Third age in the third world

In the Philippines, grandmothers play an enormous part in caring for families. They are treated with a great deal of respect, recognition and consideration.

The 1982 UN Assembly on Aging established a series of specific rights for people in the so-called Third Age, such as, for example, the right to receive care and special attention from the family and the community.

However, like in that Asian country, in other Third World enclaves elderly women are obliged to live in poverty, often having to take responsibility for and look after younger members of their families despite their age, scant economic resources and delicate health.