Debunking Ageism, Myths & Right of Older Persons in Africa

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VIII, August 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Debunking Ageism, Myths & Right of Older Persons in Africa

Atumah, Oscar N.¹ & Abdulazeez, Hassan^2
1Department of Sociology, University of Abuja, Nigeria
²Department of Sociology & Anthropology Kaduna State University, Nigeria

Abstract: – Ageism has been established to be preconceived and discriminatory acts and tendencies against older adults, yet many people in Nigeria, have little or no knowledge about the meaning or the damages it can cause. This paper intended to demask ageism related attitudes while bringing the term to the forefront of the general public. The literature review method was used to outline the resultant attitudes and stereotypes of ageism, to demystify the phenomenon and to examine how it affects the well-being of the aging population. Findings revealed that ageism has personal and institutional perspectives, and are intentional or sometimes, unintentional. We also identified some age-related workplace discrimination, healthcare-related age discrimination, and may standing myths against older adults. We conclude by stating that most contemporary myths are mostly outright lies and concoctions not backed by any scientific evidence. Some of the myths originated from long-forgotten traditional folktales, and argued that such practices should be discouraged based on the established rights of elderly persons. Having debunked ageism practices and myths surrounding stereotypes against older persons, we believe that implication for practice include, but not limited to, unrelenting advocacy in citing that the rights of older persons stem from inalienable rights entrenched in international protocols and conventions. Making the general public to know that older adults have the right to independence, participation, care, self-fulfillment, and dignity. We suggest that upholding these rights are instrumental in reducing the menace of ageism, and in disrupting the standing myths against the aging population.

Keywords: Ageism, myths, stereotypes, workplace discrimination, rights of older persons

I. INTRODUCTION

Researchers from various backgrounds have viewed and explained the concept of ageism from different perspectives; however, Butler (as cited in Donizzetti, 2019) described ageism as “a process of systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people because they are old” (p.1). Raina & Balodi (2014) argued that it is human nature to develop their social construction of people as they grow, and oftentimes, the younger ones tend to see the older ones as being different from themselves.

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