By Ayo Jones
On the occasion of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD), NewsTurf Foundation (NTF) highlighted the unique challenges faced by elderly women, who often experience “double discrimination” as a result of their gender and age and calls on the Federal Government and other stakeholders in Nigeria to take concerted action to address these issues.
Executive Director of NTF, Mr. Olusegun Fatuase noted that the issues affecting older women are connected to the rights recognized in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and outlined in the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted at the Second World Assembly on Ageing, held in Madrid, Spain in 2002.
He pointed out that older women are more likely than men to live in poverty as many of them have worked in the informal sector or in unpaid family roles throughout their lives and therefore lack pensions, savings, or social security benefits.
In addition, Fatuase said elderly women often face barriers to health services, including high costs, limited geriatric care, and inadequate attention to age-related illnesses such as osteoporosis, arthritis, vision problems, and chronic diseases.
The NTF Director stressed that elderly women frequently suffer from social isolation and loneliness, arising from widowhood, migration of younger family members, and reduced mobility adding that in many communities, older women may also be excluded from community decision-making or social activities.
He cited cases in many societies across Nigeria in which widows are deprived of property and inheritance after the death of their husbands, a situation which he noted can leave elderly women homeless or economically dependent on others.
Older women according to him, may also experience physical, emotional, or financial abuse by relatives, caregivers, or community members with such abuse often going unreported because the victims depend on their abusers for their care and support.
Fatuase also pointed out that in some communities and societies, elderly women are stigmatized or accused of witchcraft, which can lead to ostracism, violence, or displacement.
The NTF Director also highlighted the issue of older women often having little or no access to information, digital tools, and communication technologies, which can further marginalize them in an increasingly digital world. In addition, he regretted that policies aimed at ensuring development, providing social protection, and guaranteeing gender equality often focus primarily on younger women, leaving the needs of older women overlooked and unaddressed.
He therefore stressed that advancing gender equality must include addressing the rights, dignity, and well-being of elderly women while also ensuring that they have meaningful or effective access to social protection, health care, property rights, protection from abuse, and access to information, which is essential to achieving inclusive development.
He said the NewsTurf Foundation is therefore calling on the Federal Government to collaborate with other critical stakeholders to develop a national plan of action for comprehensively addressing the challenges confronting elderly women through policy interventions and other practical measures.