Human rights and status of older women in india - a national study

India has a population of approx. 60 million older women (60+).  This reporrt argues that in India, women have never found themselves at the centre stage, and have always been marginalised from the mainstream of the society. Living as second class citizen for centuries, their mindset has also developed accordingly and never enjoyed privileges of development.

This report is based on a survey to assess the status of older women in India using a representative sample of 10000 older women was interviewed spread across 200 districts of 25 states and Union Territories of India.

Its objectives were to: identify the factors responsible  for the miserable living conditions and violation of human rights of older women in India; to create awareness among the concerned stakeholder keeping in mind greater challenge ahead and; to suggest or recommend some specific points to policy makers, planners and decision makers so that issues concerning elderly women could be given due importance in future. Observations from this survey:

• marginalisation/isolation or alienation in old age are among the most common issues that are affecting older women. Older women, who are still living with their sons/daughters and grand-children are also suffering from emotional alienation
• older women, who live in cities, are prone to social alienation in comparison to older women in villages. Joint family systems are still alive in rural areas. Older women, who live in semi urban
  situations/industrial townships also, find it difficult to cope with old age, particularly after their children have grown up and husbands retire
• with increased life span of older women, their financial needs are emerging as major concerns in old age. However, today many older women have property/money but they cannot use the money or take financial decisions on their own as social traditions don’t allow them to use their ancestral property / money for their own welfare
• most of the older women face family problems like uncomfortable relations with daughters-in-law, limited interaction with children, grand-children. Their daughters-in-law don’t like their interference in family matters, children are busy with their jobs, and their husbands invariably have mood swings after retirement and mostly restrict their free movements
• due to negligence, lack of awareness or financial support and religious mindset of women, older women often have to face acute health problems
• most old women are self conscious. Due to their home-bound lifestyle they don’t attain confidence even in their young life. Changes in appearance in old age, dependence on spectacles, hearing aids, receding hairline, wrinkled skin… everything makes them more and more self-conscious
• human rights of older women are not defined specifically, but their rights are more sensitive than other individuals as in most of the cases they cannot protect their rights on their own
• In old age women turn towards religion. Most women turn to religious activities, pilgrimage, etc. after losing their life-partner or any other family members
• in today’s fast paced modern life, younger generations hardly find time to share with their elders. It has been realised that ever-widening communication gap between the generations is also responsible for miserable condition of older women

All concerned stakeholders need to work together towards:

• bringing perceptual change towards old age in general society
• sensitising younger generations towards elderly women
• empowering younger women to develop them as strong older women
• spreading awareness older women about their rights & powers
• bringing attitudinal changes in girls towards their life
• initiating the process of strengthening human rights of older women