OLDER WOMEN'S NETWORK, EUROPE
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06073 Corciano - PG, ITALY - Tel./Fax: +39 75 5068006
E-Mail: own@krenet.it - Internet: http://www.impnet.com/trasinet/own/
Editorial Iris Bergmiller
Maria Teresa Marziali
The current situation in Europe is marked by financial cuts that involve social policy programmes in every country. The programme of savings on social policy, which the German government calls "Programme for Development and Employment", actually contains measures that will restrict women's rights, and its general effect is still not known.
The effect of the block by the English and German governments on the financing of EU programmes is well illustrated by the present situation of OWN, Europe. The Co-ordinator Maria Teresa Marziali explains:
"This situation has had a dramatic effect on OWN, Europe. The risk of our network disappearing is so near at hand that it could already be asked however we are managing to be still here. The theme of older women's poverty, their distance from the economic world and their difficulty in having their contribution to society recognised are themes that associations are increasingly having to face. One concrete example is the political work that WOUW in Holland has been doing for some years to highlight and overcome this situation. Women, especially older women, are more used to offering their services free, or to doing a huge amount of work for very little money, rather than seeking a balance between giving and receiving, and this is also true in terms of solidarity. This "nature", even if we would all like to change it, is the very thing that allows the continuing existence of OWN, Europe and ensures that we are present where the decision-making for a better quality of life goes on, a quality of life that takes account of gender perspectives and life cycles.
In practice OWN, Europe is living and building thanks to the great amount of voluntary work and small financial contributions from very many people all over Europe, and thanks also to the contributions by the associations that make up the network . We can bear witness to the fact that women are more used to giving than asking, but this time at least we are giving for ourselves.
Susan Sontag was one of the first to highlight the link between gender and age. A man who is ageing is said to be getting to an advanced age while a woman is said to be getting old or elderly. Ageing is a feminine phenomenon because women are considered elderly as soon as they are no longer young.
The ageing of a woman is traditionally defined as a lack of something ("no longer young") whereas it may represent something extra for a man - an increase in prestige.
Gerontology places the accent on the fact that older women often lack the image of a social role or that such an image goes mainly unacknowledged. An old age that is self-determining does not exist. It is society's image in particular rather than old age itself that marginalises the older woman's role.
The articles on the various activities, conferences and projects presented in this Newsletter demonstrate that older women are finding their own road. They are no longer "helpless, needy and naive" as society's image would have us believe, but they know how to live their individuality, and their role within the family context is recognised as more than that of mother, daughter, wife, aunt or grandmother.
The contributions that follow and the exchanges between older women are intended to encourage other women to take the initiative and become creative together. Your OWN News Issue 4; June 1997 Newsletter of the Older Women's Network, Europe
