The feminization of aging has presented major challenges for the global community, and Iran is no exception. While other countries have adopted effective strategies to address the feminization of aging and manage this crisis, in Iran, this crisis reveals its grim face in the increasing number of elderly people “abandoned” in parks, streets, and addiction centers. Two years ago, Dariush Abouhamzeh, then Deputy Minister of Social Welfare at the Ministry of Labor, stated that the average pension for retirees is 8.5 million tomans, which covers only 25 to 33 percent of an elderly person’s living expenses (1). The reason for this is the failure to adjust pensions in line with the inflation rate. This issue reflects the poverty experienced by elderly individuals who receive pensions. For many elderly people, especially elderly women who are alone and impoverished, their very existence is shattered in this vicious cycle.

The Global Face of Feminized Aging

October 1 is International Day of Older Persons. The global population is increasingly aging. Today, there are 807 million people aged 65 and older worldwide, a number that has increased sixfold since 1950. By 2050, more than 55 percent of the world’s 2 billion elderly will be women, with 59 percent of them over the age of 80. In 2023, the United Nations for the first time designated October 29 as World Care and Support Day. The purpose of this observance is to highlight the critical role of care and support in promoting gender equality and in sustaining societies and economies capable of caring for their elderly populations. To achieve this, care and support systems must address the intersection of gender inequality, poverty, age, and women’s disabilities (2).

Since women live on average five years longer than men, they naturally make up a larger portion of the elderly population. Women also spend more years than men in ill health or with disabilities (this rate can reach 40.1 percent for women and 23.8 percent for men over the age of 50). This leads to an overrepresentation of elderly women among those who require care and support. For instance, in the European Union, 33 percent of women over the age of 65 need care, compared to 19 percent of men. Globally, elderly women spend an average of 3 to 4 hours a day on unpaid care work and household chores. Surveys in 47 countries confirm that women over 65 spend nearly twice as much time on such tasks as men. For example, in countries such as Belgium, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Switzerland, between 30 to 37 percent of grandmothers and 24 to 31 percent of grandfathers provide weekly childcare for their grandchildren. This critical yet often overlooked contribution establishes them as hidden yet essential pillars of national childcare systems (3).

While elderly women in high-income countries may have more flexibility to spend time caring for children or providing other support roles in retirement, elderly women in low- and middle-income countries, where pension coverage is limited and gender inequalities are significant, often do not have this choice. In 2021, only 10.8 percent of elderly women in high-income countries were still in the workforce, while this rate was 31.8 percent in low-income countries. As a result, elderly women in low-income countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America often endure long, grueling working hours to support themselves and their families, significantly affecting their physical and mental health. These women’s own caregiving needs are often neglected. Additionally, due to a lifetime of economic, sexual, and gender-based discrimination and unequal participation in the formal labor market, they have less savings and fewer assets, making it difficult to maintain an adequate standard of living in old age.

Globally, women in only 56 of 116 countries with available data have universal access to pension rights. For instance, in Ghana, only 7.2 percent of elderly women receive pensions, compared to 21.2 percent of elderly men. Similarly, in the Philippines, these numbers are 12 percent for elderly women and 23.3 percent for elderly men. Even when women have access to social benefits, the benefits are often too low to cover living expenses, let alone care costs. This issue becomes even more acute as inflation erodes purchasing power in many countries. A study by HelpAge International on the impact of food, fuel, and financial crises in 10 countries found that older people have adopted coping strategies like reducing the quality and quantity of food they consume, which has adverse effects on their health, particularly among elderly women.

The absence of necessary government support forces many elderly individuals to rely on non-governmental support systems, namely their families. However, even in these informal family networks, elderly women often live in hardship. In many countries in Western Asia, South Asia, and North Africa, elderly women who suffer from financial limitations or have no financial resources at all live with their children, sometimes under psychological pressure and feelings of being a burden. UN Women’s research on gender issues during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that the share of unpaid care work performed by older women (57 percent) increased compared to men (47 percent). At the same time, older women (over 60) were 37 percent less likely than older men and 41 percent less likely than younger women (under 60) to rely on other family members or domestic workers for help with such work. This may partly reflect differences in living arrangements, as older women (15.8 percent) are twice as likely as older men (7.7 percent) to live alone.

The Feminization of Poverty and Aging in Iran

In Iran, as in other countries, the number of elderly women is growing, and in the near future, they will face specific challenges. This problem is increasingly accumulating daily, painting a more worrying future. Last year, the Iranian Parliament Research Center reported that if we consider the elderly age to be 60 or 65, about one-quarter to one-third of Iran’s population will be elderly by 2056. Forecasts for Iran’s aging population show that by 2051, the number of elderly Iranians will reach around 30 million. The Parliamentary Research Center also noted that not only is aging one of the most important and fundamental issues for the country’s future, but elderly women, in particular, will face more acute challenges due to their larger numbers and lack of economic empowerment. In other words, Iran’s economy will face around 30 million elderly people, many of whom will either not have jobs or will have such low incomes that they will lack sufficient economic resources for old age.

According to research by the National Council for the Elderly, the number of elderly women living alone has grown by an average of 7 percent annually over the past decade. The prevalence of elderly women living alone increased from 13 percent to 23 percent over the past decade, while for elderly men, it rose from 4 percent to 5.5 percent. The pattern of elderly women living alone is more than four times that of elderly men. This has become a major social issue in Iran. With increased life expectancy and cultural and social changes, the number of elderly women living alone is rising, and a significant proportion of the elderly in Iran, especially women, are facing the challenges associated with solitary living and the economic and social problems that come with it (4).

The reasons for the increase in elderly women living alone include, first and foremost, the rise in life expectancy in Iran, which means that more people reach old age. As in other countries, women make up the majority of the elderly population in Iran. Other contributing factors include rising divorce rates in a society where polygamy is legally permissible, along with the heavy wave of youth migration and the fact that many widowed women are forced to live alone. Living alone as an elderly woman undoubtedly brings economic, social, and psychological consequences. Financial hardship for elderly women is a direct result of gender-biased employment policies. Many elderly women face economic challenges due to a lack of independent income or insufficient pensions. Solitary living can exacerbate financial difficulties, as they may not be able to cover their living expenses on their own. Living alone in old age can also lead to psychological issues such as loneliness, depression, and anxiety, particularly for women with fewer social connections.

The feminization of aging has also increased the demand for health and care services for elderly women, who typically face various health issues, including chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Access to healthcare services, especially in rural and underserved areas, remains one of Iran’s major challenges, one that has not been addressed over the past 45 years. The aging crisis in Iran, like in other countries, highlights the urgent need to strengthen social support networks, expand social services, and create support systems to reduce loneliness and care for the elderly, particularly elderly women. Demographic changes and the feminization of aging require housing infrastructure and appropriate living conditions for the elderly. However, according to the Mayor of Tehran, 60 percent of Tehran’s population are renters, and rental costs have skyrocketed. Families are moving into smaller housing units, so it’s natural to expect that more families will struggle to care for their elderly. Additionally, when inflation and the income levels of families with elderly members do not align, the costs of elderly care and health services rise (5).

In Iran, many elderly women still play important roles in caring for grandchildren and supporting their families. Despite being physically and emotionally strained, they often bear significant responsibilities at home. Cultural and social changes in Iran have also altered the role and status of elderly women in families and society. Once considered worthy of respect and central figures in families, some elderly women now feel their role has diminished due to these changes.

In a study of the economic and social status of elderly Iranian women, based on official statistics and policy requirements for population projections, Ahmad Derahki and Reza Nobakht used census data from 2016 and other official figures. They estimated that elderly women make up 5.9 percent of Iran’s total female population, a number expected to rise to 7.32 percent by 2051. About 72.99 percent of elderly women live in ordinary households, and 44 percent are literate, with 50 percent of them having only elementary-level education. The economic participation rate of elderly women is 6 percent, with an unemployment rate of 8.1 percent. Around 3.43 percent of these women have lost their spouses, and 24 percent live alone. Additionally, 7.39 percent of elderly women head the households in which they live (6).

It should be noted that women and girls, who make up half of Iran’s population and who today stand at the forefront of social movements and pay the price for them, experience the greatest pressures and human rights violations from childhood to old age. There are no effective laws or policies to support the elderly, and Iranian society is on the brink of facing a tsunami of feminized poverty and aging.

References:

1. Maki, Shadi, “Elderly Abandonment Due to Poverty,” Ham-Mihan, February 17, 2024.
2. “UN Report: The Proportion of People Over 65 in the World is Increasing,” Anadolu Agency, September 30, 2023.
3. “The Feminized Face of Poverty,” ISNA, March 17, 2021.
4. “Prevalence of Elderly Women Living Alone in Iran,” Tejarat News, November 4, 2024.
5. Interview with Dr. Leila Joudan, UNFPA Representative in Iran, October 16, 2018.
6. Derahki, Ahmad, and Nobakht, Reza, “Examining the Economic and Social Status of Elderly Iranian Women Based on Official Statistics and Policy Requirements,” Jahad-e-Daneshgahi Health Research Institute Journal, Vol. 19, No. 6, December 2020, pp. 621-632.