Plaid MEP Jill Evans welcomed two representatives of the Women's Institute in Wales to the European Parliament in Brussels. Jill invited the WI to give evidence before an influential parliamentary committee which is looking at the role of women in rural areas.

Photo Left to Right: Rhian Connick (Head, NFWI Wales), Jill Evans MEP, Marylyn Haines Evans (Chair, NFWI Wales)

Marylyn Haines Evans, the Chairperson of the National Federation of Women's Institutes in Wales and Rhian Connick, the organisation's head came to Brussels for a hearing of the European Parliament's Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities committee. Marylyn comes from Carmarthenshire and Rhian works at the organisation's office in Cardiff .

Jill Evans said:

"I'm very pleased Marylyn was able to give evidence at this hearing on the role of women in rural areas. I was very keen that the committee should get to here about the situation in Wales. Thanks to the Women's Institute they were able to learn more about the key role women play in rural communities in Wales, of their vital economic contribution and their central roles in community life.

"As Marylyn stressed, women are the backbone of many rural communities in Wales and assume many roles. Women’s roles are not always recognised or respected. There is a need for recognition of women’s unpaid contribution to the economy."

In her presentation to the hearing, Marylyn Haines Evans said:

"Women, through their involvement in the life of their communities, play a key part in regenerating communities and improving quality of life. NFWI’s Wealth of the Countryside survey shows that its members contribute almost £35m worth of time in a year through voluntary work. Activities include assisting local schools and helping young people with learning disabilities. Members also care for their community with often unnoticed activities such as driving neighbours to hospital appointments and checking up on older people living alone. All these activities contribute towards a vibrant economy."

Jill Evans added that the meeting was especially important in the light of issues such as post office closures:

"The loss of a post office is a blow to any area, but a particularly harsh blow in rural areas when so many other services are under threat, and there are continuing problems facing the Welsh agricultural industry through no fault of their own."