sri Lanka together with local NGO Viluthu has supported more than 1,300 female-headed households through the delivery of emergency relief packs including dry rations to meet their daily needs, the statement said.

With enough supplies for the next few months, I am now able to save up to cover the costs of my sons education, says Tharshani who was also among those that received the emergency relief packs.

2020 marked the 25th anniversary of the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which set out how to remove the systemic barriers that hold women back from equal participation in all areas of life. To ensure economic empowerment of female heads of households like Tharshani, COVID-19 is a reminder that urgent action is needed to invest in the future of women and girls in Sri Lanka, and around the world it added.

(ECONOMYNEXT)