Who Is Caring for the Caregivers? | The Silent Strength of India’s Female Heroes

By Maharukh Rustomjee,
Founder & Chief Scientist | Amaterasu Lifesciences

The Invisible Backbone of Elder Care

In the quiet hours of the Indian dawn, before the rest of the world stirs, a silent army of women is already at work. 

Not working late.
Not scrolling phones.

They are caring for an elderly loved one, adjusting pillows, checking bandages, helping an elderly parent sit up, or patiently coaxing them to eat a few spoonfuls of porridge.

While the national conversation often celebrates the “Superwoman” balancing career and home, we rarely pause to acknowledge another reality—one that unfolds behind closed doors. Across India, nearly 150 million elderly people depend almost entirely on the resilience, patience, and quiet strength of women.

I have seen my mother and aunts do the same for my grandfathers, both lived beyond 90 years and for my grandmother, who lived up to 104 years. 

Me, my sister and co-sisters did the same for our parents. Today, when I remember them, I feel gratitude and pride that we were able to give them the care, compassion and love in their end-of-life stage.  But those years, life was like an invisible, non-ending marathon, always feeling stretched, anxious and wondering if we are taking the right decision for their well-being. Are we really giving them the best of care and comfort? 

Caregiving changes you in ways only another caregiver truly understands.

Most estimates suggest that 80–90% of chronic care in India happens within families, and women form the backbone of this invisible workforce.

But statistics only tell part of the story.

Behind almost every bedridden patient or elderly parent is a woman quietly holding together the everyday realities of care with patience and compassion.

She wakes through the night to ensure someone is comfortable.
She learns medical routines she was never trained for.
She lifts, cleans, monitors medications, prevents bedsores, and does it all again the next day.

And for many women, caregiving is not their only responsibility.

They manage households.
Raise children.
Often hold professional jobs.

And then another shift begins — the 24-hour role of caregiver.

Yet because of cultural expectations, this work often remains unpaid, unrecognized, and quietly assumed to be a woman’s duty.

India’s elder care system is quietly held together by women whose work is rarely seen, rarely paid, and rarely acknowledged.

But even compassion has limits.

Caregivers often lose sleep, professional opportunities, and sometimes their own health while caring for those they love.

With over 15 million Indians now above the age of 80, the demand for long-term care will only grow. If we continue to rely solely on invisible labour within families, the pressure on middle-aged women will become unsustainable.

This Women’s Day, appreciation alone is not enough.

We need support systems for caregivers, accessible professional care services, and shared responsibility within families.

And to every woman who wakes in the middle of the night to care for someone she loves—

We see you.

Your strength holds families together in ways the world often does not notice.

But caregivers deserve care too.

When we support caregivers, we strengthen families.

Over the years at Soreze Care, I have met countless caregivers—almost always women—who quietly carry extraordinary responsibilities with very little recognition. Their strength has deeply shaped how we think about care.

This Women’s Day, I would like to ask a simple question:

Who is the caregiver in your family—and when was the last time we asked how she is doing?

Let’s bring caregivers out of invisibility.
If you know someone caring for an elderly loved one, share their story below