Analysis of the Socio-Economic Conditions and Living Arrangements of Aged Widows of Rural Sindh

Abstract

This paper presents outcomes of a study that was conducted to assess myriad problems faced by old widows in rural areas of second largest province of Pakistan, Sindh. As already, there is inadequate data on the social, economic and living arrangements of aged widows of Rural Sindh. Through this research survey, gap of information on social, economic, and living arrangements of Sindhi rural aged widows is filled by primary survey data. The sample of 384 Respondents of age 60 and above was chosen by infinite population formula and respondents for collecting data were selected by using convenience sampling technique from the six rural districts of Sindh. Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze data. The results suggest that there is strong preference of son and who is considered as old age protection for aged widows, and even today residing with son is regarded as popular cultural practice in Rural Sindh. The high number of aged widows was economically dependent on their sons. Absence of old age pension, no parallel remuneration and lack of skills in aged widows are some factors which are strongly influencing and creating very severe socio-economic consequences for widows in later age. Also, because of urbanization, the extended family culture is transforming to nuclear family drastically and ultimately, it is affecting largely on the living arrangements of aged widows.