Cars before people: how chaotic, polluted Dhaka is failing its elderly citizens

Mohammed Bodi-Uz Zaman, 85, rarely leaves his apartment in Dhaka. ‘I used to walk around by myself but I don’t feel safe any more,’ he says. Photograph: Abir Abdullah/The Guardian

The door of Rehana Khan’s sixth-floor flat is as far as she ventures during the day. On most days, she barely leaves her bed. The city outside is too chaotic and overwhelming for her.

Khan, 57, moved to Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, a year ago, after her husband died. She lives with her only son and his wife, who were worried about her being alone in a village in the north-eastern district of Sylhet.