Taking a stand at the International Women’s Day Celebration

Alina Gershuny
Contributor
A march has always been something I’ve liked to watch from the outside.
I don’t participate because I often fear being blacklisted by the government or being asked for my not-yet-wholly-formed political opinion. I nevertheless decided to join the International Women’s Day celebration on Saturday, March 12, which included a rally and, yes, a march from OISE to Ryerson University.
Many groups had tables with info on issues that ranged from fighting for a revolution to abortion rights. I was early, and the auditorium had only a sprinkle of people, but by the time the Raging Asian Women started their Taiko drumming, the auditorium was almost full. Their rhythms expressed the energetic and passionate atmosphere of the gathering and helped unite everyone in the space.
Activists shared passionate speeches; they sought to bring to light the frustrations thousands of women and men face every day in Toronto and across the country. Affordable housing, childcare, access to transit, unemployment and under-employment, sexual and physical violence and poverty – it’s these things, many argued, that are currently under fire from the Ford government and his cuts to public services.
While we were celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, much of the focus was geared toward local issues rather than what women worldwide have been fighting for since before 1911.
“Given the explosion of activism we’ve seen these past few months, I thought we should have had the theme be more like ‘from the local to the global, women fight for justice.’ It should have also been about solidarity with women in Egypt, Tunisia and Wisconsin,” said York University professor Punam Khosla, who teaches a course called Social Movements, Activism and Social Change in the faculty of environmental studies.
“To focus only on city cuts and city services made it, in a way, really narrow,” she said. The only mention of the struggles of women for freedom around the world were the marches of women in Ivory Coast held to mourn the lives of six women senselessly killed by the Gbagbo army during a demonstration in support of his rival.
I understand that to become active agents of change we have to deal with the issues we face on a daily basis, at home, but we cannot forget this struggle is universal and can only be overcome as a collaborative process with all the women of the world.
Recognizing and opposing the discrimination and marginalization that immigrant women face when they come to Canada is one way to act in solidarity with the women of the world. Filipino women, for example, are subject to unfair rules and requirements under the live-in caregiver program (Migrante Canada); and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) recently repealed the agreement that would stop enforcement officials from entering shelters to detain and potentially deport women without status who have fled from abusive situations.
A number of students attended the celebration, a large contingent of which came from York. “It’s really important to stand up for women’s rights, to exercise our rights and to go out into the streets and use our voices. I feel like it’s really important in terms of education that as a group of students we are out here together,” said Talia Lane, a fourth-year environmental studies major.
Although we recently missed the opportunity to vote for our student union, this event clearly shows there are other places where our energies can be directed in a positive manner.
Sometimes it is difficult to see how walking down the street with a bunch of banners, yelling chants and “disturbing traffic,” can help bring about change. I don’t think such events on their own have the potential to influence the downward direction we are heading in when it comes to the rights of women. I think it stems from the countless hours spent by volunteers and workers in non-governmental organizations, law firms, unions, social service agencies, other agencies and many people whose aims are to better the lives of others regardless of their gender, sex, race, age, ability, class, status or criminal background.
International Women’s Day to me is about celebrating the efforts and struggles of simple people for a more just and united world.
While no struggle will ever be perfect and result in a victory that all will rejoice in, the need to come together to fight for justice is possibly as important now as it has ever been. If we don’t stand for what we believe is right, or even take the time to ask questions, who else will?
We are not only the next generation, we are the generation for now. I dare you all to break free of your fears and comfort zones as I did and stand up for justice. Contribute whatever you think you can and see how much doing for others can do for you.