Aandacht voor oudere vrouwen

Op woensdag 12 maart 2025 nam ik in de middag deel aan het online CSW69 (VN-Vrouwentop) event: Social and Economic Development for Older Women - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Deze sessie was onderdeel van het CSW NGO Forum en werd georganiseerd door het NGO Committee on Aging.

Ik was vooral onder de indruk van Janvi Patel van HelpAge International. Zij presenteerde gegevens zoals dat 54% van de vrouwen nu 60+ zijn. Zij sloot ook af met: we hebben 'equal rights' nodig. Daar kan ik het als individueel lid van de International Aliance of Women (IAW), die als slogan heeft 'equal rights means equal responsibilities', van harte mee eens zijn.

Als historica was ik ook onder de indruk van Judy Lear, lid van de International Council of Jewish Women (ICJW), die haar verhaal begon met hoe het in 1961 was. Zij pleitte voor meer samenwerking en het daadwerkelijk implementeren wat al afgesproken is.

Tot slot wil ik in dit blog, net als Bridget Penhale in de chat van de sessie, ook de UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons (UNCROP) die nog in ontwikkeling is noemen. Al moeten we natuurlijk wel zorgen dat daar ook veel aandacht is specifiek voor Vrouwen. Zoals Joke de Ruiter van stichting Oudere Vrouwen Netwerk Nederland (OVN) al zei (hier) bij de CSW69 NGO briefing in januari: “als er beleid gemaakt wordt voor de oudste ouderen, moet dat in feite vrouwenbeleid zijn”.

Volgens mij is economisch zelfstandig zijn voor veel (oudere) vrouwen nog echt een ‘to do’. Wist jij bijvoorbeeld dat er in Nederland een pensioenkloof is van wel 40%? Net als het blijven leren, of in het Engels lifelong learning, van nieuwe digitale vaardigheden trouwens, ook als je 70+ bent en tijdens bij de Beijing conferentie in 1995 je eerste e-mail verstuurde.

Door Arina Angerman, International Alliance of Women (IAW)

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