Elderly in Iran suffer as economy falters

Being elderly in Iran is by no means simple; the society suffers from a shortage of means to accommodate senior citizens. Those who are wealthy, or even moderately well-off, are not forced to face many of the obstacles the poor and middle class must.

In the past decade — particularly over the last five years — senior citizens have been benefiting from some public transportation and limited recreational discounts, but the grave issue is that a lot of what Iranian senior citizens lack either does not exist at all in the country, or is offered at a high price, regardless of age.

For decades, the favorite hangouts for the elderly — and particularly for elderly men — were their local parks. They would walk to and from the park, and many would spend hours there during reasonable weather conditions. Nowadays, the number of parks and green spaces — as they are called in Iran — is limited due to massive construction projects (commercial and residential), especially in big cities. On the other hand, ever-increasing pollution in big cities results in hazardous conditions for most seniors. Alerts are issued frequently, particularly in the colder seasons, recommending that older people stay indoors.

Mohammad, a 68-year-old resident of Tehran, tells Al-Monitor that both highly polluted air and large crowds discourage him from frequenting the park as much as he used to. He talks about another incentive of hanging out at the park, which was playing chess with his friends. He says the chess table was pretty damaged and old, and in lieu of repair or replacement, it was simply removed.