Reflecting on International Women’s Day in Canada

By Catherine Whelan Costen

Today, Monday, March 9, 2009 is celebrated in Canada as International Women’s Day. In a perfect world we wouldn’t have need to celebrate one half of the human gender, because all humans would be equal in everyway, in every job, career, position and purpose for being. A quote below from the National Union of Public and General Employees website explains the declaration;

 

Ottawa (2 March 2009) – The United Nations adopted a resolution in 1977 calling upon its member states to proclaim a day for women’s rights and international peace known as International Women’s Day (IWD). This day symbolizes how far women around the world have come in their struggle for equality and recognizes the many challenges that remain. The United Nations theme for this year is "Women and Men: United to End Violence against Women."

Canadians celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8th each year.
The Canadian theme for International Women’s Day 2009 is “Strong Leadership. Strong Women. Strong World: Equality.”

 

Women’s rights and peace clearly go hand in hand at the international level. Clearly we know that as women are honoured in society, their children are honoured and as women are dishonoured so too are their children. Dishonour creates an environment prone to abuse, to groveling and begging for basic survival needs. It enables societies that fight for possession of women and children, for cultures of selling women and children, for using them as pawns in power struggles over property and resources.

At present we are waiting for the Senate to pass the new budget, a loudly promoted stimulus package intended to assist Canadians during these economic changes; however, one aspect of this stimulus is to remove pay equity for women. Are Canadians to believe that stimulating the economy includes removing equality for women?

As Canadian mothers are sending their sons and daughters off to fight a never ending war in Afghanistan with the often promoted message, ‘that we are helping the women of Afghanistan to live a better life’; we are reminded that the right to be considered equal is only as true as the collective will of the people and the government that reflects them. It is commonly understood that wars are often fought on the basis of keeping some element of society safe, or on a great fear of lack, or ‘propagated’ concept of threat to someone. Women live with these realities on a daily basis and therefore the elevation of women in our societies will greatly aid in dissolving the belief that war or conflict can create peace. Women know first hand the struggle to survive, to keep their property, to protect their young, to be respected and listened to. Women also know that conflict breeds more conflict.

It is no coincidence that the planet is often referred to as Mother earth; the feminine aspect of our world has very specific understandings of life, for it is through her that birth takes place. It is also no coincidence that the feminine has been oppressed throughout much of our history. Is it a reflection of our attitude towards the feminine that Mother earth can be raped, exhausted, abused, polluted and still expected to perform the task of keeping us alive? The energy that gives life does not encourage the destruction of life. It is not a matter of fighting for the rights of Mother earth, or human females; it is a matter of waking up to the truth. To accept that any aspect of life is less than because of its gender, is a reflection of ignorance- nothing less.  

 

From the Government’s website, I quote a small part of a discussion on why we need to be in Afghanistan –quoting two points made by the Prime Minister which are relevant to this opinion:

 

17 May 2006

Ottawa, Ontario

Mr. Speaker, that’s not fair to the brave men and women who wear the maple leaf.

 

They need to know that Parliament, their Parliament, is behind them.  …. Mr Speaker, we need to be clear:  Canada is not immune to such attacks. 

 

And we will never be immune as long as we are a society that defends freedom, democracy and human rights.

 

All people in a democracy need to know that their Parliament is supporting them. All people! Clearly our women in uniform are public/federal employees; do they not have the right to pay equity? Clearly there is intent to defend human rights, to stand for freedom, democracy etc. and that the intent must include all Canadians including women. That speech is over 2 years old and as evidence above the words and intent are encouraging, however the practice of the spirit of that intent is sadly lacking? This does not fall solely on the shoulders of the current Prime Minister, as we do have a democracy in Canada and we have 308 elected members of Parliament, not to mention all the citizens who vote.

Many Canadians are ready to find ways to live in peace, both in Canada and with the international community. Many Canadian mothers do not want to send their children to fight wars in far off worlds, on the pretense of creating something for women there when they know the hypocrisy of equality still exists in so called free, democratic nations, including their own.

Many Canadians are becoming more educated and ready to embrace a better world where all people are honoured not simply by an international declaration, but rather by right of being human. The question is what is the ‘right’ thing to do?

Maslow’s theory of evolution indicates that as people are free from the basic survival lifestyle, they embrace the time to think, to consider their world and the higher aspects of what living really means. Given a fair standing in society for all human beings and the ability to consider life, may remove many from the concept of ‘the necessity of war’.

As Canadian women are thrown back into a necessity to fight for basic human rights, while they have yet to truly collectively attain a fair and equal standard of living even with the previous standards, many are left wondering whom their government is representing?

As long as this is merely a feel-good idea, we are in no position to teach others. As long as one expression of our society is oppressed in any way, then all of our society is oppressed! We cannot express to others that the treatment of Canadian women is something to aspire to, when we are still subjected to a subhuman expression of an unevolved culture.

As long as women are consider less than, or are forced to fight for their rights and equality, then all of society is out of balance. We are not truly equal. As long as women and children are oppressed anywhere, we shall not have the potential for peace at home or on planet earth. This is not a women’s issue. It is a human issue. Humanity has not achieved equality. Therefore, we must ask ourselves why after 30 years this concept is still merely an idea rather than a fact?!