WUNRN
Old
woman at Ekuvukene, a "resettlement" village in KwaZulu
"homeland"
Improved healthcare and knowledge regarding health choices, sanitation and
development has led to improved life-expectancy rates the world over. According
to a report by
Help-Age International, however, the pervading attitude among many people
is that older persons have outlived their usefulness, are unproductive and
over-dependent.[1] The rights of the elderly are usually last on the agenda
when it comes to the protection of the human rights of a population as a whole.
In fact the rights of the elderly have also taken second place on the global
agenda in terms of policy-making and protection.
Traditionally African culture dictated that elderly citizens be treated with
respect and were seen as a source of great wisdom in the extended family
system. However, a complete erosion of the extended family system is taking
place as a result of economic constraints and cultural practices, with
appalling consequences for the elderly. In recent times the elderly have become
ever more vulnerable to abuse and various forms of negative stereotyping and
discrimination.
The situation in Africa is dire; increasingly the circumstances are such that
many young people are moving to towns and cities in order to search for better
job prospects, whilst older members of the family are being forced to languish
in villages without anyone to care for them. This is especially true in the
case of women who generally live longer than men and more commonly face poverty
and isolation. Furthermore, elderly women seem to bear the brunt of
discrimination, especially in terms of cultural practices specific to Africa,
such as widow-inheritance and land ownership. The seemingly unstoppable
tragedies of major armed conflict, HIV/AIDS and mounting poverty in many parts
of Africa have pushed the widowhood rate up to a full 25 per cent of all
African women.[2]
DISCRIMINATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
Older people face discrimination and abuse in a variety of forms in Africa. The
HIV/AIDS epidemic has had a significant impact on elderly women in a number of
ways. In many cases an elderly women and grandparent of an AIDS victim may have
to act as a full-time caregiver, to the detriment to their own quality of life.
In the case where elderly women are suffering from AIDS themselves, it may be
the case that there is no one to care for them. Furthermore, elderly women
whose children have died of AIDS are invariably left destitute. In Africa and
Latin America, older people are more likely to be living in absolute poverty
than the population as a whole. The proportion of older people living on less
than US$1 per day is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa (47 per cent). The elderly
traditionally have limited access in healthcare facilities and this is
particularly the case in Africa where homes for the elderly are virtually
non-existent. Furthermore, lack of government initiatives for the elderly
persons in general, such as effective retirement policies, mean that many
elderly women are financially dependent on their relatives and do not have proper
access to healthcare.
In Tanzania and parts of Zambia, there have been reports of older women being
accused of witchcraft and discriminated against. In Kenya alone, there are
numerous instances of witchcraft allegations towards the elderly. The Standard
newspaper reported that five witchcraft suspects were lynched in Kisii in March
2009[3]. The five – four elderly women and a man – were burned to death in
broad daylight at Kanund village in Kitutu Chache. Ironically, residents,
including some church leaders have supported the move to lynch suspects, with
the chairman of the Kisii Pastors Union, Lawrence Omambia being quoted as
saying that residents had a right to eliminate those ascribing to black magic.
Belief in witchcraft is widespread across Africa but in northern Tanzania, it
is particularly strong. Many attacks go unreported, while it is estimated that
some 1,000 people in Tanzania lose their lives annually to witchcraft-related
violence, the majority being women over the age of 50.[4]
In Kenya, a 110 year old grandmother was found raped and strangled in her home;
also in 2007 the decomposing body of a 68 year old was found in the same
village after a similar rape ordeal.[5] In November 2008, a disabled 80 year
old woman was alleged to have been repeatedly raped in her home in the slums of
Korogocho.[6] Rape of elderly women is sometimes attributed to young men’s
belief that they are free from sexually transmitted diseases, and furthermore,
women’s fear of visiting hospitals or reporting to the police for fear of
exposing themselves and embarrassment makes them vulnerable to attacks. Many of
the elderly are illiterate and in many instances may not be aware of their
rights or may be physically incapable of asserting their rights.
This situation is further exacerbated by cultural practices that discriminate
against women, such as widow inheritance and customary inheritance laws which
leave women –especially elderly women – destitute, since they can no longer
work due to health restraints. Many customary tenure systems provide little
independent security of tenure to women on the death of their husband, with
land often falling back to the husband’s lineage.[7] To add to this, many
countries in Africa allow discrimination in application of the law when it
involves matters of customary law. For example, in Kenya the constitution
permits discrimination in matters of personal law that includes marriage,
separation and divorce, burial, devolution of property on death etc.[8] This
means that women have no legal protection when it comes to matters of personal
law and they are generally at the mercy of the customs in their communities. In
many African societies, women do not have the right to inherit property and
land and must always depend on their male relative to have access to property.
Therefore when a husband dies, women are likely to loose the matrimonial home
and any other properties that may have been accumulated during the marriage to
male relatives of the husband, leaving them destitute and vulnerable even in
their old age.
LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR THE ELDERLY
Neither the Universal Declaration
on Human Rights, nor the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on
Economic Social and Cultural Rights(ICESCR) contain any explicit reference
to older persons. However, many of the provisions in these instruments are of
direct relevance to ensuring equal opportunities and the full participation of
the elderly. The ICESCR committee expressly addresses the economic, social and
cultural rights of older persons. In the ‘general comment’, the committee calls
on state parties, inter alia, to pay particular attention to older women as
they have often not engaged in a remunerated activity entitling them to an
old-age pension; to institute measures to prevent discrimination on grounds of
age in employment and occupation; to take appropriate measures to establish
general regimes of compulsory old-age insurance; and to establish social
services to support the whole family when there are elderly people at home, and
assist elderly persons living alone or elderly couples wishing to remain at
home. The African charter
on human and peoples’ rights does, however, expressly mention older persons
as a group in need of special protection. Article 18(4), the African charter
stipulates that the aged shall have the right to measures of special protection
in keeping with their physical or moral needs. The protocol to the African charter on human and peoples’
rights on the rights
of women in Africa sets out special protection for elderly women. It is as
follows:
Article 22- Special
protection of elderly women:
The states parties undertake to:
- Provide protection to elderly women and take specific measures commensurate
with their physical, economic and social needs as well as their access to
employment and professional training;
- Ensure the right of elderly women to freedom from violence, including sexual
abuse, discrimination based on age and the right to be treated with dignity.
In 1982, the World assembly on ageing, held in Austria, adopted the Vienna
international plan of action on ageing, the first international policy
document on ageing. It was endorsed by United Nations general assembly
resolution 37/51.[9] More recently the 2002 Madrid United Nations international
plan of action on ageing was adopted by the Second world assembly on ageing. In
Article 5, the Second world assembly proclaims its confidence towards
‘eliminating all forms of discrimination, including age discrimination’. It
asserts that ‘persons, as they age, should enjoy a life of fulfilment, health,
security and active participation in the economic, social, cultural and
political life of their societies’ and proclaims its resolve ‘to enhance the
recognition of the dignity of older persons to eliminate all forms of neglect,
abuse and violence.’
How do the above legal provisions translate into action and protection for
elderly people? Not very well – unfortunately many African countries are not
yet signatories to the 2002 Madrid Convention. Furthermore, the African Women’s
Protocol, which provides specific provisions for elderly women, has been
ratified by just 27[10] out of the 53 African Union member states, with a
minimal number of states even domesticating and implementing its provisions.
The fact is that there is almost no legal or policy framework that protects the
rights of elderly women in Africa, despite the policy and legal standards set
out above. In the few instances where there are national policies and programs
to safeguard the rights of the elderly, these provisions are not implemented
properly. Thus, even if there are legislated policies for the aged, governments
simply don’t take the initiative to execute these policies effectively. The
worsening social and economic state of many African countries means that the
rights of the elderly are not placed high on the agenda to the detriment of
many older persons all over Africa.
CONCLUSION
African states have to take immediate steps to remedy the situation affecting
elderly women. Treaties such as the African Women’s Protocol must be ratified,
domesticated and implemented without delay. Moreover, marginalised groups such
as the elderly ought to be engaged and educated regarding their civic and
political rights. Formal retirement is not a benefit enjoyed by all elderly
persons. In fact in Zambia only public servants who have worked in the formal
sector are entitled to a pension equivalent to US$10 a month. Furthermore,
there is no pension arrangement for people who have not worked in the formal
sector.[11] This policy inherently discriminates against women whose work takes
place in the informal sector. Economic and health policies concerning the
elderly have to be reviewed and reformed for any lasting changes for the
elderly women of Africa to take place. It is therefore time to act, governments
have the tools and instruments to lay down and implement comprehensive laws and
policies for the elderly. However it is up to us to lobby and push our
governments to perform this task, otherwise these forgotten women will forever
be denied the right to a dignified life. This will be me and you in a number of
years to come, if not sooner.
* Anushka Sehmi is a lawyer and young women’s rights activist from Nairobi,
Kenya.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org
or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/.
NOTES
[1] http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/world/abuse.htm
[2] Source: http://www.cohre.org/store/attachments/COHRE%20Bringing%20Equality%20Home.pdf
[3] The East African Standard Newspaper, Wednesday 4th March, 2009.
[4] Source: http://www.helpage.org/Worldwide/Africa/News/@75762
[5] The Standard Newspaper, 14 January 2009 p. 16
[6] The Standard Newspaper, 26 November, 2008 p.13
[7] ICWR, ‘ To Have and Hold: Women’s Property and Inheritance Rights in the
Context of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa’, Working paper, June 2004, viewed at
http://www.icrw.org/docs/2004_paper_haveandhold.pdf
[8] Article 82(1) (b) of the Constitution of Kenya
[9] http://www.un.org/ageing/vienna_intlplanofaction.html
[10] Countries that have ratified include: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape
Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana,
Guinea-Bissau, Libya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritania,
Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, Togo,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe. For the full list visit http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Documents/Treaties/List/Protocol%20on%20the%20Rights%20of%20Women.pdf
[11] http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=74406
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