Poverty among women Y.W.C.A.’s main issue

Press, 15 August 1984, Page 9

Poverty among women Y.W.C.A.’s main issue

Poverty is the biggest issue facing women in both developed and developing countries, according to a visiting Y.W.C.A. officer, Ms Anu Bose.

The co-operation for development secretary of the Y.W.C.A., Ms Bose is in New Zealand for two weeks to meet local Y.W.C.A. organisations and to address a Corso meeting. Even in developed countries women were worse off than men and this poverty led to other things, such as powerlessness of women, she said in Christchurch yesterday.

Ms Bose, who is based in Geneva at the Y.W.C.A. world headquarters, said that just raising money was; not enough to solve problems.

“So much of it has not reached those who need it,” she said.

She said that the Y.W.C.A. was in a better position than governmental organisations to administer aid because it was cost-effec-tive and had fewer administrative levels.

“Non ■ governmental organisations are more in touch with people’s needs,” she said. “The Y.W.C.A. should be very concerned about women everywhere. I see as my mission that we must put the W back in Y.W.C.A.,” Ms Bose said.

“We have become an institution where we used to be a movement.” Ms Bose said that while in New Zealand she had met the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Mrs Kerens. She was high in her praise of the Minister.