During both sessions in the auditorium, I learned a lot of stuff. In the first session, I learned how Indegeneous people are getting their land taken away by the canadian government. The canadian government is using that land for oil sands. The usage of oil affects the indegenous way of hunting for their food. Climate change is severely affecting the Indegenoous community. These people are being confronted for guarding their loved ones, their land and their waters. There are some cases of Indegeneous women being murdered and some have gone missing.
During the second session, I learned the struggles Muslim women have to go through. With the Bill 21, banning all religious symbols for educators, judges, and civil servants and other professions, it has a big affect on Muslim women sense of belonging in the province of Quebec. Nadia Naqvi mentioned that when she was teaching some of her colleagues would say racial slurs behind her back. This shocked me a lot because those people are grown people and should know better. She was in her first year of teaching which is why she didn’t confront them. Another thing that shook me was when Nadia or Laity walk around in public, people tell them “go back to your country” and many more things.
These two sessions relate to masculinity. For example, when men are born parents assume that their son will like playing sports. They need to be strong, be the main income of the family, they are not allowed to show their emotions, etc… For Muslim women, it is the same. People assume Muslims are “terrorists” and their bad people. But in reality they are not. As soon as their born, they are being stereotyped.
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 