The legacy of public action and gender-sensitivity of the pandemic response in Kerala State, India

Kerala State, India has received global attention in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its response effectively attended to the health pandemic and focussed on economic relief. This paper attempts to understand how gender-responsive Kerala’s policies were. Kerala’s success was due to its historical preparedness and contemporary policy innovations. Over the years, public action was able to ensure that the state and the society were equipped to meet the challenges of a disaster, such as of the pandemic. In the 1990s, when India sought to limit state intervention and promote market-based solutions, public policy in Kerala shifted gears to deepen state intervention by promoting community participation and empowering women. As in other Indian States, the pandemic in Kerala too led to losses of female employment, rise in gender-based violence, a deterioration of women’s mental health and rise in unequal care burdens. But Kerala’s response was distinctive. Several policy interventions had foregrounded women’s needs, which helped ensure gender-sensitivity in Kerala’s pandemic response. Kerala’s economic relief package included cash support, employment, free food provision and zero-interest loans to women. Through helplines, the government reached out and helped women report instances of violence and mental stress. The gender-sensitivity of Kerala’s pandemic response is a rich guide as a demonstration of its possibilities and a reminder of the essential pre-requisites to achieve it.