Reproductive Health Care Needs of Migrant Women Under Universal Health Coverage During COVID-19

Abstract

According to National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (2009), migrant laborers are spine of unorganized workforce in Indian economy and include women as an equal counterpart confirming their migration at an equal rate as that of men. An estimate made by Singh and Gupta (2011) states that, 90% of women workforce is engaged in informal sector in which 70% come from rural areas that migrate seasonally for short term and return back. Apprehension of contracting dreaded COVID-19 disease and concurrent nationwide lockdowns created uncertainty among millions of labourers compelling them to migrate from cities back to their home towns. Amongst the worst hit by pandemic were women migrants who experienced major burden of family responsibility and forceful restrictions in mobility that further exacerbated their vulnerability in terms of social, mental, physical and economic wellbeing (ILO, 2020). However, along with gross under-reported estimates of women migrants, their reproductive health care needs have largely remained undocumented and politically unattended. This brings forth the term emergence of ‘shadow epidemic’ as a negative outcome of the pandemic, for their inability to access sexual and reproductive health care needs (Singh, 2021). In this comment, I have described women migrant laborers from unorganized sector, the challenges they faced with COVID-19 mitigation activities and the existing gaps in public health services as a part of universal health coverage. Finally, realistic approaches in addressing the gaps in order to reprioritize the sexual and reproductive health needs of otherwise marginalized women. ANTYAJAA: Indian Journal of Women and Social Change 7(1) 67–72, 2022 © The Author(s) 2022 Article reuse guidelines: in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india DOI: 10.1177/24556327221139701 journals.sagepub.com/home/jws