Kerala State Women’s Commission raises concerns on safety of elderly women

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Kerala Women’s Commission chairperson P. Sathidevi | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

Ensuring the safety and social protection of elderly women remains a major challenge for society, Kerala State Women’s Commission chairperson P. Sathidevi has said.

Addressing a district-level sitting of the commission at the Kozhikode Collectorate conference hall on Wednesday (September 16, 2026), Ms. Sathidevi said a majority of the complaints considered at the sitting were related to family disputes.

She said elderly women were often being abandoned by their families after receiving their share of property. “Women face severe isolation in old age when they need love and care,” she said, adding that such a situation was not healthy for society.

Even women who were financially secure often lacked social protection in their old age, she said. Cyberattacks targeting women were also on the rise, while women living alone faced serious security concerns.

Ms. Sathidevi said children growing up in households where parents were constantly in conflict were increasingly losing family and social values. Women also faced security threats within their own families owing to the use of alcohol and drugs by men, she said.

She further criticised that when women approached law enforcement agencies seeking implementation of court orders under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, their complaints were sometimes dismissed as mere “family issues.”

Of the 50 complaints considered at the sitting, six were settled. One complaint was referred for legal assistance, while reports from the police and other department officials were sought in connection with six complaints. Commission members P. Kunhayisha and A. Jamini also attended the sitting.

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