When an older person is told to keep quiet

There are moments in life that remain with us because they reveal, in a few words, a much larger injustice. I remember an incident involving an older woman who wished to express her opinion during a discussion. She had listened carefully and, like everyone present, had something to say. But before she could make her point, she was abruptly told to keep quiet because her opinion was not valuable. Those words may have lasted only a few seconds. Their effect, however, was much deeper. 

Silencing older people is ageism 

These words represented a form of ageism: the assumption that, because a person has grown old, her ideas no longer matter; that her voice has less value; that she has little or nothing to contribute to a discussion about the society in which she lives. 

This is not simply a question of bad manners. It is an issue of dignity, equality and human rights. Every older person remains a person with opinions, aspirations, experience and the right to participate. Age does not take away one’s intelligence. It does not erase a lifetime of knowledge. Nor does retirement mean that a person has ceased to be a citizen. 

Yet ageism is sometimes expressed in exactly this way: through silence imposed upon older people. They may be spoken about but not spoken to. Decisions may be made for them without asking what they want. Their concerns may be dismissed as unimportant, and their opinions treated as outdated before they have even been heard. The older woman who was told to keep quiet was not asking for a favour. She was exercising something fundamental: her right to have a voice. This experience has reinforced my conviction that we must change the way we look at older people. They should not be seen merely as recipients of assistance, pensions or care. They are, first and foremost, holders of rights. 

Turning advocacy into action in Mauritius 

Older people have the right to dignity, equality, participation and respect. They have the right to take part in decisions affecting their lives and communities, and should never be expected to surrender their voice simply because they have reached a certain age. 

This belief has guided Dis-Moi’s long-standing advocacy for the creation of an Ombudsperson for Older Persons in Mauritius, an idea that gained momentum following a 2015 visit by the United Nations Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, Rosa Kornfeld-Matte.  

An Ombudsperson could provide an independent mechanism through which older people can raise concerns relating to discrimination, neglect, access to services and the protection of their rights. Since first proposing the role in 2016, Dis-Moi has championed the idea through public advocacy, engagement with government and awareness-raising across Mauritius. The proposal was later included in the government programme and is currently being assessed as part of the legislative process. 

Establishing an Ombudsperson will not, by itself, end ageism. But it could provide a stronger mechanism through which older people are heard and their rights protected. It would also send an important message: that dismissing an older person’s voice is not merely disrespectful, but a matter of rights and accountability.

Change through collective action 

The experience of advocacy has also taught me another important lesson: change is rarely achieved by one person acting alone. Progress comes through dialogue, persistence and cooperation. It requires older people themselves to speak about their experiences and priorities. It requires civil society to organise, advocate and keep important issues before decision-makers. It requires governments and institutions to listen and to translate commitments into effective action. Above all, it requires us to recognise older people as partners in shaping solutions. Older people hold an intangible heritage that is impossible to measure in monetary terms: their experience, their knowledge and their intelligence. 

The value of lived experience 

Experience is the result of a life lived. It includes lessons learned through work, family responsibilities, successes, failures, hardship and change. An older person may have witnessed the transformation of a village, a profession or an entire country. Such experience cannot simply be found in a textbook.  

Knowledge is equally precious. Retired teachers, farmers, artisans, civil servants, professionals and workers of every kind have accumulated skills over decades. They know how things were done, why certain decisions were made and what lessons can be learned from the past.  

And then there is intelligence. Too often, society makes the mistake of confusing age with incapacity. This is profoundly wrong. Older people continue to think, analyse, create, imagine and solve problems. Like people of every age, their abilities differ from one individual to another, but age alone must never be used to determine the value of a person’s mind. 

Listening across generations 

Working with older people has taught me that listening is itself an act of respect. When we listen, we discover stories that would otherwise be lost. We hear ideas that can help solve today’s problems. We understand the resilience that enabled earlier generations to overcome difficulties. And we realise that the future does not have to be built by rejecting the past.  

This is also why dialogue between generations is so important. We have a duty to transmit to the generation that follows us this precious intangible heritage: experience, knowledge, intelligence, memory and values. But dialogue must go in both directions. Older people must also listen to younger generations, their hopes, their concerns and their new ideas. The strongest societies are those in which generations do not compete for recognition but learn from one another. 

A voice that must be heard 

The older woman who was told to keep quiet should remind us of a simple truth. 

No one should become invisible because they have grown old. The voice of every older person matters. If Mauritius is to become a truly inclusive society in an era of increasing longevity, we must challenge ageism wherever it appears.  

We must create institutions that protect rights, including through stronger mechanisms of accountability. We must ensure that older people participate in decisions that affect them. And, perhaps most importantly, we must learn to listen. For when we silence an older person, we may believe that we are silencing only one voice. In reality, we may be silencing a lifetime of experience, knowledge and intelligence. 

Let us therefore give older people not merely a place in the room, but a voice that is heard, respected and valued. 

Continuing the conversation 

The questions raised here about ageism, participation and the value of lived experience, will be part of the wider conversation at the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Population Ageing, taking place in Hangzhou, China, from 27–30 October 2026. The conference will bring together governments, civil society, researchers, older people’s organisations, development partners and the private sector to explore how societies can adapt to longer lives. This includes creating age-friendly societies in which older people can participate fully, contribute their experience and help shape the decisions that affect them. 

About the author 

Vijay Naraidoo is Secretary-General of Dis-Moi (Human Rights Indian Ocean), a HelpAge global network member and a Mauritian human rights organisation he helped establish in 2013. A long-standing advocate for the rights of older people, he has spent more than a decade campaigning for a United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons and promoting intergenerational dialogue to challenge ageism.

Under his leadership, Dis-Moi successfully lobbied for Mauritius to sign the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons in 2021. Vijay is a former Co-Chair of GAROP and was appointed Chair of the Mauritius Senior Citizens Council in 2025, representing 800 associations of older people across the country. He currently works to advance the rights of older people in Mauritius and across the south-west Indian Ocean region.