ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic has posed multitude of challenges before societies across the world. India fought with all its might to mitigate the menace of this pandemic and resultantly one could see a significant role of women and healthcare providers during this crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic caught the Government and people unaware. In fact, the whole world has been under tremendous pressure due to the sudden unprecedented calamity posing grave danger to human lives at such an enormous level. Selfless service was put in by frontline workers such as medical and paramedical professionals, police, drivers, sanitary workers, garbage collectors, etc. all putting their own lives at risk, which proved to be a huge support in handling the alarming situation. This was done throughout the first and second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic in the years 2020 and 2021. Unsung heroes and Covid warriors also included a section of population, who worked both in the privacy of homes as well as professionals in public spaces, endlessly, i.e., the women. With a serious blow to the social fabric due to the lockdown and the pandemic situation, aggravated by loss of employment and financial insecurity apart from other issues, women in various capacities managed to keep their households intact for months together, under conditions of severe domestic violence as per numerous research reports. This chapter looks at the challenges faced by women healthcare workers during the pandemic and evaluates various aspects related to it through narrative and observation style.
