Daily topics right in the middle: young, modern, countrywoman

Cake, church and children – so often the old-fashioned image of rural women, while they are politically and socially involved throughout Germany. More and more young women are taking part and defending themselves against old prejudices.

Lisa Geßner is 30 years old, coordinates a specialist agency for promoting democracy and preventing extremism – and is a rural woman. For a year she has also been on the board of the Villmar rural women in the central Hessian district of Limburg-Weilburg. She is currently coordinating a sustainability campaign: They are collecting old flower bulbs that they will replant in autumn “to make Villmar even more colorful”.

Ten years ago she moved to the 7000-inhabitant community. When it was clear that she would stay, she stepped in: “If you move in again, you are right in the middle of it. You immediately have a network that catches you and where you can go.” You can’t get past country women, she says. They kept the place together, shaped it. She likes that.

Much more than cake, church, children

The German Rural Women’s Association has existed since 1948. In the past, the association mainly consisted of women who worked in agriculture. Today, of the approximately 500,000 members, just ten percent are employed on farms. There are local associations in cities like Hamburg or Wiesbaden.

The rural women are changing. Nevertheless Lisa Geßner has to struggle with prejudices again and again. “When I say that I am a countrywoman, people laugh a lot and then there are slogans like: I know where I have to go when I need a cake. I used to laugh, but now I react increasingly annoyed or sometimes Puffy. This cake baking, church, children, that no longer fits today at all. ”

“Are definitely heard in politics”

Rural women’s associations throughout Germany advocate better living and working conditions in rural areas, the compatibility of family and work, nature and climate protection, and sustainable agriculture. “The special thing about rural women is that they not only offer so much at local level, but are also heard in politics,” said Lisa Geßner. And that motivates you to be there.

The offer is motley: The rural women offer further training in the fields of business start-ups and self-employment as well as professional training in the field of nutrition and health. Breast cancer screening, pension advice, travel and much more.

Yoga instead of gymnastics

For the first time in the program of the local association Villmar is the taster course yoga – an idea of ​​the young association members. Despite the summer heat, 15 women have gathered on the Galgenberg with a view over fields and meadows.

Denise Kaulakis is here with her mother. Her grandmother was already with the country women, she used to smile at them. With the association she combined “apron and farm. I thought it was totally uncool”. Today the 34-year-old, who works for the social welfare office, is herself a proud country woman, as she says. The educational offers and the flexibility convinced them. Everything is possible, nothing is neccesary. You just choose the things that fit into your life.

“You are always very welcome, even if you haven’t been there for six months,” she says. “That relaxes me. With two children and a job, you can’t always manage to get everything under one roof.”

Old and young are slowly growing together

The 30-year-old Mandy Markus stands next to her and tries the yoga pose “the tree”. She has three children, works as a dental assistant and is also on the board of the local association. “That we can bring in a little more young life. We wanted to bring in a little breath of fresh air,” she says. The more young women there are in the club, the more offers there are for them.

In the beginning, growing together between old and young was quite difficult, she says. The older ones were initially skeptical. “But it happened very quickly and we were well accepted.” And they could have moved a lot, she says happily as she tries to keep her balance.

Passing responsibility on to younger people too

The chairwoman of the Villmar rural women, Gabriele Fluck, has been with us for more than 40 years. She is happy about the offspring and knows that as an older woman she has to let go and trust the young women. “Because only then can it go on. You can’t stand still and just do your own thing. Then you have to let others do the same.”

Handing over responsibility to younger people is the point now. Because winning young and committed women for rural women is not a sure-fire success. The “Young Land Women Initiative”, which was launched in 2017, is also intended to help. The aim is to take a closer look at the wishes and needs of young women at all levels of the association.

The generation change is on the right track in the Villmar local club. More than third of the board is under 35 years of age. The association has held them all together so far – and it should stay that way. Above all, there should still be rural women in 50 years’ time. That is what they want here in the local association in Villmar.