NGO Breakthrough championing the cause of women vaccine equality in India

Statistics have shown that post the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a 12% gender gap in vaccinations with 31 million more men than women being vaccinated till August 2021. We all know that vaccination is a must and Covid or any other pandemic of that magnitude doesn’t affect victims by gender. Breakthrough, a global human rights organization working to end violence against women has come forward to bridge the hesitancy gap amidst women by instituting ‘Chain of Action’ that is both a fundraiser for the cause and an advocacy initiative.

The virus itself may not be targeting women and girls specifically, but our social fabric is such that we’re seeing them being amongst the worst impacted. Recent news reports have pointed out that fewer women are being vaccinated compared to men in 85% of districts in the country; even in more affluent areas like south Delhi, men being vaccinated outnumber women by a whopping 53%. We are hearing stories and seeing visuals of women still carrying the burden of household chores alone, even when they are Covid positive! India's female labour force participation at 20% was already amongst the lowest in the world and this has only been exacerbated as women are 1.8 times more likely to lose their jobs due to the pandemic as compared to men. With school closures and increasing reliance on online education, girls are dropping out of school and are being pushed into early marriage.

Breakthrough is currently working tirelessly towards addressing the fallout of COVID on women across villages, gram panchayats, and the districts of Haryana (Jhajjar, Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Rohtak, peri-urban Gurgaon), UP (Gorakhpur, Ghazipur, Maharajganj, Lucknow), and Jharkhand (Hazaribagh). Striving to provide adequate protective gear to the frontline health workers to ensure the safety of their communities, Breakthrough is determined on bringing girl children back to school, and reach more villages to ensure women are vaccinated and that myths around Covid-19 and vaccination are busted. Thus, ensuring that the decades of progress made on improving gender outcomes is not lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chain of Action initiative helmed by patrons Priya Paul, Shweta Bhosale, Tarini Jindal Handa and Anjum Jung has already received support from several eminent personalities who are lending their voice to amplify Breakthrough’s mission that no women or girl should be left behind. Cause Ambassadors such as Michelle Poonawalla, Gayatri Ruia, Manish Maker, Manisha Jaitha, Swapnali Bhosale, Tanvi Shete, Madhu Trehan and Jaya Raheja have extended their support to the Chain of Action campaign that goes live on the NGO’s social media handles from 15^th November, 2021.

“There are too many myths and negativity that surround vaccination and that leads to hesitancy. We are determined to create awareness and drive a socially uplifting campaign for equality of women with regards to vaccination. By contributing to Breakthrough, you help address the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls across villages” says Priya Paul, Board Member - Breakthrough.

Adds Shweta Bhosale, patron for the cause, “I am donating and supporting this campaign because it’s unacceptable to live in a world where we have progressed so much and yet a huge section of our population is still denied their fundamental rights. There are chains that bind us and then there are chains that can set us free. Become an important link in a chain of changemakers and help build a world free from gender-based discrimination and violence.”

About Breakthrough

Breakthrough is a global human rights organization working to end violence against women across the country. Actively nurturing community dialogues around the issue of keeping girls in school and stopping early marriage, particularly because COVID-19, Breakthrough works towards the dissemination of multiple positive campaigns, through digital media. It tirelessly works towards building a generation that questions gender roles and stereotypes and strives to embrace equal opportunities, irrespective of gender; working with youth leaders and engaging with the communities to intervene during social injustice.