Aging with Inequality: Intersectional Perspectives on Gender and Age Discrimination Against Women

Abstract

This study examines the intersection of gender and age discrimination experienced by elderly women in Quetta, Balochistan, through the lens of intersectionality. Building upon the findings of the author's earlier doctoral research on the causes and consequences of gender discrimination against women in Quetta, the study extends the analysis by exploring how lifelong gender inequalities interact with age-based discrimination to produce multiple and overlapping forms of marginalization in later life. While previous research documented the pervasive nature of gender discrimination across women's life experiences, this study specifically investigates how ageing within a patriarchal socio-cultural context intensifies existing inequalities and further limits women's social, economic, and personal wellbeing. Using a qualitative research design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with women aged sixty years and above from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in Quetta. The study explores the social, psychological, economic, cultural, and institutional dimensions of discrimination experienced by elderly women. The findings reveal that older women experience a dual burden of discrimination resulting from the cumulative effects of lifelong gender inequality and ageism. Participants reported limited access to education and healthcare, economic dependency, exclusion from family and community decision-making, social isolation, psychological distress, and restricted mobility, all of which are reinforced by patriarchal traditions and discriminatory cultural practices. The study further identifies weak implementation of inheritance rights, inadequate social protection, limited geriatric healthcare services, and the absence of comprehensive age- and gender-responsive provincial policies as major structural factors contributing to the continued marginalization of elderly women. The study concludes that the challenges faced by elderly women in Balochistan cannot be understood through gender or age alone but require an intersectional perspective that recognizes the cumulative effects of structural inequality across the life course. It recommends integrating gender and ageing into provincial development planning, strengthening social protection and healthcare services, ensuring effective implementation of legal rights, and adopting inclusive public policies that promote the dignity, wellbeing, and social inclusion of elderly women.