HelpAge India calls for focus on the plight of vulnerable elderly women this year
New Delhi: HelpAge India, which works to improve the lives of elderly citizens, emphasized on the need for social protection measures such as increase in pension amount, adequate healthcare and livelihood opportunities, with special focus on the needs of older women, they marked the International Day of Older Persons (IDOP), celebrated globally.
The NGO marked their event here at the national capital with the theme ‘Empowering Women: Roles, Resilience, and Recognition’, with former top cop Kiran Bedi, also India’s first woman IPS officer, who batted strongly for the rights of elderly women, one of the most vulnerable elder segments.
The event witnessed an enthusiastic participation from dignitaries, senior citizens and youth.
IDOP is a day to celebrate the elderly, raise their issues and create awareness about their needs. This year HelpAge is focusing on elderly women, as past surveys and the government’s longitudinal data study have proved that they are the most disadvantaged amongst the elderly.
HelpAge India Chairperson, Kiran Karnik, spoke about the increase in the population of senior citizens and the need to stay active & contribute post retirement, he said, “We need to recognize the contributions of all senior citizens. Retirement at sixty is a misnomer, it’s a new innings, they can start doing something else, maybe step out of a physically active role, to get to do things that keep them active physically, but not as much as they used to, but they continue to contribute. In India, older persons are growing rapidly, very soon by 2046 older persons will outnumber children. While the population is growing at 18% a year between now and 2050, older persons will grow at 133% and those above 80, will grow at 279%. Healthcare for the elderly, pension for the elderly, these are absolute necessities, a social safety net is a must.”
Stressing on the need for more investment in elder learning he said “We spend next to zero on educating elders. Today, digital literacy is a must, whether you want to order food or do a bank transaction”.
Dr. Kiran Bedi, the former DG Prisons, who had won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1994, emphasizing on the solutions needed to address elder needs, said, “What is needed is urgent neighborhood medical care, as senior citizens may not be able to drive very far. We also need a good insurance and pension scheme to provide social security to the elders. It is imperative that elders stay financially independent. The day you compromise your financial independence, your child or carer, will do as they please. Also, RWAs and Senior Citizen Associations can play an important role by organizing digital literacy workshops and sensitize elders about laws and regulations.”
HelpAge India CEO, Rohit Prasad said, “The population of senior citizens stands at 14 crores as of now. In next 30 years, this number will multiply to 32 crores. This calls for special urgency on part of the society for taking care of such a huge number of the elderly population. Our government has set out some very enabling policy frameworks, such as the ‘National Policy on Older Persons’. We have requested the government for the need for social protection measures such as an increased pension amount of Rs.3000 to be set. While we need to look at the needs of elderly across the board, three segments that must be focused upon are – older women, those 80 plus who have specific needs and those with functional disabilities. We have chosen to focus on older women this year, as they face greater vulnerability and disadvantages, whether in areas of literacy, economic & financial empowerment or digital inclusion. Female elders lag behind male elders by a factor of two to three times on any indicator,” said
Known for her “humane prison reforms” in Tihar Jail, Dr. Bedi further said that “Crime against elders is rising because they are vulnerable and cannot retaliate. We need a neighborhood policing system to ensure that the elderly have a robust security system. The beat system too can supplement the elder-care security apparatus.”
The Ageing India Report 2023, published by the United Nations Population Fund, states that the elderly population of the country will double by 2050 to 347 million, therefore it is extremely urgent that a robust medical care and pension scheme for the elderly be put in place.
HelpAge India, which works with communities on the ground, says it has brought them face-to-face with challenges and ground realities, as well as remarkable stories of hope and resilience. Stories of poor and vulnerable elders rising above when empowered with financial inclusion and digital literacy are not uncommon, calling for an urgent need to create an eco-system for senior citizens so that they remain in the mainstream even after their retirement at the age of sixty.
