Unpaid work of carers: An ‘Overlooked’ reality
Mahadir Omer Fahad :
The impact of disability extends beyond the individual and affects the entire family since persons with certain types of disabilities are required of constant assistance with their daily activities and medication management. As a result, parents, especially mothers, are often considered to be their primary carer (or caregiver). A ‘carer’ is someone who regularly provides care for a person(s) with disability and can be either a family member or a paid-helper. But, in the context of Bangladesh, carers are mostly family members and they are not paid for the care work they provide.
Carers experience the feeling of heavy responsibility, constant worries, and uncertainties. Consequently, they are subjected to physical and mental health problems, financial burdens, disturbance in family life, and sometimes it ends up with the loss of self-control. Additionally, carers tend to give a low priority on their own health compared to the time and effort they spend in caring for a person with disability in their family. As a result, their quality of life is compromised especially with the increase of duration for providing care and negative feelings associated with caregiving such as self-blame, guilt, shame, and embarrassment. In the case of Bangladesh, carersoften remain invisible, isolated, and vulnerable and relying on others for support because they lack required education and training on formal caregiving as well as they could not pursue any livelihood option which leaves them with financial insolvency.
The issue of unpaid work based on gender is widespread that exists in every society worldwide and when it concerns women-carers (mostly mothers), it remains unnoticed while their due recognition and appreciation of unpaid work becomes a far cry. The physical and mental well-being of the carers is greatly affected by unpaid care work. This, coupled with the higher cost of living for families with disabilities, can exacerbate the risk of poverty. It is a reality that caregiving reduces the time available for pursuing livelihood opportunities. Even when carers work outside of the home, they often shoulder the majority of the unpaid care work, leaving them with less time for rest and other activities. Carers are disproportionately affected by the time constraints imposed by unpaid care work which limits their ability to lead a sound and productive life. Unfortunately, in countries such as Bangladesh, there are very few social security benefits available for the carers and many of them are not even aware of the benefits that do exist.
In addition to missing out on livelihood opportunities, carers are often bound to restrict their social and leisure activities including forgoing family gatherings and community events. Moreover, public spaces that are not designed to accommodate people with mobility issues makes it difficult for carers to take the member with disability of their family to social activities. Alongside, there is society-imposed pressure which stems from misconception that it is ideal for both persons with disabilities and their carers to remain at home rather than venture out in public where they could face discrimination and abuse.
Social and state initiatives are instrumental for supporting the carers of persons with disabilities. Transforming this large population into a productive workforce can bring benefits not only to the carers themselves but also to their families, the state, and to the society in general. The government needs to undertake realistic initiatives to improve the quality of life of the carers with the aim to enable them to live with dignity as part of the society. These initiatives could start with integrating the issue of carers into various government policies which will pave the way to smooth access to the existing services of the government.
Additionally, initiating a separate identification-card for the carers to acknowledge their entitlements for seeking government services could be a good move. As a result, they could seek allowance, loan, and insurance facilities from the concerned departments of the government. As well, different upskilling training could be introduced to them therefore they could involve themselves in various income-generating opportunities. Meanwhile, the government needs to establish several community caring-centers in each sub-district of the country which will provide temporary respite, physical and mental health services to the carers and will be accessible for persons with disabilities to move around freely.
On a final note, it is an urge to the government to realize that the contribution of the carers is recognizable and express its solidarity to mainstream the carers in the society. It is quite assumable, if the deprivation of carers persists, it can negatively impact the quality of care they provide to the persons with disabilities which will result in two individuals from the same family requiring care.
On the eve of May Day, it is about time to recognize that caregiving can have adverse effects on the economic, social, mental, and physical well-being of the carers. Therefore, why not make a commitment to transforming the lives of the carers and ensuring that their pressing-needs are addressed.
Mahadir Omer Fahad, Programme Officer, Centre for Disability in Development (CDD), Email: [email protected]
