Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Women's Mental Health in Bangladesh. (SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being)

This paper primarily aligns with SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being. The psychological impact of the Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, social distancing and lockdown measures on the Bangladeshi women are largely unknown. Many Bangladeshi women, already a vulnerable cross-section of the population, have experienced added responsibilities such as home schooling or carer obligations since the pandemic begun. Unfortunately, current literature has not focused on how such added responsibilities may have impacted these women's' mental health. Therefore, this study aims to determine the occurrence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in Bangladeshi women because of these major changes and understand the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on this cross-section. This is crucial to assess current mental health and wellbeing of Bangladeshi women to explore related stressors and interventions. The primary information for the assessment has been collected through structured and targeted web-based survey. The survey contained demographic questions and the World Health Organisation Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) questions. This study designed the sample size as 385 and analysed the collected data using SPSS software. The secondary information has been collected through published research articles and textbooks. The result exhibits that most women taking on additional responsibilities during the pandemic indicated poor well-being on the WHO-5 scale. The result also indicated a sub-group of women showed the worst possible quality of life on the WHO-5 scale. Finally, this paper also provides recommendations for developing a more effective psychological intervention aimed at women in Bangladesh based on the results.