Right activists and health experts on Wednesday, on the eve of International Day of Older Persons, sounded a note of warning to not to abuse elderly people of the society as they are country’s assets not liabilities.
According to National Human Rights Commission Kazi Rezaul Haque, “Elderly people are in no way liabilities to society and rather ‘our assets’ as they carry the experience of the past and share it with the new generation.”
“Bangladesh has enacted the Parents Maintenance Act and has a wonderful national policy for elderly persons that covers everything (aspects) . . . what we need to do is to disseminate and enforce them . . . most importantly we had a social value towards the elderly people which we now need to revive,” he said.
He said there was a trend of ‘neglect and abuse’ of senior citizens in view of changing social pattern and issued a clarion call for increased awareness to soothe life of aged people.
“Something appears to be going wrong in the social system . . . neglect and abuse of elderly parents by their children appears to be a new social trend in Bangladesh,” Dr Rahman Jilani, founder and executive director of London-based Sir William Beveridge Foundation (SWBF) told the news agency.
He suggested use of mosques as centres for social works including the campaign for safeguarding the senior citizens while urged people to recall the heritage of Bengali society which put high emphasis on caring elderly parents.
Jilani feared that despite being a growing trend, the issue of ‘neglect and abuse’ of elderly remain to be unreported, barring required social and administrative intervention though such acts were punishable under the country’s legal system.
According to a study carried by Bangladesh chapter of SWBF, among 1,015 people in suburban Dhamrai villages found that dementia or memory loss to be a major problem of the elderly people beyond their awareness while they were also at risks of abuse and neglect by their close relatives.
“Just imagine you have become 75-year old and then think what type of behavior you expect from others and shape your attitude,” said Professor Dr ASM Atiqur Rahman of Social Welfare and Research Institute of Dhaka University.
Reputed nutrition expert Professor Dr Keramat Ali said 26 percent who walks along the Dhanmandi Lake were found to be suffering from cognitive impairment, updated term of dementia.
Neuro psychiatrist Colonel Dr M Quamrul Hassan said three types of doctors – geriatrists, neurologists and psychiatrists were meant to treat the elderly people while in most cases the psychiatrists can cover also the tasks of two other disciplines in handling the dementia.
