{"id":2478,"date":"2017-03-03T14:02:26","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T19:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communist-party.ca\/?p=2478"},"modified":"2024-10-07T17:05:19","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T21:05:19","slug":"women-fight-back-against-misogyny-and-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communist-party.ca\/fr\/women-fight-back-against-misogyny-and-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"Women fight back against misogyny and racism"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year,\u00a0women\u00a0will\u00a0celebrate\u00a0International Women\u2019s Day with a renewed sense of\u00a0strength,\u00a0after\u00a0almost 5 million women and their allies took to the streets around the world on Jan. 21 to oppose the xenophobic, racist, misogynist, homophobic,\u00a0Islamophobic\u00a0and pro-war agenda\u00a0of Donald Trump\u00a0and his government of Wall Street bankers,\u00a0billionaires and oilmen.\u00a0This march\u00a0was a display of resistance against patriarchal violence, inequality, exploitation and oppression perpetuated by capitalism across the globe.\u00a0Several\u00a0lasting\u00a0unity principles\u00a0came out of the march, including\u00a0support for\u00a0economic equality,\u00a0women\u2019s right to freedom from violence, full reproductive\u00a0 rights\u00a0and\u00a0freedom, full\u00a0equality\u00a0rights for the LGBTQ community,\u00a0racialized peoples,\u00a0workers, immigrants, those with a disability,\u00a0for\u00a0civil rights\u00a0and environmental justice, and\u00a0against police brutality and racial profiling, demilitarizing law enforcement and ending mass incarceration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This powerful women’s\u00a0\u00a0movement is needed in Canada now more than ever,\u00a0with\u00a0our self-styled feminist prime minister\u00a0who\u00a0believes gender equality means creating a gender-balanced\u00a0cabinet\u00a0to carry out anti-women,\u00a0pro-business policies such as\u00a0the approval of the Kinder Morgan\u00a0and Keystone XL\u00a0Pipeline projects. Indigenous\u00a0women\u00a0are at the forefront of resisting\u00a0this policy, along with the\u00a0occupation of\u00a0lands, theft of resources, and\u00a0colonial gendered violence which all continue\u00a0under the Trudeau Liberals. The government’s\u00a0support for\u00a0capitalist\u00a0globalization and\u00a0free trade deals such as CETA and the TPP extends\u00a0Canada\u2019s imperialist agenda, where corporations will gain further power and profits, but\u00a0working people\u00a0–\u00a0women and their families\u00a0– \u00a0are denied food security,\u00a0the ability to form or join a trade\u00a0union, access to affordable\u00a0housing, healthcare, education,\u00a0prescription drugs and more.\u00a0This\u00a0government, like the Harper Tories,\u00a0continues to ignore the longstanding demand to create a\u00a0universal, accessible, affordable,\u00a0quality, public childcare\u00a0system.<\/p>\n

Women in Canada are losing ground in terms of pay equity and pensions.\u00a0The gender gap in Canada is now double the global average;\u00a0racialized\u00a0women make only 68 cents for every dollar made by\u00a0non-racialized\u00a0men. The Liberal government has no\u00a0plans\u00a0to rectify\u00a0this\u00a0situation. Recent pension\u00a0reforms\u00a0roll-back gains women had\u00a0achieved by excluding the years taken off on\u00a0maternity\u00a0and parental leaves\u00a0in calculation of their final pensions.\u00a0These are not \u201cimprovements\u201d; this is austerity.\u00a0Women are being forced to pay the price for the ongoing capitalist economic crisis and for continuing corporate tax cuts and giveaways. It\u2019s no wonder that a recent study on the Global Gender Gap reached the damning conclusion that at the current rate, it will take 170 years for women to reach equality.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s Muslim ban and his bigoted statements have encouraged racist, fascist, and extreme right-wing groups in Canada to spread their hate propaganda and terrorist activities.\u00a0 The recent terrorist attack in Quebec City, which resulted in the death of six innocent lives during prayer, was aimed against the entire Muslim community in Canada. But the Trudeau government responded only with words, not action.\u00a0Further, gendered\u00a0Islamophobic\u00a0violence occurs\u00a0all too often in Canada. Muslim women are often\u00a0verbally attacked\u00a0and have been physically assaulted by\u00a0having their hijabs ripped off or worse. As this violence escalates, the government sits idle while the media perpetuates the lie that Western military intervention in the Middle East is required to \u201csave\u201d Muslim women. The Liberals have capped refugee migration and sponsorship\u00a0to Canada while\u00a0making war on their North African and Middle Eastern homelands, and exploiting them for photo-ops. This is not feminism.<\/p>\n

The truth is, PM Trudeau and the Liberal government cannot claim to be feminist while advocating and defending corporate power and super-profits. Policies and decisions that perpetuate violence against Indigenous women and territories, that deepen and expand gendered and racialized economic inequalities, that impose war and austerity at home and abroad, are all part of the capitalist agenda \u2013 an agenda that is incompatible with the demands of working-class women from all communities for peace, equality, democracy and economic and social security for themselves and their families.<\/p>\n

Which way forward for women\u00a0in Canada?<\/p>\n

The Women\u2019s\u00a0March on Washington\u2019s Unity Principles provide a solid basis for building unity across\u00a0our\u00a0communities. We are\u00a0building strong coalitions of\u00a0women\u2019s groups together \u2013 women from groups like Idle\u00a0No\u00a0More, Black Lives Matter,\u00a0Labour Women\u2019s Committees, LGBTQ, disability,\u00a0student and, pro-choice\u00a0and other groups. We also need to mobilize to win a progressive, anti-capitalist\u00a0women\u2019s program in our communities and across our country.<\/p>\n

We refuse to wait\u00a0any longer\u00a0for\u00a0equality.\u00a0We need to organize!<\/p>\n

The Communist Party of Canada demands Full Gender Equality NOW:<\/p>\n