ELDERLY WOMEN:

The forgotten minority |

By ISABEL WEGG

Leah Cohen comes from a large family in which
the women live long lives. In fact, her grand-
mother, .whom she looked on with love and
respect, lived to be 105 years old.

As a child, Leah was
taught that old age was
something to look forward
to, something to cherish.

“I had a great respect for
older women asa child; their
humor and their wisdom,”
she said. “I myself would onc
day be an old woman,
dispensing wisdom to my
children and great grand-
children.”

It was a child's reassuring
and comforting ideal that
could be held and fondled at
will; something to cling to
like a favorite doll or a
mother’s hand.

But the ideal soon faded

“My grandmother's death
in a oursing home was
horrifying and it was then
that I became acquainted
with the indignities of aging.
I not only talked to my
grandmother, but to all the
women | met in the home. 1
think this sparked my
concern and interest in
women and aging,” she said.

Now Leah writes and
speaks publicly about the
probloms of aging women
and their obvious lack of
place in our modern society.

FEW KNOW
But she has had trouble

gathering statistics for her
research because few people
seem to know much about
old women.

She said, “I think the
problem [I've encountered
was the research focus
wasn't specifically on wontta
and aging, even though we
outlive men and tend to be
the bulk of the aging
population.”

Moreover, she says, the
focus was on people living or
being cared for in in-
stitutions like nursing homes
and hospitals, which ac-
counts for only about 8 per
cent of all older people.

“I crossed Canada talking
to women in their 60s, 70s
and 80s, asking them what
their cxperience is, what
their problems are, and what
they think the solutions are,”
she said.

euros
ea

Gradually, a profile of the
typical, elderly Canadian
woman began to emerge and
it wasn't a pretty picture.

MANY POOR

“It doesn’t say much for
our society’s treatment of
older women,” she said.
“The most striking statistic
places 66 per cent of women
over the age of 65 below the
poverty level.”

Leah describes these
women as ones who live in

inadequate housing, have
problems with (ran-
sportation and cven
nutrition.

“But, worst of all,” she

says, “they are rejected by
socicty. They're not
respected and don't live a
dignified old age. And that is
CONTINUED ON PAGE C2

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