Covid - 19 : The increased burden of care and effect on girls’ schooling

Prior to the pandemic, a time-use survey conducted by UN Women confirmed that women are providing the majority of unpaid care and domestic labor in Afghanistan. 

Women spent an average of 4.6 hours on childcare compared to 2.3 hours for men; 3.4 hours caring for others compared to 1.3 hours for men; 3.6 hours preparing food compared to 0.4 hours for men; and 7.3 hours on cleaning compared to 1.6 hours for men. In total, women spend an average of 18.7 hours a day on unpaid care and domestic labor compared to 5.6 for men.

As outlined in the Gender Alert 4 on the Impact of COVID-19 on Women’s Burden of Care and Unpaid Domestic Labor,lockdown and social distancing have significantly exacerbated the already high and disproportionate burden of unpaid care and domestic labor responsibilities women and girls experience in Afghanistan. 

Forthcoming research by UN Women found that 83% of women saw an increase in unpaid care work and 80% in unpaid domestic work, compared to 75% and 62% for men respectively.Female single parents, including unmarried, widowed and divorced women, felt the burden the most, adding to the other household chores and care work.

Girls are often expected to help shoulder the burden of care and domestic labor in their homes, and as this burden has increased during the pandemic—and school closures have made girls more available to perform this work—it is affecting their future. The increased burden of care is hampering female students’ learning time, resulting in increased learning loss, and affecting their return to schools.