citizens\u2019 demanded<\/em>
\n<\/strong>Human rights activists, dignitaries of the civil society, academicians and aged people on Monday demanded official recognition of elderly people as \u2018senior citizens\u2019 and the ensuring of their rights.
\nThey made the call while addressing a consultation meeting on \u2018Older persons and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals\u2019, organized by the Resource Integration Centre.
\nRIC director Abul Haseeb Khan chaired the meeting and Shamsul Huda Badal presented the keynote paper.
\nShamsul, quoting a recent study of the United Nations, said that the number of people above 60 years of age will outnumber those under the age of 15 years in the world within 36 years, and the number of elderly people will reach 22 per cent of the total population in 2050.
\nThe present proportion of elderly is only 11 per cent, he said.
\nElderly people\u2019s poverty is one of the main hindrances on the way to achieving the MDGs, he said, adding that 43 per cent of the elderly people belong to poor families and often suffer discrimination in getting food, medical treatment and other services from their families.
\nHe said that the elderly women were not included in the government and non-governmental organizations\u2019 campaigns to eliminate gender disparity and ensure women\u2019s empowerment, and claimed that it is not possible to achieve the MDGs if elderly women are neglected.
\nShamsul said that providing old age allowance to 22.5 lakh elderly people is praiseworthy, but the lack of transparency in selecting the recipients is open to criticism.
\nHe suggested that the rights of elderly people should be upheld in the national policies and plans, and public awareness of their rights created.
\nThe other speakers suggested inclusion of chapters in school textbooks on showing respect to the elderly people and how to involve them in development activities.
\nThey said that a total of 1.25 crore people of the country are elderly but are not officially recognized as \u2018senior citizens\u2019 by the state.
\nMedia personality Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed, country director of HelpAge Bangladesh Nirjharinee Hasan, president of Women for Women Salma Khan, PKSF\u2019s Hasan Khaled and old people\u2019s leader Md Shahabuddin Sardar also addressed the meeting.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Courtesy of NewAge<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

citizens\u2019 demanded Human rights activists, dignitaries of the civil society, academicians and aged people on Monday demanded official recognition of elderly people as \u2018senior citizens\u2019 and the ensuring of their rights. They made the call while addressing a consultation meeting on \u2018Older persons and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals\u2019, organized by the Resource Integration … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n