Rights of Elderly in Bangladesh

Sumaiya Sabrin Eva :
Ageing is an inevitable truth of human being. A newly born child gradually reaches to the age where he/she is called ‘elderly.’ All the way through he/she learns so many things, adapts different viewpoints. Thus an elderly becomes a house of profound knowledge. That is why in many countries elderly are provided different services so that they can live with dignity in their society. But in our country, they are seen as ‘burden.’ It is important that elderly people should not be taken as a burden on society, they should be considered as an asset.
Defining ‘elderly’
There are no universally accepted definitions of ‘elderly.’ Generally a person nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings are being considered as elderly.
There is no exact definition for elderly because its meaning would vary society to society. Someone is considered elderly due to changes in the role in life, someone is said to be elderly after living a certain number of years in life and begin to do less of different work or upon reaching the retirement age.
According to Mark Gorman, “The ageing process is of course a biological reality which has its own dynamic, largely beyond human control. However, it is also subject to the constructions by which each society makes sense of old age. In the developed world, chronological time plays a paramount role. The age of 60 or 65, roughly equivalent to retirement ages in most developed countries is said to be the beginning of old age. In many parts of the developing world, chronological time has little or no importance in the meaning of old age. Other socially constructed meanings of age are more significant such as the roles assigned to older people; in some cases it is the loss of roles accompanying physical decline which is significant in defining old age. Thus, in contrast to the chronological milestones which mark life stages in the developed world, old age in many developing countries is seen to begin at the point when active contribution is no longer possible.”
(Definition of an older or elderly person [WHO report].
Commonly, everybody is declared to be ‘elderly’ when they reach the ages of 65-70. ‘Elderly’ has been defined as a chronological age of 65 years old or older, while those from 65 through 74 years old are referred to as ‘early elderly’ and those over 75 years old as ‘late elderly.’ Such definition however may change if the definition will be based on all aspects of social, cultural and medical sciences.
Elderly people of Bangladesh: Present Scenario
Statistics of elderly
In Bangladesh, statistical data shows that, from 1979 to 2001, the number of aged population has increased from 1.98 million to 6.05 million; at present, the number of older persons is 10 million which represents 7 per cent of the total population (Population Census 2011). The growth rate of the elderly population also increased from 1.6 per cent in 1950-1955 to 2.9 per cent in 2000-2005 and would increase to 3.1 per cent by 2045-2050. Whereas the total growth rate was 2.1 per cent in 2000-2005, it would come down to 0.7 per cent by 2045-2050 (World Population Ageing 1950-2050). Also life expectancy has increased from 36.6 years in 1950 to 61 years in 2000; at present, it is about 68 years (Population Census 2011). The projected number of older people in 2015, 2025 and 2050 are 12.05 million (11 per cent), 17.62 million (18 per cent) and 43.02 million (20 per cent) respectively (Ageing Population: Challenges and Services. Dr Md Rabiul Islam). A figure has been shown below on the ‘Number of people aged 60 or over: World, developed and developing countries, 1950-2050.’
So, we can see rapid increase of elderly in our country. With the improvement of medical science, in one hand the life expectancy of people is increasing and on the other hand child mortality rate is decreasing; and thus the number of aged people has been increasing.
Government policies
regarding elderly people
Recently on November 17, 2013 Bangladesh government has approved the draft ‘National Policy on Elderly People’ on condition that the law ministry will set the definition of old persons and specify provisions for ensuring facilities for senior citizens. The cabinet approved the draft of the policy. It will be sent to the law ministry for vetting. Then the social welfare ministry will make the national policy public. Elderly people will have ID cards, health cards, reserved seats in transports according to the policy. Old homes will be established and the government will also take initiatives to attract the private sector in this regard.
To support the elderly, government’s Ministry of Social Welfare provides old-age allowance to the poor and vulnerable elderly since 1997. According to that policy, they are given Tk 300 per month. The fund was 125 million Taka in the 1997-98 fiscal years, which is now 8910 million Taka in 2011-12 fiscal years.
But the support that government provides for the elderly is not sufficient.
In our country elderly people face other problems also. These are:
(i) Though the policy has been approved to address over 60 years people as ‘senior citizens,’ still there are so many things to complete. The draft is approved only. In a country like Bangladesh, after approving any draft of policy, it takes so many years to make that policy operative. What will be the interim actions in between of these periods are not defined.
(ii) Government allocated Tk 891 corer in this financial year 2011-2012. The total Beneficiary of this is 2.475 million. Beneficiaries are getting Tk. 300 monthly per head which is payable in every 3 months. But the amount of allowance and the number of beneficiaries have not been increased in last three years.
(iii) There is another problem with the government’s old-age allowance policy. One of the provisions of disqualifications are that the older persons who are over 65 years old but are day labourer or beggar or vagrant, are not provided this support. And even there are no special provisions for them. But these people are stranded in such position because of either extreme poverty or negligence from the family members. It is clear that government try to judge these people as invisible.
(iv) Except the old age allowance, there are no other schemes in government level.
(v) Elderly people in Bangladesh are mostly suffered from various complicated physical diseases and the number is increasing day by day but the services provided through government hospitals are inadequate in compare to needs. Furthermore, the elderly people need special kind of treatment (it is known as ‘Geriatrics’ in medical science), which is not available in our country, and we cannot even be seen initiative from the government to promote this treatment.
Again, in the plan and policies of government’s health sector, health issue of the elderly is absent.
(vi) During different natural disaster the elderly are badly affected. But there are no special policies for them regarding the issue.
(vii) In the Millennium Development Goal 2015, the issues of elderly have not been included.
(viii) There is no particular department which can investigate the violation of elderly people’s right.
(ix) There are no separate special ticket counters for the elderly in the bus/ train station, no special arrangements in the bus or train or any other public transports.
Policy recommendations
There are some policy recommendations regarding to this issue. These are provided below:
(i) Government should include all vulnerable elderly people under its old-age allowance policy.
(ii) The amount of old-age allowance is insufficient enough to adjust with the increasing inflation. It should be increased to Tk 1,000 from the present Tk 300.
(iii) It is also needed to increase awareness about the ageing issue so that everyone becomes conscious about the rights of the elderly.
(iv) Government can encourage the senior citizens in involving them in such activities where they can easily work and earn as well as their dignity will be ensured by themselves. This is called active ageing.
(v) It is also import to introduce more effective data collection on ageing issue.
(vi) Elderly people should be engaged in decision-making.
(vii) It is government’s right to ensure the health rights and responds to the health needs of the senior citizens.
Elderly people suffer very badly in their age. In their family they are ignored. On the other hand, in the development policies or health, policies related to elderly people cannot be seen anywhere. But our constitution 19(1) says that “the State shall endeavour to ensure equality of opportunity to all citizens.”
So, to ensure equality of opportunity government should take necessary measures. This is same for all ages, whether s/he is 16 or 60.
But a 60 years old man/ woman may not have same ability as of 16. In that case, to take same kind of benefit from the State, government has the duty to provide him/her necessary support. On the other hand, we all have to be supportive to make an elderly-friendly environment in our country along with the government. n