Food Facts: How Gender Inequality Impacts The Nutrition of Women and Children?

Food Facts: Gender inequality and conventional roles have a substantial impact on mothers’ and young children’s access to nutritious foods, especially in rural areas. Despite advancements in development from perceiving women exclusively as reproductive agents to encouraging gender and women-led development, inequities exist. Government programs like the National Rural Livelihood Mission have empowered millions of women through self-help groups, yet obstacles still exist. NFHS-5 data show that approximately 60% of women aged 15-49 are anemic, compared to only 29-30% of men in the same age group. This underscores the persisting disparities in health and nutrition, which are worsened by women’s unpaid labor and limited access to resources like land ownership, which continues at less than 9% for women.

Gender Inequality and Nutrition

Within households, conventional roles limit women to unpaid domestic activities like fetching water, fuel, and fodder, which can take up to six hours per day, leaving little time for self-care. Women’s economic engagement is low, with few prospects in the formal sector and persistent salary gaps. Even during pregnancy, the unequal distribution of food and wealth within households frequently places women at the bottom of the food chain. Furthermore, cultural traditions such as extended fasting for family well-being lead to malnutrition in women. These systemic difficulties highlight the pressing need for revolutionary approaches to gender equality and nutrition availability.