How Are Lower Incomes of Bangladesh Experiencing COVID-19: Preliminary findings from an ongoing research.
2020.06.24
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However, we tried to understand how lower incomes perceive about this key term “Stay at home”. Our study participants mainly depend on daily income for their living. If they unable to earn income then they have to starve. Although, government, NGOs, volunteers and other corporate organizations have been distributing relief (rice, pulse, oil, salt and sanitary kits) to those people, but the amount is not sufficient compare to their needs. One of our research participants said,
One day a group of people from a volunteer organization came to us. They gave us 5-kilogram rice, 1-kilogram dal (pulse), 1-liter oil and a liquid. They told us to use the bottle of liquid on our hand. Our food is finished. Now I have to go outside other than me and my family will starve.
Similar experience observed from other participants. The pandemic creates huge burden to the poorer people as it stopped regular economic activities. Further, the advice of staying home creates extra burden. This situation can be expressed by one participant. He said “I will starve to death if I stay at home or die of corona if I don’t”.
Women’s experience to stay at home found to be different from their counterpart, men. In the patriarchal ideology it is expected that women should stay at home and men should go outside of home. Now it is strongly advised to stay at home, irrespectively men or women. But staying at home is not exceptional for the women, particularly lower income group. However, the pandemic impacts on both men and women blindly but gender stereotypes or social and cultural construction of womanhood or ‘ideal women’ forces women to a vulnerable situation. The number of all forms of violence against women have been increased amid this pandemic. Moreover, women are suffering from extra pressure of work as they are widely considered as care worker of the family members. Along with their regular activities of the household chores, they are also responsible for caring other family members. As people are staying at home, women’s caring responsibilities are also increased. Working women’s condition is more severe. In one side, they are losing their job/work which ultimately impact on their empowerment status. On the other hand, they became burden in the family. Similarly, women headed households are also suffering from severe economic crisis. Therefore, staying at home forces women to a more vulnerable position.
Another frequently used term is Social Distancing which means keeping distance from one human to another. Specifically, keeping at least six feet distance from other people, not gathering in groups and avoiding mass gathering. The meaning of this term is mystical and inappropriate in Bangladeshi culture. Historically, the people of Bangladesh believe in social solidarity in terms of religious, social, cultural and political activities whereas the term social distancing opposite this culture. Moreover, this term often explains with some negative social behavior like self-centric attitude or ostracism. In our study we also observed similar meaning from our study participants. One of the research participants was saying,
“Social distance mean expelling someone from the society. If someone has coronavirus, she/he should be ostracized from the society. She/he should not stay in the society along with others. Even if someone dies from coronavirus, then his/her funeral should not be performed.”
The above-mentioned narrative is indicating opposite meaning of social distancing. This opposite meaning creates further complexity is responding COVID-19. We have observed many cases in the social media. A story can be outlined here:
At the beginning of COVID-19 in Bangladesh, a nurse, who used to work in a hospital in Dhaka, returned to her home town in Gopalgonj – a district under Dhaka Division. The local influential and neighbors denied her to enter her home. A temporary hut was made with palmyra leaves on the bank of a pond where she lived for 14 days .
This story also indicates the inappropriateness of the term where neighboring people forced her to stay outside from her family and expose to a vulnerable situation. As much the concept of social distance is incomprehensible for the lower income people likewise it is incompatible with Bangladesh’s culture. The people of Bangladesh historically prioritize ‘social solidarity’ in religious, social and political activities, here the concept of social distance acts as an opposition of cultural practices. It is also criticized by the social sciences’ scholars. The concept of ‘social distance’ works as an adherent to the concepts of mind’s ‘negative’ activities such as ‘loner’, ‘ego-centric’ (Foster, 2020). So when tackling a pandemic public should be inspired to use behavioral concepts such as ‘sympathy’, which can be “social solidarity in the time of physical distancing” (Holnes, 2020).