Moving from the Margins: Towards an Inclusive Urban Representation of Older People in Zimbabwe’s Policy Discourse

Abstract

Population ageing has become a major global demographic shift but perhaps less noticeable in the Global South. Zimbabwe, like many African countries, is experiencing and will continue to witness an increase in older age, hence questioning its readiness to handle such change. Ageing in Zimbabwe is currently occurring in the context of increasing poverty, political unrest, changing family structures, and weakening infrastructures. Despite this, Zimbabwe is committed to promoting change and betterment for its citizens through adherence to international agendas and national development strategies. However, the first step towards the realisation of an inclusive urban environment begins with a fair representation of the various actors and social groups. This review paper is aimed at examining the representation of Zimbabwe’s older people, a subject that has rarely been the focus of critical analysis, concentrating on the political discourse in urban development programmes. A sample of 45 international and national policy documents published post-2002, was carefully selected and inspected to determine the level of presence of older people using discourse analysis. The findings reveal that in the context of the efforts made towards a Zimbabwe that is inclusive of all citizens, the idea of older persons as subjects of rights and active participants has yet to truly gain sufficient currency. There is a dominance of a one-dimensional perspective across the majority of the publications, with older people constructed as “dependent”, “vulnerable” and “passive”, overseeing vital contributions to society. A realistic and more empowering representation of this social group, showing them as active caregivers rather than passive recipients is therefore a necessity if Zimbabwe is to fulfil its vision of inclusivity.

Care and caring among ageing migrant workers in two informal settlements in Harare

“…In Zimbabwe, there are effectively no formal structures for social care, and healthcare is hard to access. State discourse over the last decade reflects ambivalence towards care infrastructures, painting a dire picture of older persons as dependent and vulnerable, and 'blaming' families and the communities for economic and political failures in caring for older persons (Makore and Al-Maiyah, 2021). This fails to acknowledge the nuances and intersections of the lives of older people and their strategies for coping within families and through building community infrastructure.…”

“…The home is a central part of the life of older men and women in this study, and almost all the old people (89 per cent in Gunhill and 78 per cent in DZ-Ext) had sole responsibility for caring for the home. This active role of care in the household resisted the singular discursive narrative of older people in state discourse as 'vulnerable' and always in need of care (Makore and Al-Maiyah, 2021).…”

A research framework for the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030)

“…Ageism is “the complex, often negative construction of old age” (Ayalon and Tesch- Römer 2018 , p 405) and a core element of the Decade action agenda. At the societal or structural level, ageism is the explicit or implicit bias against older persons that is embedded in societal norms and values and expressed in the policies, practices and actions of social institutions (Chang et al 2020 ; Makore and Al-Maiyah 2021 ). The call for a campaign to end ageism is an indication of beliefs that ageism truncates the ability of ageing individuals to be fully included in their societies and is a hidden source of inequity (Kilaru and Gee 2020 ).…”