The Council for the Status of Women celebrated its 50th anniversary on July 6th. A good opportunity to remember that equality between men and women has not been achieved, even here in Quebec.
On Saturday, I read in an article in the Log what the President of this Council, Louise Cordeau, said on the subject. She talks about this among other things: “The wages of women are still lower than those of men and violence against women is far too numerous for us to be satisfied with the current situation.”
To believe that there is no more work to be done to improve the status of women is to put your head in the sand.
It is important to remember how far we still have to go in order to achieve real equality.
IT’S NOT THAT LONG AGO…
On its website, Éducaloi gives a good description of the evolution of women’s rights in Quebec.
Prior to 1940, Quebec women could not vote for their provincial government. It’s been less than 100 years.
Before 1964, women were obliged to obey their husbands and it was not until 1983 that sexual assaults committed by a spouse became crimes in the eyes of justice.
Before 1969, it was a crime to use contraception and it was not until 1988 that women had the right to abortion.
Remembering these facts chills my blood. I sometimes imagine myself in the shoes of a woman in 1930 and tears well up in my eyes.
The older I get, the more I realize how far women go when it comes to their rights.
Sexism, salaries, double standards and so on: at 26, I really realize the extent of the work to be done and sometimes it makes me dizzy.
I also realize that many people do not dare to call themselves feminists…
THE PRIDE OF BEING A FEMINIST
According to the Larousse dictionary, the word “feminism” is defined as follows: “Current of thought and political, social and cultural movement in favor of equality between women and men”
A feminist person is therefore simply a person who wants real equality between men and women to be achieved.
I consider that people who do not want to call themselves feminists are not for gender equality.
And if you are for equality between men and women, but you refuse to assume yourself as a feminist, is it because you fear the prejudices that could result?
Are you afraid of being called extremists? Frustrated?
In 2023, we should be proud and proud to stand up for equality. It is time to drop the backward prejudices associated with this word that harm the cause.
It’s a great pride for me to be a feminist because fundamentally, I will always be for equality.