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Aged and Elderly Women
AZG, February 24, 2000
The
issues of aged and elderly persons have become a subject drawing the
attention and concern of the international public. The increasing numbers
of old people as well as the multiplicity of their fundamental problems,
has forced the authorities and NGOs alike to take a position and action.
In order to bring the
fundamental issues of the aged to the focus of universal attention and to
invigorate the development of national policies and strategies, the UN
declared 1999 the International Year of Older Persons.
The 20th century has witnessed a global explosion in population growth; in
the course of the last one hundred years there has been an almost
four-fold increase in the population. Alongside the overall population
growth, from the mid-20th century on, there has been a tendency towards
the increasing share of aged and elderly persons in the structure of the
global population, due to increased life expectancies. The proportion of
people over 60 years of age in the world population was 8.1% in 1950,
whereas in the year 2000 it is going to be 10%.
The
trend towards an ageing population in Armenia is even more alarming. The
population, which by the mid-20th century had been aged as a consequence
of World War II, started to become younger in the period from 1950 to
1980, with the share of persons over the age of 60 being exceptionally low
at 7.7 %.
From the early 1980s, the ageing of the population in Armenia became
predominant. In 1995, the share of aged and elderly persons reached 11.3%
of the nominal total population. It is expected that that index will reach
13.1% in the year 2000. According to UN estimates, should the current
ageing pattern go unabated, by the mid-21st century the aged and the
elderly will make up a quarter of the population of Armenia.
In terms of the share of ‘over
sixties’ in the nominal total population, Armenia is at the initial
stage of ageing. However, when you look at the ratio of aged and elderly
people to the actual population, our society tends to be ranked among
those at the medium stage of ageing.
In the last ten years, people reaching retirement age have been suddenly
confronted with the problem of their social adjustment. As a consequence
of the economic collapse and drastic reduction in the number of jobs,
these people - most of who had worked continuously in the last period of
Soviet rule and had only gradually begun to lead an active social life –
have been deprived of work almost overnight and so, experienced an abrupt
transition from an active to a passive lifestyle.
On the other hand, there was the transition from
facing old age while being relatively well provided for (brought about by
a general growth in living standards in the last period of the Communist
regime) to facing an old age with a marked lack of provision.
Socioeconomic, political, spiritual and cultural factors in the transition
period have had an especially adverse impact on aged and elderly
persons’ lifestyles. The following, are important social issues for
them:
· Economic insecurity: they are in dire need of financial, food, clothing
and energy resources as well as of household goods and other appliances;
· Health care insecurity: they face inaccessibility to medication and
quality medical services;
· Employment insecurity: a lack of jobs basically denies the opportunity
for the elderly to have an additional source of economic security and to
retain their social status;
· Social insecurity: there are a lack of opportunities for primary
services and treatment, home help and access to legal services to protect
their rights;
· Mental insecurity: they have few opportunities to be appreciated by
society, friends and family in order to preserve their feelings of
self-worth, physical and mental security and to share their experiences of
life to younger generations;
· Social isolation: there is little chance of maintaining contacts with
their relatives, children, acquaintances, friends and people of the same
age; of getting information on domestic and foreign developments; or for
participating in a fully-fledged manner in the running of the family and
in the administration of the community and the country.
· Mental and physical rehabilitation: there are a lack of opportunities
to make use of health care and physiotherapy rehabilitation services and
for quality pastimes, necessary for the preservation of their mental
abilities.
· Inaccessibility of the environment: there is a lack of accessibility to
social infrastructure and risks to health due to the degradation of the
environment.
Generally speaking, to a great extent the issues fundamental to the
elderly are the same as those fundamental to men and women. Despite this
commonality, older women also have a number of issues that are unique to
them.
According to data from the Ministry of Statistics, at the end of 1998 the
proportion of people aged 60 and above (with women accounting for over 56%
of them) was 13.9% of the nominal total population of 3.8 million.
The research demonstrates that in terms of their share, women outnumber
men not only among the aged and elderly but also among the single elderly
population.
The study, undertaken jointly by the
Ministry of Statistics and by the World Bank, reveals that in 1996-1997,
women accounted for 86.8% of the 70-80 000 single pensioners. The
prevalence of single elderly women can be attributed to a number of
reasons.
To begin with, average female life expectancy is greater, hence more
married women in their late 70s-early 80s lose their spouses than men do.
In addition, after losing a spouse more men of that age re-marry, whereas
women almost never do.
Secondly, women who are 60 or older today
were born before World War II. The war caused an imbalance in the sexual
composition of society and as a result, a considerable number of women in
this age group either never married at all or their spouses were men whose
health suffered in the war and who, not surprisingly, died prematurely.
Thirdly, one of the reasons why some women never married and consequently
remain single in their old age is due to the patriarchal system. Men are
the principal initiators of marital and family relationships and have
obvious advantages over women in selecting a partner, especially
considering the fact that after World War II, women far outnumbered
men.The emigration in recent years of a significant segment of the
population in search of employment, has become a new and sad cause why
elderly people end up being single. As a result, thousands of the elderly
are alone and deprived of the care usually provided by children and other
close relatives.
Finally, a dramatic increase in the
mortality rates of people of working age (owing to armed ethnic conflict
and poor socioeconomic conditions) has also contributed to the growth in
numbers of single elderly people.
According to the Ministry of Statistics, 22.3% of single pensioners
survive mainly as a result of humanitarian assistance, this being the sole
source of subsistence for about 7% of this group. The overwhelming
majority of them are women. Especially precarious, is the situation of
single pensioners who are 75 or older and who survive exclusively on such
assistance. Women account for 90 percent of this sub-group.
Economic, physical and psychological insecurity, a lack of contact with
relatives and friends and dependency on others, are among the acute
problems for single elderly women (28.6%, 27.2% and 25.5% respectively).
A study conducted on the single
elderly taken care of and are provided with medical and social services by
the ‘Mission Armenia Charity Union’, has revealed that 15% of single
elderly in Yerevan are in an extremely precarious socioeconomic situation;
43% are in a poor situation; 35% in tolerable and only 7% in good
circumstances. Over 91 % of the beneficiaries of the Union are women.
98.2% of single elderly are in constant need of food, 74.4% have an acute
need for clothing and 72.2% for bedclothes. Because this group is
especially susceptible to diseases and ailments, almost 97% of them need
constant medication and medical care and 41% need home care. 42.2% of
elderly women cannot clean their apartments to ensure adequate sanitary
conditions on their own, while over two-thirds of them have a need for
social and psychological assistance, including the need to remain in
constant contact with their relatives and people of the same age. One of
their top priorities is the need for legal advice to protect their rights.
Of elderly women, almost
40% need their apartments - and over 15% their furniture - to be
renovated. Heating their apartment in wintertime is a crucial issue for
the overwhelming majority of the elderly.
The above issues are also typical, to varying degrees, for women who are
not alone, i.e. who live with their relatives. The situation of this
group, in some cases, can become aggravated as a result of the general
decline in living standards. Younger relatives in particular, see the
elderly living with them as an unnecessary burden.
In conclusion, the solution of
the problems of the elderly, including women, should be sought within the
context of other societal issues. Before this happens, there should be
rational and fair role relations between the sexes in all age groups.
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