Over half of all elderly women above the age of 60 years face marginalisation and isolation due to gender discrimination in India, revealed a study by Agewell Foundation, an NGO that works to ensure welfare of the elderly.
“Due to social and traditional family structures, elderly women are forced to live with several restrictions. They often find themselves marginalised and isolated. Almost all elderly women face the same problems: health, financial, emotional, abuse, discrimination and crime,” noted the study.
“Women in cities such as Delhi have been facing serious discrimination with respect to rights and are overburdened with family responsibilities,” it added.
The survey, conducted by Research and Advocacy Centre at Agewell Foundation, also found that elderly women face an emotional void in their life.
“This is because most of the women have lead a family-centric life since childhood. Their world revolved around their families, and when they get old they get sidelined by the same family because it no longer requires their services or they are not fit enough to serve family interests,” noted the survey.
The study was conducted in 2017 and interviewed 1,000 elderly women across nine districts of Delhi.
Chairman of the foundation Himanshu Rath said: “In India, most elderly women are not aware of their basic rights due to illiteracy and ignorance. Most women live within the four walls of their homes throughout their life and lead a faceless and voiceless life.”
“In old age they are more vulnerable as they face not only age discrimination but also gender discrimination. There is an urgent need to create awareness about needs and rights of older women at all levels, i.e., individual, family and society,” he added.
‘Talk about issues’
Mr. Rath said that on the occasion of Women’s Day, the plight of elderly women who are forced to lead a faceless and voiceless life in our society must be highlighted.
“In this era of youth, where issues of younger women are much talked about, issues concerning elderly women hardly ever come in the mainstream discussion and are often are overlooked by all. Ignoring issues concerning elderly women makes them more vulnerable and a soft target for anti-social elements,” he added.
