Feminisation of Ageing and Socioeconomic Rights Realisation: What Hope for African Older Women? By Dr Philip Oamen

This seminar is co-hosted by the Centre for Human Rights and the School of Law Research Seminar Series. Our series offers exciting insights into ongoing research projects within the law school and conducted by our external research partners. We often feature work from our research centres (the Centre for American Legal Studies, the Centre for Human Rights, the Centre for Science, Law and Policy, and the International Business Law Research Group). Our work is often transdisciplinary, dealing with law's relationship with broadly defined social justice, policy-making, science and much more. Join us for invigorating discussion! 

In this session, we hear from Dr Philip Oamen. Dr Oamen joined Birmingham City University (BCU) in November 2022 from the University of Northampton where he was a full-time Lecturer-in-Law. 

Philip’s research interests are generally in the field of International Human Rights Law, with special focus on economic and social rights. His PhD research was essentially on the role of international cooperation in the realisation of economic and social rights. He has served as a specially invited Expert Panellist at an event organised by the African Commission Working Group on Rights of Older Persons and People with Disabilities, which was organised to advise African governments on the implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons.

Dr Oamen will deliver a research seminar discussion on the feminisation of ageing and socioeconomic rights, followed by interactive Q&A. Details of the session below.

About the Session

Globally, women form the larger percentage of older persons. The case is not different within the African continent. Despite this highly feminised ageing, African governments have not put in place workable legal and institutional structures to address the special needs of older women. The socioeconomic conditions of this set of people are characterised by deprivations. The United Nations recently reported that older persons generally remain ‘chronically invisible’ in terms of data collection and disaggregation on key policy issues.

Drawing on relevant international and regional instruments, this paper examines the socioeconomic rights of older women and critically analyses the impediments to their realisation. It calls for deliberate and genuine political will or commitment by African governments and regional bodies, with a view to enhancing the socioeconomic conditions of older women living in Africa.

This seminar has now concluded but it is available on demand. If you find that you do not have access, you can email the research seminar series leader at mitchell.longan@bcu.ac.uk in order to gain access.