THE LOCKDOWN AND ELDERLY WOMEN UNDER ITS SHADOW

Tough time of COVID-19 is taking a toll on each and everyone, but some are at greater risk than others like elderly women. Their physical sufferings, that is, threat from COVID-19 and other aging disabilities have just summed up with distorting mental well-being. Elderly Women constitute 55% of all older persons and a majority of them, 58% live in developing countries, where they are already financially and socially insecure, thus not able to survive the burns of lockdown effectively. 10% of older women engaged in informal sector have already lost their jobs. For upcoming months or years they would have no income, subsequently increasing their dependency on their families, who might not receive them well because of the financial burden of the medics  and the extra care they would require. Though, in these situations, the women are becoming the most vulnerable group of the society, be it young girls, newly married, pregnant women, mothers and grandmothers- the situation is taking an indefinable toll for the working women, as well. However, among all the brief classification of the dynamic “women” population, the elderly/ old women are more susceptible to diseases, mental pressure and abuses.

As the Coronavirus cases spike within the border and alongside, the death rate increases tremendously, the aged population of the country- 45 to 60 yrs and 60 to 75 yrs are coming under the grave threat of contacting the fatal disease. According to surveys, the rate of fatalities among the 60+ people is 42%, making them the most vulnerable, followed by the 45+ people with 34% fatalities. The death rate is even higher among those suffering from various life threatening ailments like diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, counting to about 78% of the total death. Therefore, briefly it can be concluded, that since the morbidity among the elderly/ old population is higher, they should be tended with more care and responsibility. Though the death rate among men is higher than women,  the gendered society of the country doesn’t spare even the elderly and apart from cruelly imposing the role of “caregiver” upon the women, feminization of aging becomes problematic to them. And the role of 'caregiver' isn’t bound to any age limit, as even older women are found caring their husbands and middle aged children, majorly sons. With  COVID-19  looming,  many of the elderly women are suffering from depression, loneliness  and  other  psychological  problems  like  dementia  and  Alzheimer.  According to surveys conducted, it is believed that the elderly population will be the worst sufferers post the lockdown because of their immobility, neither can they meet their children who might live afar, nor they can visit clinics and neither go out for walks or recreation as they are most susceptible to the virus. Medical facilities and the digital connectivity are the most conspicuous problems being faced by the community.

Source:. Unsplash By:eberhard grossgasteiger 

Medical facilities have become a luxury to even upper- middle class women. According to studies conducted by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, medical facilities are functioning at an average of 20% to 30% daily and the unavailability of labour has dropped the production to 50%. Therefore, there is a severe shortage of medicines and its consequent production. And with a lack of transportation facilities, medicines are not reaching their destinations. Though medical shops are open 24×7, those are mainly in urban areas. Older Women are naturally very motherly and possess very emotional traits which is making it harder for them to continue every day with the lack of their support systems, their children and their grandchildren, nurses and nannies. Over time, this has made an impact on them psychologically since they’ve become more irritated and frustrated. United Nations survey has studied that in general “Elder abuse” or the abuse of elderly people, particularly women includes sexual and physical abuses, financial and material abuse, psychological abuse and emotional/non-verbal pressures (www.un.org). Therefore, older women are anyways more susceptible to abuses. They’ve been mistreated, mocked and exploited. The older women have become entirely detached to the outside world due to the prolonged lack of connectivity, hence affecting their rural-urban movement they’re unable to procure even the most basic needs, like medicines and clothing, let alone medical help, like Chambers and clinics. These are the elderly women who’ve reduced down to rags with the lack of monetary support and minimum basic need, food supplies and basic hygiene product supply has reduced tremendously alongside the sharp decline in the transportation of the medical supplies. The worst-hit among them are the women working in farms to acquire two meals a day.

 Mrs Piya Bhattacharya, 65, lives in the rural area alone with her ill husband and she herself doesn’t feel better many a times because of the increased household work she has to do now, to her, availing the medics of her husband is the biggest challenge as the clinics are mostly shut and doctors aren’t easy to contact. Her worries for her children and grandchildren living in Bangalore give her blues and sometimes insomnia. And, she alone has to deal with her mental stress, she fears of sharing her worries with her already tensed family.

Digital connectivity is often the  suggested way  to reach out to families. The case with elderly is bit different.  The problems  faced  by  elderly  in  handling  the  electronic  devices  is  a  challenge.  The case of elderly women goes further down as they acquire less electronic devices  in comparison to  their  male counterparts. The unequal distribution  of  resources on the basis of  gender,  reluctance  towards learning  technology  as  well  as  the resort  to  other  means  of  social  interaction  like  through  a gathering  and  participation  in  religious  activities  are  some  of  the  reasons.  60%  of  elderly  women between 60  to  69 years  in rural  areas  and  more  in urban areas  participate  in family  gathering and  religious  activities.  Under COVID -19  scenario  both  of  these  activities  are  banned  and  the  need  of  virtual  connectivity  has  increased.  4%  percent  of  elderly  women  live  alone  and  nearly 18% live  along  with  their  husband,  this  forces  them  to  resort  to  mobile  applications  for  ordering groceries,  medics  etc.  Lockdown  has  forced  them,  especially  in  urban  areas  to  keep  up  with  their routines  through  zoom  sessions,  which  many  of  them  don't  know  how  to  connect. They  should be  taught  how  to  handle  electronic  devices  effectively.  The  survey  by  Helpage  India  found that  4% of  senior  citizens  use  internet;  the percentage of  women decreases further, only  6% of  them have  a mobile  phone. Another  survey by  Telenor  showed  that  24% of  older  women reported  that using  the  mobile  internet  is  "too  complicated"  and  also  there are  too  many  mobile  applications which  just  confuse  them. Insufficient  digital  literacy  makes them  vulnerable,  sometimes  even prey  to  online  frauds.  There  is  also  a  need  to  change  the  mind-set  of  families,  as  it  is  observed that  66% of  older  women living  with their  families  are  fully  dependent  on  them  and   they aren't  given  a  phone  because  the  family  thinks there  is  no  need  of one.

 

Source: Unsplash By: Jon Tyson

It won’t be wrong to say that the plight of the elderly is ignored by the government as well as the media. While the government failed to address their issues, media too turned their eyes away from them. Locked up in their homes, the elderly are now mostly dependent on the helping committees within closed residential complexes, for their basic needs and care, in the containment zones this responsibility has been taken up by police force and NGOs. The Delhi Government has come up with 24×7 call centres to assist the elderly who are at higher risk under the COVID-19 crisis, but this is a very recent development. Telematics and E-pharmacies are becoming more and more accessible and acceptable among the citizens, at least the affluent community to get protected supplies at their home quarters without taking the risk of acquiring them individually. Along Telemedics, E-pharmacies through various apps are making it possible to ensure the safe deliveries of medicine to customers, while remaining cost-efficient. However, all these facilities limit themselves to the urban area failing to make an impact in the rural areas which are now mostly accessible through NGOs and Voluntary Youth Organizations, with which their indefatigable workers are providing food and medical supplies to the older people in rural areas like the Helpage volunteers are doing. In old age homes, the people are supporting one another with organizing various physical activities. The old people sans their daily visitors have become supportive, emotionally and physically. So, in a way, they are trying to keep their best while the Pandemic Lockdown prolongs.

The crisis might affect the living arrangements within a household, it will be interesting to see how the elderly are being treated at the hands of their families, especially in poor and affected areas, with decreasing payments and increasing responsibilities towards them.

WRITTEN BY: DIYA KIRTTANIA 

                            ANJUMAN YADAV