The ism that stays in the shadows

As per the WHO definition, Ageism refers to the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age.

- SAYANTAN NANDI

While this social aberration has been around for decades, everyday examples demonstrate the continued presence of this iniquitous practice.

A senior citizen, wanting to visit her daughter staying in the Middle East, was denied a family visa because of her age. A mid-fifties professional in Bengaluru was disqualified from an interview due to age reasons. A wellknown club in Kolkata, some of whose office-bearers are themselves in their sixties, refused to accept sexagenarians as new members. Distressingly, ageism is alive and well.

The WHO Global Report on Ageism comes up with more interesting data when it tells us that globally one in two persons are against older people. Though the term ageism is suitably inclusive, counting discrimination against younger people in its ambit, this bias is largely manifested against older citizens. In 1969, when the expression was introduced by psychiatrist and gerontologist Robert Neil Butler, he was primarily wanting to draw attention to the bias against old age and the process of growing older.

Like every other discriminatory behaviour, ageism is born out of a social or ideological bias. It gets manifested at a behavioural level as well as at the institutional level. The idea that marginalisation is a natural fallout of advancing in age is one of the worst-kept secrets in the world today. It is also a prejudice which receives the least attention.