A New South Wales Green Senator has been ridiculed around the world after claiming COVID-19 is a “gendered crisis” because of the “disproportionate risk” it poses to women.
Mehreen Faruqi, Australia’s first Muslim senator, made the comments yesterday, despite reports that coronavirus mortality rate is twice as high among men as it is among women.
“Let us not forget that COVID-19 is a gendered crisis,” Faruqi said. “Nurses, teachers, child care workers, and early childhood educators, aged care workers and cleaners are mostly women. They are on the frontline of this public health crisis and carry a disproportionate risk of being exposed to the virus.”
COVID-19 is a gendered crisis.
Nurses, nurse aides, teachers, child carers and early-childhood educators, aged-care workers and cleaners are mostly women.
They are on the frontline of this public health crisis and carry a disproportionate risk of being exposed to the virus. pic.twitter.com/uY56bDmlJ7
— Mehreen Faruqi (@MehreenFaruqi) March 25, 2020
Faruqi continued, “Let’s also not forget that not all homes are safe places. Quarantine or self-isolation at home will put women and children at risk. Women’s advocates and domestic violence experts are warning that domestic abuse increased during times of crisis and I’m terribly worried that these warnings have not been heeded by this government…”
According to Italy’s public health research agency, men account for 60% of coronavirus cases in the country, and upwards of 70% of deaths. China’s Center for Disease Control suggested men are more likely to die of the virus, reporting that up to 64% of deaths in the country have been men.
Sabra Klein, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health told ABC News, “While we do not know the causes of increased mortality in men, we do know that being male, much like being older, is a risk factor for more severe outcomes from COVID-19.”
Rightly so, Faruqi was taken to task on Twitter:
Stop slapping gender issues on things like it’s a price tag. There are many people at risk, both men AND women and all you’re doing is causing division. This sort of tit for tat dirty politics is unwarranted and unwanted.
— Evelyn Rae (@_evelynrae) March 25, 2020
YAAASSSS MEHREEN 👏👏✊
In this time of crisis, we need intersectional feminism more than ever. https://t.co/c3I0fYN8DC
— Titania McGrath (@TitaniaMcGrath) March 25, 2020
What a load of gendered crap. https://t.co/XpTGTaa71V
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 25, 2020
The world is fighting a pandemic – and most of the dead are men. Yet you post this BS?
You're gross.
— Peter Lloyd (@Suffragentleman) March 25, 2020
When men constitute the majority of fatalities, women are the “real” victims correct?
— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) March 25, 2020
Overwhelming majority of those dying are male.
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) March 25, 2020
Most of those affected are men. Disproportionately so.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 25, 2020
A. Most of the victims are male.
B. I thought there were no genders.— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) March 25, 2020
As a fellow woman, I ask you kindly to not try to twist this utterly gender-blind virus into a gendered issue. You clearly don't see it, but you are hurting your cause in the long run.
— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) March 25, 2020
Here’s an idea, how about celebrate women for once instead of saying we are weak and victimised.
How about a thank you for risking our health instead of telling us we should be outraged. We don’t need your drama.— Tiff (@TiffanyA_MAGA) March 25, 2020
>70% of the deaths are male pic.twitter.com/bkizW0IOUp
— eKohnomics (@77cyko) March 25, 2020
You richly deserve this ratio, you identity politics-obsessed hysteric.
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) March 25, 2020
