Female Elderly Abuse & Discrimination With Regard To Old Age Homes

Ageing is the final phase of life’s journey a- natural phenomenon in the long -drawn cycle of growth and decay . With the rising level of life expectancy caused by the advancement of scientific and medical method old age has been a matter of critical concern in every country. This twilight phase of life is characterized by the struggles women have to undertake . Gender discrimination against femininity often stems from age-old societal and cultural traditions or practices and legal , political and economic conditions . Women represent an integral part of society and have a significant impact on men’s lives as well. . Owing to gender discrimination the female elderly are far more likely than males to feel depressed , endure financial constraints and suffer from various types of abuse . The plight of the feminine gender is really pathetic . They especially the widows become victims , of abuse. Many of the divorcee women are subjected to torture and driven out of their home by their kin . So, socially , financially and emotionally they become completely devastated. Rai et al., (2018) show that usually most of the female elderly (particularly widows) experience abuse of various types – emotional , financial , physical and sexual besides neglect. Family members and society consider such elderly persons liabilities or even parasites . Sometimes , the female elderly are forced to leave their own homes and stay at old age home for their sheer survival. The present study has been conducted in Kolkata City West Bengal keeping three major objectives in mind – (1)To probe the various factors compelling the female elderly to reside at OAHs , (2) to explore the various abusive acts inflicted on the female elderly and (3) To draw some specific policy & programme implications to ameliorate the OAH female elderly residents’ plight . The present study is qualitative by nature for which case study method is used . It has been found that most of the victims among the elderly are either widows or uneducated women , women from rural areas etc. who have been grappling with the hazards and worries associated with femininity.