ABSTRACT
Demographic changes have forced gerontologists to focus attention on the gender based character of population ageing. Ageing is likely to become a 'gender issue' with a large number of women surviving into very old age in almost all the countries of the world. Elderly women, especially in Third World countries like India, face several jeopardizes. They are likely to be illiterate or poorly educated, unlikely to be employed, most likely to be widowed and dependent on others, and they suffer from malnutrition and disabilitating symptoms as well as report higher psychological distress. The vulnerability of the ageing women, special types of problems they are likely to encounter over the life span, and factors that marginalise them need to be better understood. There is no clear awareness as yet, of the potential contribution of ageing women to the development process as ageing women are stereotypically perceived as burdens on the national economy. Strategies addressed to ensure health and well-being of older women need to be developed.