Four Paisley women this week took their inspirational stage play to Europe's corridors of power to call for changes in how the European Union deals with poverty.

Margo Kirkwood, Steph Mayo, Julie Tate and Nancy Gallagher are all members of the Paisley-based Beechwood Women's and Arts Group and they are in Brussels to perform 'Morag's Story' - a play which tells the tale of a woman dealing with poverty and the challenges it brings to her increasingly troubled family.

The Beechwood group are in Brussels to take part in the GenderWorks Conference, a culmination of a two-year project by Oxfam and partners which investigated women's experiences of poverty and social exclusion in Europe. GenderWorks aims to influence change in European policy to improve women's lives.

The play centres on a woman called Morag who juggles two jobs as her husband has been made redundant. She also cares for her dementia-suffering mother and is trying to be a good mum to her teenage daughter who is about to go to university. Worn out and at breaking point, Morag is then hit with the news that she has cancer.

The women performed to an audience that included representatives of the European Commission and over 30 members of women's groups from across Europe.

Margo Kirkwood, who plays Morag, said: "It couldn't have gone any better. We performed the play once and then we did it again but the second time we allowed the audience to intervene and point out where Morag was going wrong.

"Morag doesn't talk about her situation and she refuses the offers of help that she gets from her friends.The audience really got involved and there were loads of great suggestions. The play is very powerful and the four of us, along with the director Claire O'Hara, have worked hard to get the play together.

"It's quite emotional performing it because of all the things Morag is going through. The audience all recognise a bit of Morag in themselves because women have a natural instinct to protect their families.

"What we are trying to say with the play is that women need support and that they shouldn't be afraid to ask for help or to accept help when it is offered. Women are the shock absorbers in their families and when times are tough, like they are during this recession, it is often the women of the household who are left to pick up the pieces."

The GenderWorks Conference brought together regular women from across Europe, who have all experienced poverty, alongside decision makers who can influence change in the European Parliament.

GenderWorks makes a number of key recommendations. It highlights the importance of women-only spaces, such as the Beechwood Women's Group, and calls on the EU to recognise the value of these women-only spaces.

It also recommends better funding for women's services to include free or low cost quality childcare to allow women an easier path back to work, as well as better training for women and better social protection for vulnerable or abused women.

Margo Kirkwood added: "One of the best way that women can get support is through women's only spaces such as women's groups. In 'Morag's Story' the main character is a member of a women's group and without the support of her pals there who knows what would have happened to her. I think this has been a very worthwhile conference and hopefully it leads to policy change at EU level to tackle women's poverty across Europe."

Visit www.oxfam.org.uk/genderworks for more information on the GenderWorks Project.