Stephen Lewis: UN Failing Women
By Shannon Clarke Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Humanitarian Stephen Lewis has traveled to some of the most devastating regions of the world, listening to stories of injustice unimaginable to many in this country. For five years he served as the United Nation’s General Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS and has devoted his career to advocating … Read more
Social Media Fights Rape Culture
By Hania Ahmed Image courtesy of cascade_of_rant via Flikr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZxv5WCWivM Video by Samantha Stendal The message of the video is clear: don’t rape. Although only 26 seconds long, Samantha Stendal’s YouTube video A Needed Response has gone viral in just two weeks, with over 2 million views and lots of attention on social media sites like … Read more
A Time for Women: Discussions with Author Sally Armstrong
Women’s rights protest in Egypt. By Emily Rivas Image courtesy of Al Jazeera Creative Commons Repository via Wikimedia Commons The world today is not a hospitable place for women, but times are changing. We see women fighting for their education in the Middle East, women fighting against gang rape in India, young girls in Kenya … Read more
Rise in Alcoholism Among Women, Says Author
By Maham Shakeel Image by a4gpa via Fotopedia “We romance the glass in our culture. We’ve normalized risky drinking and it’s a new, deep love affair,” said award-winning author Ann Dowsett Johnston at the first National Roundtable on Girls, Women and Alcohol last Friday. The conference addressed the rise in women drinking. The full day … Read more
Hope for Gender Equality as Torontonians Celebrate International Women’s Day
Cree Elder Pauline Shirt and First Nations Women Drummers lead International Women’s Day march in Toronto Article and photos by Allison Ridgway The road to equality has been a long one for Kim Malcolmson. The 78-year-old pro-choice activist proudly continued this journey on Saturday, marching with thousands of other women and men through downtown Toronto … Read more
Reeva Steenkamp: A Crusader Against Violence Towards Women
By Maham Shakeel. Image courtesy of Reeva Steenkamp via Instagram. On February 19, Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old South African model was buried after she was shot four times by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius on Valentine’s Day. Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder, though he says the murder was unintended as he mistook Steenkamp for an … Read more
Miss America Contestant Opts for Double Masectomy
By Shannon Clarke Image courtesy of jennifer donley via Flickr. When Miss America contestant Allyn Rose announced she was having a double mastectomy, the pageant world reacted in horror. Despite the fact that her mother, great aunt and grandmother had all passed away from breast cancer, pageant watchers and some non-pageant watchers couldn’t understand why … Read more
Pro-Choice Activists Thank Dr. Henry Morgentaler
By Shannon Clarke Images courtesy of rabbleradio via Wikimedia Commons Somewhere in east Montreal is the clinic that became the catalyst for abortion reform in Canada more than 25 years ago. If you were to walk by it now, however, it’s just a normal house on a quiet residential street. At Innis Town Hall last … Read more
