Gender blind spots in COVID-19 containment and mitigation measures in Burkina Faso and Ghana

Abstract

This article unpacks the gendered impacts of the containment and mitigation measures adopted in many countries to deal with the pandemic. Based on detailed data on the inclusivity of measures taken to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso and Ghana and the mitigation measures implemented to soften the fallout, the paper analyses the impact on women and girls. We argue that women occupy important micro-economic places in both countries, as breadwinners in families, and in informal trade, which accounts for a considerable proportion of the economy. However, there was little state recognition of the ripple effects of the closures of borders, markets and schools on them. The lack of recognition of gender differences and of the ways in which gender intersects with economic and regional inequalities was reinforced in the mitigation policies as well, undermining the advancement of gender equity goals made prior to the pandemic.