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Abstract
Pandemics refer to national or global prevalence of a condition, particularly, a 
pathological condition with significant societal disruption.  Unlike endemic disease 
which is associated with a given locality or region, for instance malaria in Africa, 
pandemics are comparatively ephemeral but global in their spread.  The condition of 
being a woman, as a singular way of being human, often determined by socio-cultural 
and religious considerations, calls for special reflection in an era of pandemics.  
Research have been carried out on vaccines against the disease, the number of cases, 
death and health related information such as symptoms, preventions and treatment, but it 
does not appear, given the available information, that there has been any reflection done 
on being woman and Pandemics.  This chapter explores the nature and condition of 
womanhood and the existential challenges which are posed by pandemics in Africa.  It 
adopts a phenomenological approach: it describes, analyses and interprets womanhood 
from the perspective of changing gender-relationship. It avers that investment in 
resilience and promoting sense of complementarity, much against the traditional gender 
relation of dependence, should guide policies and interventions for better health 
outcomes during and in post-pandemic times.  The paper is significant for medical 
practitioners, psychologists and policy makers.

Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, gender issues, resilience, women's health, 
empowerment of women.

Introduction
The figure of womanhood is a subject of great interest today.  As a socio-cultural concept, 
the growing change and alteration in African socio-cultural landscape warrants a 
corresponding change in the understanding of womanhood in Africa.  In times of 
pandemics, the figure of womanhood becomes even challenging.  In a world 
characterized by interconnectivity and instant communication, it is not surprising that 
socio-cultural patterns that defined womanhood outside Africa do impact on the people of 
Africa.  With new forms of religious belief, change in patterns of socio-economic life, 
urban migration and education and new systems of value which impact on traditional 
gender roles, a clear understanding of the actual configuration of womanhood becomes 
imperative.  This is because womanhood as a socio-cultural construct that is tied to 
gender roles is both temporal and contextual.  Ickes, W (1993) reflecting on female-male 
relationship in marriage argued that there is an inherent paradox in the enactment of 
traditional gender roles.  According to him, while playing traditional gender roles do 
provide grounds for individuals to feel attracted to the other as a potentially desirable 
mate, the very roles could undermine the very relationship which it seeks to establish.  

WOMANHOOD AND PANDEMICS: THE AFRICAN CASE

Innocent I. Enweh
Department of Philosophy,

University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
innocent.enweh@unn.edu.ng

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Gender roles introduce a miscommunication that leads to unsatisfying relationship.  
What Ickes observed in the context of family-hood can be extended to traditional gender 
roles in general and as such significant in reflecting on womanhood.  

Studies done in respect of the nature and origin of gender role differences have classified 
it into evolutionary, cultural determinist and bio-cultural interactionist perspectives 
(Ickes, W: 1993, 76-79).  In the wake of feminism and gender rights, attention has 
continued to be drawn to the role and dignity of women in the society.  There is an 
increasing number of Women's Forum and organizations: International Women's Forum 
(IWF), Women's Forum for Economy and Society, United Nations Development Fund for 
Women (UNIFEM), Global Fund for Women, Organisation for Women in Science for 
Developing World, (OWSD), Global Fund for Women, etc.  

During the COVID-19 Pandemic a lot of studies were done and policy statements made to 
the effect that women were considered particularly affected and as such should be given 
special attention.  The impact of Covid-19 on women (UN Policy Brief: 2020; IMF/Fiscal 
Affairs: 2021; Torres, J et al: 2021; WHO Africa:2022; Rivera, C et al:2022; 
OECD:2020) is seen to have many ramifications despite the fact that in most countries, as 
diagnosis show, men are 50% -80% most likely to die from the virus than women (Staff, 
G:2020).  Evidence from studies have shown that socio-cultural factors impinge on 
women's access to health facilities, forms of empowerment and wellbeing (Philips, S: 
2005; Azuh, D. E et al: 2014; Alenkhe, A. O & Ibiezugbu, M. I: 2015; Ndisika, M & 
Gordon, A. E: 2022).  The roles and expectations of men and women by the society might 
change over time, places and life state, even though the mode of being (male or female) 
remains constant.  For this reason, this chapter x-rays the nature and condition of being 
woman in Africa in pandemic period and that investing in resilience and promoting sense 
of complementarity, when factored into sustainable gender relations lead to better health 
outcomes for women, in particular, and societal wellbeing in general.  
 
Ideas expressed in this chapter are drawn, to a large extent, from review of published 
studies in the area of gender health in developed as well as developing worlds.  
Phenomenological method is used to describe, analyse and interpret the womanhood and 
pandemics in light of changing gender relations.  The chapter is divided into four 
subheadings and a conclusion: First, Nature and condition of womanhood.  Here 
womanhood is considered as a gender construct that is anchored on asymmetrical 
relationship of dependence on the male folk.  Second, Womanhood and Health Issues – 
focused attention on the gendered nature of risks, health seeking behaviour and health 
outcome.  Third, Gender Difference in the Experience of Covid-19 Pandemic 
underscored the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on the income, employment, 
education opportunities and health of women.  Fourth, Womanhood, Resilience and 
Complementarity for Improved Health Outcomes.  This section considered how 
leveraging on investment on resilience and promoting sense of complementarity as 
underlying motive of improved gender relations could lead to better health outcomes for 
women during and in post-pandemic times.  The conclusion recapitulated the ideas 
expressed in the chapter, namely, that womanhood in the context of pandemic is a 

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December 



complex socio-cultural construct.  However, despite the difficulty in transiting from 
traditional gender relation to the demands of current socio-cultural realities, a sustained 
and genuine concern for improved individual resilience and complementarity in gender 
relationship would yield better health outcomes for women and the society.

Nature and Condition of Womanhood
The word “woman” refers to a female human being.  The word “woman” is distinct from 
“sex” which is distinctly a biological term.  According to the document of Government of 
Canada (2012), “sex refers to the biological characterization such as anatomy (body six 
and shape) and physiology (e.g., hormonal activity or functioning of organs) that 
distinguish males and females” (2).  The word, “woman,” though linked to biology, is a 
socio-cultural term.  Chawla, M & Rout, H. S (2007) asked: In what consists the 
difference between male and female humans?  Does it consist in their reproductive 
system or hormonal difference, or could it be sought for in their susceptibility or 
resistance to certain diseases?  To these questions they replied that the difference lies in 
some socio-cultural construct.  They explained that this is a gender question and gender is 
an abstract and relational concept.  It refers to the system of relations between male and 
female.  There are certain traits that are traditionally attributed to women, such as that 
they are more emotional than men; they do less productive work than men; they are better 
carriers of children (1).  It does appear, however, that explaining everything from the 
socio-cultural point of view might give the impression that their biological makes up 
contributes nothing, in this context, to their health outcomes.  Given that the reproductive 
organ of women are made to conceive and bear children, would it not be reasonable to say 
that nature furnished women with a certain disposition for nursing the children they bear?  
Breast feeding is both a biological activity, but with intricate social dimension since it is a 
means of bonding between the child and the mother.  Therefore, analysing womanhood 
from purely socio-cultural perspective might not be the whole story.  As Chawla, M & 
Rout, H. S (2007) have explained, with regard to health issues, sex and gender, that is, 
biological and socio-cultural considerations are major determinants for both men and 
women.  They are related to other variables such as age, race and socio-economic status.  
They all help to shape biological vulnerability, exposure to health risks and 
diminishments as well as access to medical care and health services (5-6).

African nations as members of the United Nations uphold the fundamental principles of 
the UN charter that prioritizes the achievement of international cooperation in the 
promotion and encouragement of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for 
all irrespective of race, sex, language or religion (Art. 1. Para 3).  Human Rights Fact 
Sheet 23 outlined a number of traditional practices that are harmful to physical and 
psychological health of women, and as such violate international human rights laws.  
Some of these practices are seen to have promoted gender inequality at the expense of 
women.  According to African Development Bank document on gender policy, (OESU: 
2001) it is observed that, in Africa, culture is used to legitimise difference in gender status, 
values and roles and to justify inequality in gender relations (14).  Womanhood is, thus, 
anchored on an asymmetrical relationship of dependence on the male folk.  In their 
commitment to the fundamental principles of the UN's charter, African nations, as 

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Womanhood And Pandemics: The African Case      -    Innocent I. Enweh



signatories to the UN General Assembly land mark Convention for the Elimination of all 
forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAN) which was adopted in 1979, have, 
despite implementation challenges around CEDAN, pursued a clear gender policy 
commitment and articulated framework for the institutional implementation of the policy 
(AU. Gender Policy: 2009).  Non-governmental organization, such as, Inter-African 
Committee (IAC) has been working against harmful traditional practices since 1984 
(Ras-Work, B (2006, 7).  In Ghana by 2009, the Ministry of Health had already developed 
“a gender policy to direct its actions on handling gender related health concerns” 
(National Gender Policy: 2015, 11).  Given the importance of education in development, 
it has been argued that closing the male-female education gap will go a long way to 
addressing the problem of gender inequality and ensuring equitable access to resources 
and empowerment of women (Abdullahi, A. A et al:2021; Collins, M:2022, 11).

Womanhood and Health Issues
Matud, M. P (2017) rightly remarked that the difference in health of women and men is a 
complex issue.  It is contrary to intuition to observe that despite the fact that it is believed 
that women have poorer health, higher morbidity and incapacity rates than men, and have 
used health services much less often than men, women have higher life expectancy.  
Research conducted in different countries have, to a large extent, questioned these 
assumptions.  There is a high intra-group variability coupled with a significant and 
complex interactions between the genders and other variables.  The dominant 
perspectives in research on the differences in sex health are (a)the empirical study of 
trends and explanations of sex differences in mortality and morbidity and (b) the specific 
patterns of disease for each sex, which have frequently corresponded to differential 
politics and research on 'women's health' and 'men's health (57-58).  The research 
approaches have succeeded in reinforcing the binary model which underlie the 
construction of sex and gender as well as the consideration of sex and gender as separable.  
It has come to be recognised that women are different in terms of sex and in their roles and 
responsibilities in the society.  Little wonder they face different health risks because of 
their biological and social differences.  It is significant to note that these differences affect 
responses of the health systems, their health seeking behaviours as well as their health 
outcomes.  Matud, M, P (2017) observes that there are factors that explains gender 
differences in health, such as, biological, social, psychological, structural factor (67-69).  
Gender inequality is telling on the health of men and women since it affects their health 
outcome, health status as well as access to preventive and curative services.  As it were, 
health need is a constant in human life and as such accompanies the individual throughout 
the various stages of life.  It needs to be remarked that health needs are differentiated 
according to gender.  This is why it is important that policy makers take into cognisance 
the differential effects of gender roles and norms in order to rectify the existing inequality 
between men and women and ensure a sustainable health agenda for all.  Alvarez-Dardot, 
C and Vives-Cases, G (2012), writing for the European Union, have identified three main 
waves that are responsible for linking gender and health since gender studies came to be 
linked to health sciences.  They have categorized the three waves into, first, the phase of 
visibility and legitimatisation; second, the phase of involved acceptance of gender as a 
genuine health determinant; and third, the phase of development of gender policies that 

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followed on the heels of the Beijing Conference held in 1995 and the work done by an 
entity of World Health Organization, the Commission on Social Determinants of Health 
(4-6).  What is not evident is whether or not Africa has really experienced these waves of 
gender consciousness with regard to issues of health.  In the domain of development, 
Africa is lagging behind such that with respect to industrialization, when the developed 
nations are talking of post-industrial age that is opening up to the fourth industrial 
revolution (4IR) Africa has yet not been really identified with industrialization.  Perhaps 
it is not important, in this chapter, labouring to determine which wave of gender 
consciousness African is in with regard to health.  It suffices that Africa comes to a greater 
consciousness of the social determinants of health and tailor her policies to improve 
health and gender indicators in her health systems in order to ensure equity and inclusion 
in framing her public policies to bring about real change in the health of women and men 
of the continent.

In a study done by WHO Regional Office for Africa (2012) it was noted that in Africa 
maternal health is in a dismal state.  Women are known to bear unacceptably huge burden 
of disease and death.  Little is done to improve the healthcare of women and this calls for a 
multi-sectoral approach if women's health is to be improved on.  It was observed that 
improvement in health outcomes for women will be difficulty if their socioeconomic 
empowerment is neglected.  The deplorable phenomenon of violence against women was 
decried as violation of the rights of women.  The report perceived a lot of socioeconomic 
benefits that would accrue to the society if women's health improves.  The report 
recommended better data gathering to help in monitoring progress made in achieving the 
targets set for better health outcomes for women and girls.

Gender Differences in the Experience of Covid-19 Pandemic 
The African society is fast changing.  The traditional patriarchal system that attributed to 
men the role of providers is becoming obsolete as women, daily, in their numbers leave 
the house alongside their partners to work and provide for the family.  It means that rather 
than dependence which characterized spousal relationship in the past, it is 
complementarity that is the case today.  The result is that the traditional gender roles are 
becoming less optimal to the successful functioning of male-female relationship in 
today's culture and society.  The male dominance which was accepted in the past as a 
biological given has come to be interpreted as political oppression.  Nevertheless, it could 
be said that African gender relationship is caught in a paradox: What their genes and past 
culture dispose them to do is in opposition with what their present culture now prescribes.  
This could lead to what Ickes, W (1993) terms “miscommunication” when in male-
female interaction they respond from “a fixed” perspective rather than, ideals.  When a 
situation as this is aggravated by disruptions and uncertainties that go with pandemics, the 
traditional gender roles are revealed to be unhealthiest to and well-being of the 
womenfolk.  

The impact of COVID-19 on the socio-economic life was unprecedented. World 
economy, industries and firms have been variously affected.  Aoyagi, C (2021) in a study 
done on Nigeria and Ethiopia reports that there was wide spread income reduction due to 

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Womanhood And Pandemics: The African Case      -    Innocent I. Enweh



the high share of women in the informal employment.  Another study done by Torres, J et 
al (2021) for the World Bank Group reveal that women-led businesses in the hospitality 
industry, micro-businesses and other women-led businesses in countries severely 
affected by the pandemic was disproportionately hit compared with men-led businesses.  
Despite lack of public support these businesses had more likelihood of increasing the use 
of digital platform in micro-firms, yet there was less likelihood of investing in software 
equipment or digital solutions.  The socio-economic and health implication of the 
pandemic on women was serious.  With women making up to 70% of the healthcare 
workforce, it became obvious that they were more exposed to the risk of contracting the 
virus.  At home, women shoulder much of the burdens, and with the closure of schools 
and childcare facility and the overall gender inequality in unpaid work, Covid-19 
pandemic constituted a crushing burden on the shoulders of women.  Besides the high 
risk of job loss, with its attendant income loss, the women were exposed to violence and 
exploitation, abuse and harassment without possible recourse to social support systems 
due to the lockdown.

Several reports (OCED 2020; PWAN: 2020; WHO Africa: 2020; Tang, V et al: 2021; 
PAHO/WHO, 2022) on the condition of women during the pandemic alluded to gender-
based violence suffered by women during the lockdown with increased pressure of 
unpaid care and drastic shortage in their earnings.  The death rate occasioned by the 
pandemic in Africa is said to have tripled in a week in some African countries.  In South 
Africa, according to PATH (2021, 4) report, community health workers were said to have 
engaged in door-to-door screening for Covid-19.  It was observed that Africa which make 
up 17.7 percent of the world's population only received 1 percent of the world's Covid-19 
vaccine supply.  This inequality scaled up death rate at a continental rate.  Assessment of 
the impact of the pandemic showed it as a great threat to decades of progress for women 
and girls. It had disproportionate impact on women's income, employment, and education 
opportunities.  

With regard to maternal healthcare, it has been shown (Ameyaw, E. K, et al:2021) that in 
Africa, Covid-19 was source of great disruption as expectant mothers turned away from 
antenatal, pregnancy care and skilled birth, immunisation and nutritional 
supplementation on account of fear arising from misconceptions relating to the 
pandemic.

Womanhood, Resilience and Complementarity for Improved Health Outcomes
Makama, G. A (2013) in a critique of patriarchy and gender inequality noted that the 
structure of social relation which adversely affect woman have some conceptual and 
material base which makes it possible for men to dominate and oppress women.  The 
domination and exploitation of women have been explained from different perspectives, 
namely, the materialist perspective, the radical feminist account and the postmodern 
approach.  However, it is not enough to explain the root of women's subordination in 
terms of relations of production (materialist), or specific relation of production and 
sexuality (pure feminist) or sociocultural construction (postmodernist).  The ultimate 
explanation of the subordination of women will have to include the social context of 

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power relations.  It is, therefore, important to underscore sustainable gender relation that 
would enhance the wellbeing of women.  Such gender relationship is presented here 
under the rubrics of resilience and complementarity.
Resilience is about capacity and as such belongs to “the faculties in virtue of which we can 
be said to be liable to the emotion, for example, capable of feeling anger or pain or pity” 
Aristotle, Nich Ethics 1105b-25f).  To have a capacity is one thing, and the manner of 
deploying it might be a different matter.  It is here that cultivating a certain habit by which 
one is well disposed in respect of the emotions becomes important.  Being resilient is not 
just pure capacity, it is capacity meeting disposition.  Resilience is capacity to be well 
disposed to live.  It is not virtue in the moral sense.  It is a form of excellence by which one 
can adjust appropriately for one's well-being.  As a form of change or adaptation, it could 
be said to belong to motion as primary determination of living organism.  It is principle of 
self-preservation in practice.  Resilience is generally described as the ability to cope 
under pressure.  It is about learning to adjust and adapt with time to life-changing 
situations.  It is therefore not a once for all act.  It is a process that involves time, effort and 
commitment to a number of steps.  The brochure of American Psychological Association 
(APA) defines it in these words: 

Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of 
adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of 
stress such as family and relationship problems, serious health 
problems or workplace and financial stressors.  It means 
'bouncing back from difficult experiences.

Considered as an ability to cope well under pressure, resilience has been identified as a 
pattern of behaviour, manner of thinking and acting that could be developed by anyone. 
APA affirms that resilience is not a trait.  Keith, Ladd & Macomber, John (2018, 10-11) 
reflecting on resilience as a fundamental characteristic of vibrant and thriving 
communities mentioned ten principles by which communities could be helped to recover 
from extreme events, bounce forward and thrive.  This quality of being is known to be 
higher in women than men and this might account for their advantage over men in terms 
of longevity.  In respect of Covid-19 pandemic, it was observed that, perhaps due to 
immunological sex differences or behavioural reasons woman are more likely to survive 
the virus.  It is therefore important to leverage on certain factors in resilience to build 
more resilient women for better health outcome and wellbeing that outlive pandemic 
times.  Some of these factors include (a) Having healthy and supportive relationships; (b) 
Having a certain flexibility in designing plans and be able to take steps to carry them out; 
(c) Having good self-esteem and trust in one's strength and abilities; (d) Openness to 
others and readiness to face challenges as they present themselves; and (f) Self-control or 
discipline of emotions.  While each woman is required to take into consideration these 
factors in developing personal resilience, a number of factors touching on gender-role 
have to be given proper attention.  

With very limited social protection measures in Africa, Covid-19 manifested itself in 
gendered ways both in respect of the impact of the pandemic as well as the response to it.  
In a situation as this, a gender-approach is required to deal with the pandemic in order to 
develop effective and equitable policies and interventions.  African Union, under the UN 

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Womanhood And Pandemics: The African Case      -    Innocent I. Enweh



Human Rights, has outlined seven possible action to safeguard women's rights in respect 
of Covid-19.  The possible actions include: (a) economic measures; (b) Access to good 
health; (c) Improved mechanisms for availing victims of gender-based violence the 
opportunity for speedy and appropriate assistance and redress; (d) Access to food, water 
and sanitation; (e) Greater participation of women in the decision-making process; (f) 
Humanitarian aids to the vulnerable, especially the internally displaced persons, and (g) 
Data collection and information on the concerns of women and he actual responses to 
them.  The bottom line is working for gender equity, economic empowerment of women, 
inclusivity that enhances the agency of women, accountability and political engagement.  
As Aoyagi, Chie (2021) rightly pointed out, gender-sensitive policies are needed to 
narrow the gap between men and women during and post pandemic.  If resilience is to be 
built for the future, it is important to recover from the present one.  According to UN 
Women Headquarters, it is estimated that Covid-19 will push 47 million additional 
women and girls into extreme poverty.  With disproportionate job losses and increased 
gender based violence, the socio-economic and health implications for women calls for 
policy interventions.  It is important to focus squarely on gender specific issues and 
challenges.  This would require, in the words of WHO Regional Office for Africa (2012) a 
multi-sectional approach that will bring about improved health for women.

Besides building on the characteristic resilience of women by leveraging on factors that 
make for personal and collective improved health and wellbeing, recognition of gender 
roles as expression of complementarity will go a long way to disabusing one's mind of 
exaggerated negative perception of gender that are psychologically unhealthy for the 
female folk. The different roles which women and men have evolved across the centuries 
are dependent on their values, norms, customs and laws.  These roles include different 
labour responsibilities, decision-making process and knowledge.  Even in their needs, 
observed CBD, (2022), the use and management of resources are gendered in different 
ways.  This is even more obvious in the area of health need, more so in period of 
pandemic.  Aggressive enlightenment should, therefore, be undertaken to bring the male 
folk to understand the importance of respecting the rights of women to paid work, 
inviolability of their dignity as persons, and the immense socio-economic benefits from 
improving women's health.  In light of WHO gender policy, Human Rights Conventions 
and Health Rights Accords, promotion of gender equality in health status and health 
development is fundamental to the survival of African women in the event of a pandemic.  
PAHO (2005, 11-18) mapped out some tools for integrating gender with a clear list of 
components of gender inclusive health program.  This concern for recognition of the 
gendered nature of women's health is an affirmation of the dignity of difference and 
complementarity rather than gender disparity.  For as Francesca Viliani (2011) put it, 
gender inequality can be measure by health indicators.

Given that different factors explain health outcomes of women and men, the assignment 
of roles which is based on sex and societal values and believes about gender is assumed to 
be informed by sense of complementarity.  Although it is explained that biology is 
determined by social and environmental factors, the fact is that there is some admissible 
constant about biology.  It does not appear that if the traditional roles assigned to men 

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were reversed so that men take up those roles assigned to women, women will be like men 
in all things.  There might be some sense in the biological explanation that a certain 
affinity exists between sexuality and certain gender roles.  It needs to be added, however, 
that affinity of roles only makes sense in specifically biological domain such as 
childbearing.  While it belongs biologically to a woman to conceive and give birth to a 
child, complementarity obliges the involvement of man in the nursing of the child for 
proper upbringing.  Parental leave which was traditionally assigned to women could now 
be extended to men on the understanding that there needs to be a certain level of bonding 
between the child and both parents.  In this way, gender stereotypes could give way to 
realistic appreciation of difference and complementarity.  

Experience show that value based discrimination is gradually giving way to better 
understanding of gender roles.  With shift in traditional socialisation process and gender 
roles (Ras-Work, B:2006; Vlassof, C:2007; Neculaesei, A-N:2015) due to the 
introduction of formal education and greater consciousness of human rights, women 
participation in the economy, politics and overall economic growth, the idea of 
complementarity would come to replace dependence.  That is why, in Nigeria as 
elsewhere in Africa, steps have been taken to empower women through a number of 
programmes (Abdullahi, A. A et al: 2011).  It is in light of complementarity and greater 
resilience for better health outcomes and wellbeing that the following are recommended 
as sustainable gender-responsive measures that outlive pandemics:

i. Challenging and Eliminating Unhealthy Traditional Practices
In some African countries, there are traditional practices that militate against the dignity, 
health and wellbeing of women such as early and forced marriages, abduction and 
kidnapping of a girl to rape her and thus force her into marriage, cultic slavery where a girl 
is given to a deity as redemption price for an undisclosed crime committed before she was 
born, female genital mutilation (FGM), and similar obnoxious practices (Ras-Work, 
B:2006, 2-4).  Some of these practices make women vulnerable to poverty and diseases, 
thereby militating against their wellbeing and better health outcomes.  Working to 
eliminate them should be the concern of all.   

ii. Putting in Place Gender Transformative Programme
It is important to make promotion of gender equity an important area of attention with 
mechanisms that will help to achieve positive development outcome.  This will include 
changing unequal gender relationship through inclusivity in matters relating to decision-
making, control of resources, access to employment, as well as women's rights to own and 
inherit lands.

iii. Establishing Frameworks for Addressing Gender Issues
Gender violence, rape and other abuses that have psychosocial impact on their victims are 
detrimental to the health of women.  In other to protect victims from indignity and 
stigmatization, it behoves on public authorities to establish centres where victims could 
easily, at no cost, find support and assistance.   

iv. Early Induction of Males into Hospitality Services and House Keeping
In the spirit of complementarity, it is important to begin early enough to train the male folk 
to give care to the sick and the vulnerable.  Men have to learn to offer spousal assistance to 
their wives as much, or even better than their wives do to them in their time of ailment, but 

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Womanhood And Pandemics: The African Case      -    Innocent I. Enweh



this will happen only if they are brought up to appreciate their gender roles in 
complementary terms.

v. Building Social Networks for Communication and Information 
Dissemination

One of the negative impact of Covid-19 pandemic was due to the misconceptions relating 
to it.  Fear of Covid-19 generated a lot of distrust in the safety of health care system that 
many people, particularly women, who would have needed health care services preferred 
turning away from public health institutions.  Concern for improved resilience would 
require that sustainable communication system be put in place to ensure that women get 
the right information, to which they are entitled, at the proper time.  This could help them 
work out alternative means of gaining access to uninterrupted health services for better 
health outcomes

vi. Good Governance and Policy Framework for Promoting Women's Health
Good governance and right policy framework make for responsiveness of healthcare 
systems to address the health needs of women.  Underinvestment in women's health care 
and poor monitoring of progress made towards achieving targets for women's health 
undermine meaningful attempts at promoting the course of women's health.  

Conclusion
In the foregoing discussion, the chapter drew attention to the traditional understanding of 
womanhood and the problems which are associated with it.  Given that biological and 
gender differences account for differences in the health outcomes of women and men, the 
reflection carried out in this chapter expatiated on the correlation of gender differences 
with the health outcomes for women.  Cognisant of the gradual transformation of the 
understanding of womanhood based on research and studies in gender related matters, the 
fundamental principles of the UN charter on human rights, the landmark Convention for 
the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAN), and gender 
policies, the chapter, having x-rayed the impact of Covid-19 on women, avers that 
rethinking womanhood in light of genuine concern for building resilience and promoting 
sense of complementarity would lead to a better health outcomes for women and overall 
wellbeing of the society. 

References

“The Road to Resilience – American Psychological” (PDF)
Abdullahi, A. A., Adekeye, S. D and Shehu, R. A. 2011. “Towards Improving Gender 

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Sustainable Development in Africa, Volume 13, No. 18:239-253

African Union. “7 Possible Action – Women's Rights and Covid-19,” retrieved on 26 
September, 2022.

Alenkhe, A. O and Ibiezugbu, M. O. 2015. “Socio-cultural Changes, Women 
Empowerment and Family Welfare among Ubiaja Women of Southern Nigeria,” 
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