This year’s International Women’s week covered topics like environmental justice, violence against women, Bill 21, Missing and Murdered Indigenous girls and women, and the government’s involvement in all these sectors. Women from different backgrounds and ethnicities had various examples of situations in which they found themselves being victims of violence and/or oppression. The women who spoke at the panels were discussing how they are treated on a daily basis, the microaggressions they encounter and how society refuses to acknowledge them (microaggressions and women).
In the panel “Climate Change, Pipelines, and Violence against Women”, Lucy Everett and Jen Gobby examine climate change and the government’s decision to build pipelines on Indigenous territory. They examine how different communities are impacted but are not all affected the same way. Being one of the biggest emitters, the speakers wanted to bring light on the responsibility the Canadian government has on emitting greenhouse gases and their engagement with pipeline construction companies. Lucy and Jen gave us insight on who suffers directly from the decisions the government makes, the jobs they make out of settler colonialism and how it creates an intergenerational trauma within the Indigenous community. Another issue that was brought up was violence against women, specifically Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada. They gave us statistics to give us a better idea of how many Indigenous women represent the population and how many are either missing or murdered. This panel was meant to inform people why it is important to Indigenous people to fight for their land and water, why pipelines are destructive and harmful for nature, wildlife and ecosystems. Lucy and Jen pointed out how we must be conscious of the consequences of colonialism as allies.
The Bill 21 has caused a lot of controversy, the government believes that separating religion from government is an act of secularism. Speakers Nadia Naqvi and Laïty Fary Ndiaye were criticizing this law because it mostly targets Muslim women who wear the hijab and it interferes with their job or career. They introduced us to the different ways Muslim women are treated, whether they are visible minorities, whether it’s their skin or hairstyles. This law ostracizes and belittles Muslim women, and this notion makes these women feel like they do not have a place in society or individual rights (Kimmel 149). Both Nadia and Laity explained in this panel how they suffer microaggressions everyday because of their skin color, hairstyles and the use of the hijab. This panel was made to inform us that there are organizations that are developed for women to fight against structural oppression and to teach us about the inequalities between women.
The two panels informed us of the violence women must endure on a daily basis and how every microaggression and laws like Bill 21 that promote secularism is actually just a politically correct term for islamophobia. These symposiums were very inclusive and rejected white feminist ideologies, as it should be.
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 