Coronavirus pandemic is the result of ‘millennia of patriarchy,’ United Nations says

While most people are blaming the Chinese government for the spread of coronavirus around the world, the United Nations says China is not to blame. According to the United Nations, the coronavirus pandemic was caused by millennia of patriarchy, and we all know it.

The United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the coronavirus pandemic that has swept around the globe, infecting millions, shows the results of a thousand years of “male-dominated culture.”

In a tweet posted by United Nations on September 6, quoting comments made by Antonio Guterres in a speech last month, the world body said:

“The #COVID19 pandemic is demonstrating what we all know: millennia of patriarchy have resulted in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture which damages everyone – women, men, girls & boys.”

The #COVID19 pandemic is demonstrating what we all know: millennia of patriarchy have resulted in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture which damages everyone – women, men, girls & boys.

— @antonioguterres https://t.co/ppSUGLr2Wx pic.twitter.com/krT6HkQil6

— United Nations (@UN) September 6, 2020

During a virtual town hall address in New York, Guterres added that the pandemic had turned the world “upside down” and had a “disproportionate and devastating social and economic impact on women and girls.”

In his August 31 remarks, Guterres said:

“COVID-19 is deepening existing inequalities, including gender inequality. Already we are seeing a reversal in decades of limited and fragile progress on gender equality and women’s rights. And without a concerted response, we risk losing a generation or more of gains.”

He pointed out that women have been on the front lines of the response to the pandemic as “health care workers, teachers, essential staff and as carers in their families and communities” but only 30 percent of them are involved in decision-making roles.

The United Nations secretary-general went on to say the results of the “failed policies” have led to problems in the health care system, in society, and in unequal access to justice and called for an “economic reset to ensure the rights to life, dignity, and security for everyone.”

“We must also emerge from this crisis with women’s equal leadership and representation. The past months have seen a growing recognition in the media and through academic research highlighting what we have known anecdotally for years: that women leaders are extremely effective,” Guterres said. “Women heads of state, ministers for health, health workers, and community leaders are winning widespread recognition for their empathy, compassion, communication, and evidence-based decision-making.”