WUNRN
Women's Feature Service
India - New Delhi
By Dr Mala Kapur Shankardass*
The number of older people inIndia is growing - current estimates put the 60-plus population at around 90million and India is projected to have a population of 142 million older peopleby 2020. (Credit: JoginderChawla)
Prema, a homemaker who lives near
Her situation is unusual, but it does
fall in the category of “elder abuse”, a situation in which older people are
subjected to abuse and neglect within their families and communities. On June
15, the world observes Elder Abuse Awareness Day, yet people like Prema
continue to suffer neglect and abuse.
It was
in the mid-1980s that gerontological research, especially in the
Yet,
there is empirical evidence to suggest that in
What
is a particularly disquieting trend is the vulnerability of ageing women to
oppression in various forms. Given existing structures of gender
discrimination, women run a greater risk than men of becoming victims of
material exploitation, financial deprivation, property grabbing, abandonment,
verbal humiliation, emotional and psychological torment. When they fall
seriously ill, it is more likely than not, that it is the elderly women in the
family who will be denied proper health care. There is also a greater tendency
to dismiss the gendered aspects of elder abuse. They rarely come to light. This
is because such attacks are made invisible by the belief that they are “internal”
or “domestic” matters that need to be sorted out by the concerned individuals
and not one that can be addressed publicly. There is also a widespread
understanding that the neglect, deprivation and marginalisation of older women
are the normal consequences of ageing.
The
plight of young widows has been well-documented and commented upon in the
country, but what has been overlooked are the traumas they undergo as a result
of ageing. Already marginalised, the hardships they undergo due to age are never
adequately realised and their need for more resources to meet their
deteriorating health is invariably overlooked. It is unfortunate that even
organisations involved in women’s activism have paid insufficient attention to
this helpless and hapless section of the population. In fact, women’s
organisations have so far tended to focus more on the dilemmas of middle-aged
women who have to balance their own personal and career needs with the demands
of looking after both the young and older generations within their families.
The
research that I have personally conducted as a gerontologist has been
revealing. I have come across women who have been hit, or more specifically
slapped, by their sons, daughters-in-law, daughters and husbands. Some older
women have told me that they have had things thrown at them when they have not
done something according to the desires of family members. They have been
pushed around or restrained from doing something they had wanted to do, whether
it is cooking, housekeeping, or participating in activities outside the home.
Many have reported being spat upon while some have been falsely framed for
dowry harassment. But the most common abuse these women face is being denied
independent social and economic resources. Most of them carry on doing the back
breaking domestic chores that they have done all their lives. The luxury of a
little leisure, a little care, is something that has always eluded them.
While
it is difficult to accurately measure the extent of the problem on a national
scale, given the fact that most families deny that such abuse takes place
within the four walls of their homes, we do know that the number of older
people in our midst is growing. Current estimates put the 60-plus population at
around 90 million and
Some
argue that a good legal regime will help victims of abuse and neglect among the
elderly.
For
me, an important intervention strategy is for everyone, particularly women, to
start preparing for old age even when they are relatively young. It is
essentially that each individual understands the legal, social and financial
factors that shape their lives throughout their life span, and build the
necessary support networks. This will go a long way in helping them take the
necessary practical steps to secure their future and protect their rights, even
as they advance in years.
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