January 2020, South Asia 
Rural women in Pakistan trained on principles of Better Cotton Initiative despite COVID-19
Noor Nabi Bhutto and  Noreen Mangrio

As we all know, 2020 has been the worst year in the lifetimes of many people around the world due to COVID-19 – the severe acute respiratory disease – also known as SARS-CoV-2 because the virus is genetically related to the coronavirus responsible for the SARS outbreak of 2003.

COVID-19, in the second quarter of the year, spread throughout Pakistan with the identified route of the diease believed to be from various countries such as Iran, China, Afghanistan and India.

Lockdown was enforced across the country to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus which not only affected cities but also agriculture and the supply chain of rural areas. It is also very sad to realize that the second wave of COVID-19 is now underway.

The situation is very bad, especially in rural areas, regardless of the standing of agriculture to the rural economy. COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Most infected people will develop mild to moderate illness and recover without hospitalization.

However, despite the COVID-19 situation, our female field team continued to move into the field to train women on Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) practices as well as ‘Decent Work’ and Women Empowerment.

CABI’s women trainers also spread awareness among women workers about precautionary measures on COVID-19 in order to keep them safe from the disease. It was also an opportunity to promote greater hygiene in the field to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

These sessions helped them strengthen their critical analysis, decision-making and communication skills while building on their own local knowledge. Ensuring physical distancing was mandatory throughout the sessions. Our 27 women village trainers conducted 2,074 sessions and trained 34,245 women workers up until November.