WUNRN
Via NGO Committee on the Status of
Women - New York
"CEDAW
will consider a General Recommendation at their October meeting in
Geneva"
Recommendations
1. We therefore recommend
that the CEDAW Committee initiate a process that would review the relationship
between all the articles in the Convention and ageing. We recommend that this
results in the adoption of a General Recommendation on older women’s rights which
would outline the content of the obligations assumed by States as parties to
the Convention from the perspective of ageing and older women’s rights. It
would include steps to support State Parties’ compliance with these obligations
as well as provide guidance to both State Parties and NGOs on inclusion of
older women’s rights in their reporting.
2. We recommend that the Committee explore the possibility of the systematic inclusion of a question on the rights of older women in the Committee’s List of Issues to encourage State reporting and compliance with its obligations.
______________________________________________________________
Recommendation on the
adoption of a General Recommendation on the rights of older women
Introduction: the century of ageing
2008 marks the 60th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Along with the
development of the international human rights mechanisms, the last 60 years has
seen unprecedented demographic ageing which is set to continue, making the 21st
century the century of ageing. As populations age in both developed and
developing countries, the number and proportion of older women is increasing.
Yet across the world many
women who are also 60 this year will have little cause for celebration as they
are marginalised and discriminated against both because they are women and
because they are old. To mark and celebrate the 60th anniversary of
the UDHR, we urge the Committee to initiate a process that would result in the
adoption of a General Recommendation on the rights of older women.
Women and ageing
Whilst global statistics
mask the very different contexts in which older women live, they do serve to
illustrate the gendered nature of ageing[1][1]. More older women than
older men live alone, with 19% of older women compared to 8% of men living on
their own. Whilst for some older women this may be a lifestyle choice, for
others it can lead to isolation and be a barrier to accessing support and
services. Similarly, 80% of men over 60 are married compared to only 48% of
older women. There are more women living into their 80s and beyond, women
having a life expectancy at 60 of 21 compared to that of 17 for men, and whilst
there are 82 men for every 100 women at the age of 60, there are only 55 for
every 100 women at the age of 80.
Older women and discrimination
Men and women experience
ageing differently. Both experience discrimination based on old age but for
older women, this can be exacerbated by a lifetime of gender-based
discrimination, poverty and of working in poorly paid jobs with little access
to formal social security to provide a regular income for them in old age.
The discrimination older
women experience is often intersectional, their old age compounding other forms
of discrimination based on gender, ethnic origin, disability, levels of poverty
or literacy. Often considered no longer economically or reproductively useful,
many older women are seen as a burden on their families and communities, are
marginalised, isolated and even abandoned.
Many older women lack the
necessary identification documentation that would enable them to access the
entitlements that are theirs by right. There is not enough data disaggregated
by age, especially over 60 years old, and sex that would enable government and
non-government interventions to better respond to the needs of older women.
Yet despite this, older
women continue to contribute to their households and families through
continuing employment in both formal and informal sectors, unpaid work in the
home, and caring responsibilities. As traditional intergenerational roles
become increasingly blurred by demographic ageing, economic migration, the
impact of HIV and AIDS and the effects of climate change, the contributions
that older women play is vital.
Older women’s rights under international human
rights law
Few legal human rights
instruments relate specifically to older women as a distinct category. Instead
older women are covered implicitly via the universality of human rights. They
can also look to their rights by way of their sex or membership of a particular
racial, religious or minority group.
Given the increased parental responsibilities of older women as a result
for example, of HIV/AIDS, the needs and rights of many older women are also
closely associated with the fulfilment of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and related areas of international law which provide for child rights and
protection. Nevertheless few treaty bodies, with the exception of the CEDAW
Committee, have issued concluding comments and recommendations that deal with
discrimination faced by older women.
However, the seriousness of
age discrimination is increasing being recognised by the international human
rights machinery. Age itself has been explicitly listed as prohibited grounds
for discrimination in the more recent conventions. The International Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990) lists
age as one of grounds on which State Parties must not discriminate against
migrant workers or their families (article 7). The Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (2008) protects the rights of older disabled people,
including to special protection in old age (article 17) and to social
protection (article 28b) and calls for the provision of age sensitive responses
throughout. The Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights
in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Protocol of San Salvador
1988) not only protects older people’s right to social security in old age
(article 9.1) but also their right to social protection in old age (article
17).
However, the rights of
older women have rarely been specifically referred to. The Protocol to the
African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the rights of women in Africa[2][2] (2003) explicitly prohibits discrimination against
older women based on age, states their right to freedom from violence and the
right to be treated with dignity (article 22). The Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights’ General Comment 6 (1995) states that States parties
should pay particular attention to older women who are often in “critical
situations” with no entitlement to an old age or widows pension (paragraph 20).
Older women’s rights and the CEDAW reporting
process
We applaud and appreciate
the attention the CEDAW Committee has given to older women’s rights to date. In
its Decision 26/III Ending discrimination
against older women through the Convention, the Committee recognised that
the Convention “is an important tool for
addressing the specific issue of the human rights of older women”[3][3].
In particular the Committee
recognised that discrimination against women throughout their lifespan has a
severe and compounded impact on women in old age. It recognised the lack of
statistical data disaggregated by age and sex, including the incidence of
poverty and violence against older women, and the need for improving older
women’s economic, physical, mental and social well-being as well as their
participation in society.
A number of concluding
comments have been made by the CEDAW Committee on discrimination against older
women on a range of issues for example older women’s poverty (France 2003),
early retirement policies for women (Czech Republic 1998), high illiteracy
rates (Romania 2000), lack of identity documentation (Mozambique 2007), changes
in the pension system impacting more on older women than older men (Iceland
2002), lack of detailed information on older women, particularly in rural areas
(Suriname 2002), and violence against older women (Zambia 2002)[4][4].
However, despite the
Committee’s concern for the situation of older women, in particular poor rural
older women, older women’s rights are not systematically addressed either in
State reports or NGO shadow reports. In the majority of cases, older women and
the discrimination that they experience remains invisible.
CEDAW and discrimination against older women
The form discrimination
against older women takes varies from country to country, and between different
cultural settings and economic groups. As the world ages, new forms of
discrimination based on age and gender may arise. Poor older women are
particularly affected by the present rises in food prices and rural older women
are increasingly feeling the negative impact of climate ch
Each and every article of
the Convention is relevant to older women if interpreted through an ageing
perspective, but there are a number where discrimination against older women is
more common, systematic and widespread.
Article 2 – discrimination against women in all
its forms
A variety of legislation
and practice can discriminate against older women and it is imperative that
State Parties review and repeal such legislation through both a gender and an
age-related perspective.
Article 5 – stereotypes and harmful practices
Stereotypes and traditional
practices related to women and old age can result in the subjection of older
women to various forms of abuse and violence - physical, psychological, verbal
and financial - because they are old and because they are women.
Article 7 – participation in political and
public life
Older women are often
discriminated against in terms of not being given the opportunity to
participate in political processes and decision-making.
Article 10 - education
The illiteracy rates
amongst older women are high due to having been unable to access education when
they were young. Few poor, illiterate older women, especially in rural areas,
have access to vocational adult education or basic literacy and numeracy
training. This can severely restrict their full participation in public and
political life, the economy and access to a whole range services, entitlements
and recreational activities.
Article 11 – employment & social security
Many older women live in
poverty, having worked in low paid jobs or in unpaid work all their lives,
unable to accumulate assets. Many lack income security with inadequate or no
access to social security and very few older women have access to
non-contributory, state provided (social) pensions. Retirement
ages may differ between men and women, women being forced to retire earlier
sometimes against their will. UN statistics show that the less developed the
country, the more older women continue to remain in the labour force[5][5]. This is often in low paid
and demeaning types of jobs with few, if any, rights.
Article 12 – access to health
Postmenopausal conditions
and diseases tend to be neglected in research, academic studies, public policy
and service provision. In many countries few health personnel are trained in
geriatric medicine and so health care service provision remains inappropriate
to older women’s physical, functional and mental health needs. Many poor older
women with no private health insurance or access to formal social security cannot
afford health care particularly in rural areas where health posts may be long
distance from where they live and they can not afford the transport costs.
Abuse and neglect of older women can take in institutional care homes.
Article 13 – access to finance
Micro-credit and finance
schemes can have age limit restrictions which prevent older women from
accessing them.
Article 14 – rural women
In many countries the
majority of older women live in rural areas where access to services is made
more difficult due to their age and poverty levels. Urbanisation and economic
migration has left many older rural women in charge of young family dependents
and maintain small farms without the support of their adult children.
Article 16 – property and inheritance
In many settings the state
of widowhood or being single due to divorce or never having been married
profoundly changes older women’s status in society and can result in
discrimination both in law and in practice, particularly in terms of property
and inheritance rights.
Recommendations
1. We therefore recommend
that the CEDAW Committee initiate a process that would review the relationship
between all the articles in the Convention and ageing. We recommend that this
results in the adoption of a General Recommendation on older women’s rights
which would outline the content of the obligations assumed by States as parties
to the Convention from the perspective of ageing and older women’s rights. It
would include steps to support State Parties’ compliance with these obligations
as well as provide guidance to both State Parties and NGOs on inclusion of
older women’s rights in their reporting.
2. We recommend that the
Committee explore the possibility of the systematic inclusion of a question on
the rights of older women in the Committee’s List of Issues to encourage State
reporting and compliance with its obligations.
Submitted by Ferdous Ara
Begum
Member, UN CEDAW COMMITTEE
With active support from
Global Action on Aging
Gray Panthers
HelpAge International
International Federation on
Ageing
41stth session
of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), July 2008
[1][1] All data is taken from UNDESA, Population Ageing Chart, UNDESA 2006, http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/ageing/ageing2006table.xls
[2][2] Protocol to the African charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the
Rights of Women in
[3][3] CEDAW, Ending discrimination against older women
through the Convention, 07/05/02, A/57/38 (Part 1), para 430-436 (Decision)
[4][4] www.bayefsky.com visited 14 July
2008
[5][5] UNDESA, Population Ageing Chart, UNDESA 2006, http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/ageing/ageing2006table.xls