The Masculinisation of Old Age in South Asia

This paper shows that the universal female survival advantage evades all the countries of South Asia, except Sri Lanka. Consequently, contrary to the global trend, these countries have more older men than older women in their populations. In view of this, the paper first develops a theoretical model...

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Main Author: Sehar Ezdi
Format: Article
Language:ces
Published: Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Sociology 2021-08-01
Series:Gender a Výzkum
Subjects:
Online Access:https://genderonline.cz/en/artkey/gav-202101-0004_the-masculinisation-of-old-age-in-south-asia.php
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author Sehar Ezdi
author_facet Sehar Ezdi
author_sort Sehar Ezdi
collection DOAJ
description This paper shows that the universal female survival advantage evades all the countries of South Asia, except Sri Lanka. Consequently, contrary to the global trend, these countries have more older men than older women in their populations. In view of this, the paper first develops a theoretical model (using the life-course perspective) to explain the mechanisms behind the possible persistence of this female deficit, i.e. the (older) missing women phenomenon, and highlights why this model may apply to South Asian countries. This discussion addresses the higher mortality of females' compared to males at each stage of the life course that culminate in old age (the life-course effect), the role of conflict and natural disasters that affect female mortality more adversely than male mortality (cohort effects), or a combination of the two. Subsequently, the paper calculates the extent of the female deficit in South Asian countries. The results of the calculation accord with the theoretical discussion by allowing the classification of the older missing women phenomenon as a life-course effect in some countries (e.g. India), a cohort effect in other countries (e.g. Nepal), and a combination of the two in specific countries (e.g. Pakistan).
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spelling doaj-art-25693774371446718a85b0fa0bc6df8a2025-08-20T02:42:08ZcesCzech Academy of Sciences, Institute of SociologyGender a Výzkum2570-65782570-65862021-08-012217810610.13060/gav.2021.014gav-202101-0004The Masculinisation of Old Age in South AsiaSehar Ezdi0INSERM, Université de ToulouseThis paper shows that the universal female survival advantage evades all the countries of South Asia, except Sri Lanka. Consequently, contrary to the global trend, these countries have more older men than older women in their populations. In view of this, the paper first develops a theoretical model (using the life-course perspective) to explain the mechanisms behind the possible persistence of this female deficit, i.e. the (older) missing women phenomenon, and highlights why this model may apply to South Asian countries. This discussion addresses the higher mortality of females' compared to males at each stage of the life course that culminate in old age (the life-course effect), the role of conflict and natural disasters that affect female mortality more adversely than male mortality (cohort effects), or a combination of the two. Subsequently, the paper calculates the extent of the female deficit in South Asian countries. The results of the calculation accord with the theoretical discussion by allowing the classification of the older missing women phenomenon as a life-course effect in some countries (e.g. India), a cohort effect in other countries (e.g. Nepal), and a combination of the two in specific countries (e.g. Pakistan).https://genderonline.cz/en/artkey/gav-202101-0004_the-masculinisation-of-old-age-in-south-asia.phpolder missing womenfemale deficitlife-course
spellingShingle Sehar Ezdi
The Masculinisation of Old Age in South Asia
Gender a Výzkum
older missing women
female deficit
life-course
title The Masculinisation of Old Age in South Asia
title_full The Masculinisation of Old Age in South Asia
title_fullStr The Masculinisation of Old Age in South Asia
title_full_unstemmed The Masculinisation of Old Age in South Asia
title_short The Masculinisation of Old Age in South Asia
title_sort masculinisation of old age in south asia
topic older missing women
female deficit
life-course
url https://genderonline.cz/en/artkey/gav-202101-0004_the-masculinisation-of-old-age-in-south-asia.php
work_keys_str_mv AT seharezdi themasculinisationofoldageinsouthasia
AT seharezdi masculinisationofoldageinsouthasia