International Women’s Week sought to raise awareness of the obstacles than many women around the world face on a recurring basis. Vanier College organised several presentations relating to many different issues stemming from this subject. Two such presentations will be discussed in this post: Living in the Shadow of Law 21, and Climate Change, Pipelines, and Violence against Women.
Climate Change, Pipelines, and Violence against Women
During the first presentation, we learned about the struggles that Indigenous people face when pipeline projects are built on their native territories.
Firstly, the pipelines create tremendous environmental deterioration, due to their construction and occasional leaks. Many First Peoples value nature as being very important to them and seek to protect it; these projects can therefore be very culturally destructive.
Secondly, it was mentioned that, during the construction and maintenance of these projects, many female Natives get raped by male workers of oil companies, in so-called “man camps”. This can be explained by Kilmartin’s classification of some men as being “aggressive and adventurous”, resorting to violence to assert their masculinity if need be.
Finally, it came to our attention that climate change affects women heavily, more so than men.
Living in the Shadow of Law 21
During the next presentation, we explored the lives of two Muslim women, Nadia Naqvi and Laïty Fary Ndiaye, who have been facing difficulties in the wake of Bill 21, a bill seeking to affirm the laicity of the State by prohibiting certain individuals from wearing religious symbols in jobs considered to be in position of authority.
First of all, the speakers believed that the law encourages hostility towards Muslims. Nadia Naqvi, for instance, affirmed that the bill can reanimate feelings and instances of islamophobia, which escalated drastically after 9/11.
Furthermore, they suggested that the law particularly impacts Muslim women, due to the impossibility to hide a hijab, contrary to other religious symbols than can be hidden.
Thirdly, the speakers mentioned that the bill can hurt the teaching profession. Since Quebec already has a lack of teachers, this law can add to the lack of workers in this professional field.
Finally, the presenters asserted that young students do not see religion, they see the teacher.
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 