Ageing in India: A Gender Perspective

Ageing in India: A Gender Perspective

Author Name : Dr. Vandita Gautam

Gender-neutrality is sought and fought for with enviable commitment and consistency that has brought justice to the under-privileged, repressed and disenfranchised second sex across the globe. And, this is just the tip of the gender(ed) iceberg because a gendered world does not exist in a vacuum but is contingent with social mores, inherited power structures, economic expedience and a society’s level of emotive empathy. As long as humans are, gendering will happen irrespective of whether the society is matriarchal or patriarchal. Interestingly, today all of us are inextricably part of a cultural coda where interstices of vulnerable groups find themselves in a volatile situation. The most conspicuous of these groups is that of the elderly where trauma is universally experienced and  differs only in degree. Ageing brings with it problems related to health that are largely offset by a positive and supportive socio-economic structure. Sadly, in countries like India there is a dearth of registered and legally recognized bodies to care for the seniors who are by and large dependent on family support or NGOs. With a declining joint family system, there is a resistance toward having to care of the elderly. Ageism, characterised by anintolerance towards the old, is growing in India. The situation is compounded by the gendered environment here which comparatively favours the male. We need to understand and urgently address this situation so that the quality of life in India does not deteriorate with age and the shameless politics of negative gendering is undermined.