Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Moving from the margins : towards an inclusive urban representation of older people in Zimbabwe’s policy discourse

Makore, BCN; Al-Maiyah, SAM

Moving from the margins : towards an inclusive urban representation of older people in Zimbabwe’s policy discourse Thumbnail


Authors

BCN Makore

SAM Al-Maiyah



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.

Citation

Makore, B., & Al-Maiyah, S. (2021). Moving from the margins : towards an inclusive urban representation of older people in Zimbabwe’s policy discourse. Societies, 11(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11010007

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 14, 2021
Publication Date Jan 21, 2021
Deposit Date Jan 22, 2021
Publicly Available Date Jan 22, 2021
Journal Societies
Publisher MDPI
Volume 11
Issue 1
Pages 7
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11010007
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.3390/soc11010007
Related Public URLs https://www.mdpi.com/journal/societies

Files





Downloadable Citations