ABSTRACT
Currently, we are living in post-COVID-19 time which forces us to reflect on the pandemic and its resultant human crises with the help of philosophical enquiry. Philosophy is rational inquiry that helps us to address fundamental matters of human life and lays down certain principles of how humans ethically ought to behave. It distinguishes between good and bad of living. Moreover, the philosophical inquiry will provide a rationale for the researcher to understand the COVID-19 pandemic situation. It helps policymakers to frame practical policies to address the impact of it on human life. The pandemic has not only shaken the global health system but also exposed the loopholes in existing economic, socio-cultural, educational and environmental system. It has been evident that the COVID-19 outbreak exacerbated deep-seated social inequalities within our societies. For example, women, low-income households, children and young people, as well as low-skilled, part-time, temporary and self-employed workers have all been disproportionally affected.
Empirical evidence suggests that the pandemic has made women more vulnerable by rendering them less nourished than men, less healthy than men, and further subjected to physical violence. These 67raise several philosophical questions: What kind of challenges arise for human beings who have been living through different social structural process such as gender, disability, race, class and their economic status during COVID-19? Does it affect men and women in the same manner? How has the pandemic deepened pre-existing inequality? What are the real opportunities available to women and men? In order to address these questions, my attempt is to analyse various data of government and non-government organisations at international and national level to investigate the feminist stance surrounding COVID-19. Within the realm of philosophical inquiry, the chapter follows the Capability Approach of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum to understand the pandemic and its physical, social, economic, educational and political impact on lives of women. Furthermore, how the pandemic disproportionately affected the status of women? Finally, the chapter argues that the policy makers should address the pandemic while formulating stronger policies to promote gender equality and women’s entitlement which not only strengthen the capabilities of women but also help to attain inclusive development during the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
