article by dr monica das and dr pratap c mohantyits a grim world day the deluge is unmissable the unprecedented crisis caused by covid19 pandemic has led to a situation that is enormously overwhelming so much so that the proverbial light at the end of the dark tunnel seems to be nothing less than evanescent some even refer to it as natures retribution as if this wasnt enough we now have loads of problems that compound the whole issue of the pandemic one such problem is the topic in hand and is about one of the marginalized sections of our society women the apartheid of gender is well known women have always been on the receiving end of things the who american psychological association united nations and others have conjectured that the pandemic in all likelihood has increased domestic violence the prolonged lockdown and new normal phases of covid in india have undoubtedly shadowed women at a critical juncture the uncertainty associated with the pandemic and its consequences have brought abrupt change in family communication pattern parental working style and their duties towards children closures of schools and daycares and provision for work from home for nonessential servicesbusinesses have caused anxiety among working mothers in general roughly 419 women suffer from neuropsychiatric disorders as compared to 293 for men in the world who action plan 20132020 going by the above data it is quite natural for us to believe that figures must have touched a new high in these unusual timesthe national legal services authority nalsa 2020 reported having 727 cases of domestic violence registered within a short span of lockdown in india of which the highest cases were from uttarakhand 144 haryana 79 and delhi 63 the fact is important to note that within the very first week of the country wide lockdown 214 complaints were received by the national commission for women ncw 58 cases of those were of domestic violence bose 2020 further 861 cases of domestic violence have been registered already it is common knowledge that the above figure certainly does not include the countless unreported casesa gender wise comparative picture regarding mental health and other afflictions would present a better perspective to things going by reports substance use led disorder reflected in higher mental morbidity among males 139 as compared to females 75 the national mental health survey of 201516 the individuals risk of suicide was observed as 09 with high risk 07 with moderate risk category and the highest in the age of 4049 year which is greater among females especially from urban metros however depression and anxiety are most common mental disorders worldwide in case of females global burden of disease study 2020 the latest national sample survey julydecember 2018 nss 76th round on disabilities reported that 598 percent and 568 percent female and male respectively of the surveyed respondents with mental retardationintellectual disabilities who always seek personal assistance for their daily activities as for figures for people with mental illness