SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF PERSONS WITH OLD AGE IN DISTRICT DIR LOWER KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA PAKISTAN

The purpose of this study is to analyze the increasing adversity of old age which has emerged as a global phenomenon. Number of person with old age worldwide is estimated to be around 605 million today. This aging population is posing insurmountable challenges both for the developed as well as developing countries. Pakistan being a developing country is also among countries that accumulate a plethora of aged persons and which are also speculated to be multiplied in the coming years. Pakistani Society, which is traditionally recognized as an aged honoring society, has also undergone considerable changes in its social structure during the course of the broader modernization process. This change, in one way or the other, has affected the overall status and role of the elderly within the domain of social affairs. In this context, the current study identifies the socio-economic problems as well as factors responsible for the problems of persons with old age. For the present study 45 respondents were selected through convenience sampling because sampling frame of the persons with old age was not available in the universe. Samples were selected from three villages of Union Council Khungi, District Dir (lower). The quantitative approach has been used in order to analyze the data with the help of frequency and percentage. The quantitative analysis illustrate that persons with old age are facing problems in decision making , denial and verbal abuse, separation from spouse as well as married sons. They have low social status in the community as well as in their families. The persons with old age are facing problems in health due to expensive medicines and lack of personal money to spend for their health. It has been suggested that proper role of family members, revival of religious values, media and government intervention will promote the status of persons with old age in Pakhtun society.