Let\\\'s make our society old age-friendly

Our society is gradually evolving and we see more nuclear families than joint ones. In many families, the elderly people are facing negligence and they are spending their time alone in distress.

I know many well-to-do families whose children are living abroad. In Bangladesh, their parents are living with domestic help. Usually women in old age face more uncertainty and loneliness. As they do not often go out of their houses, they spend time in isolation. Everyone is busy in our society. We don't have time to inquire about our elderly relations and they feel a certain kind of gloom and apathy from their surroundings.

Due to the perennial traffic problem we hardly have time or energy to go from one place to another. Older men go out for prayer and create a group among themselves so that they could face depressing situations.

Many old homes have been set up seeing the demand and I think in the future, the number of old homes will increase. Many old people face poverty and it is very difficult for them to survive. The government should try to help these people who are struggling to live a decent life. We should not forget that every one of us will face old age. So we must be very caring and understanding towards the old people and create an old-age friendly society.

Rumana Sharmeen

Dhaka University