The two sessions I had attended in the auditorium provided me with a lot of information that should be exposed to many others. On Monday, Lucy Everett and Jen Gobby explained the current issues with climate change, the primary difference between consent and consultation as well as the history of Indigenous people. On Wednesday, Nadia Naqvi and Laity Fary Ndiaye,brought our attention to Muslim women, Bill 21 and discrimination.
Mrs. Everett and Mrs. Gobby went into depth about many critical issues regarding our planet and our country. We learned that around 89% of Canada’s land belongs to the Indigenous people and that we exploit their land without their permission. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, consent vs consultation was a key point in their presentation. Consultation is the act of informing someone whereas consent is them accepting. The Canadian government is currently in the process of building a pipeline on the Indigenous land without the Indigenous people’s consent. The big issue with this is that this type of behavior is related to another rising problem in many countries, rape. As mentioned in the documentary “Man Enough?” and Kimmel’s “Masculinity”, men tend to have this violent and aggressive attitude which causes them to do things that are not ethically correct. The two presenters related the actions taking place by the government to the majority of people in charge being men- doing things their way without everyone involved being in full agreement.
The second presentation explained the current situation with Bill 21 and the discrimination of Muslim women. As mentioned on the website Chatelaine, Bill 21 “intend[s] to eradicate religious symbols in most of the public sector.” Although all religions are affected by this law, it has the most impact on Muslim women. An important piece of clothing which religious Muslim women wear is the hijab. They are put in a difficult situation because they must choose between their religion and their job. Unlike many other religions where a necklace or other piece of jewelry is used to symbolize their beliefs and is easy to hide, it is very hard to hide a hijab. Nadia Naqvi and Laity Fary Ndiaye both witness and suffer from this discrimination. They are both judged for their skin color, clothing and beliefs. Bill 21 is encouraging more and more younger Muslim women to stop wearing hijabs.
Both sessions were eye opening and brought up issues and history that is not addressed by many. I was surprised to learn about the different laws and actions taking place that are greatly affecting women. Both scenarios involve the government and it relates one of Kimmel’s articles where he explained how many societies objectify women and treat them like they have less value.
Sources
Land Ownership in Canada – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_ownership_in_Canada
Quebec’s Secularism – https://www.chatelaine.com/news/quebec-secularism-bill-21-women/
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 