Over the past year, women, transgender, and non-binary people around the world have posted online their personal stories of gender-based discrimination and violence, claiming their power by telling their stories in their own words. People have globally united against hatred and fear and in support of gender justice and equality through women’s marches. Discussions in feminist and social justice circles about how to create an inclusive, feminist future are now permeating everyday conversations in public, work places, and the corridors of political power.
But not everyone has the privilege to safely share their story online. Not every survivor wants this burden placed upon them. And much work remains to create transformative societal, legislative, and judicial changes that address the multiple and intersecting root causes of gender inequality. How will Amnesty promote transformative change in support of gender equality on International Women’s Day?
Join Amnesty International on March 8th, International Women’s Day to:
- Honour, celebrate, and make visible visible the contributions of grassroots feminists in Canada;
- Take action to end gender-based violence in Canada; and
- Take action in solidarity with Egyptian women human rights defender Azza Soliman.
Here’s how YOU can get involved!
Celebrating feminists via… Wikipedia?
Join the Feminist Wikipedia Takeover, an Amnesty International initiative marking International Women’s Day 2018 in Canada to promote gender equality in the free, online, open source dictionary Wikipedia by populating it with bias-free profiles on the contributions of women, transgender, and gender non-binary human rights defenders in Canada.
Screen a documentary & take action to end gender-based violence in Canada
Rates of gender-based violence in Canada are not going down. All levels of government are involved in taking action to end gender-based violence, but these actions are piecemeal and insufficient. Canada needs to—and must, to meet UN commitments—develop a coordinated, comprehensive, national action plan to end gender-based violence which includes all levels of government.
Host a screening of the powerful new Canadian documentary “A Better Man, a film which seeks to shift and further the discussion on gender-based violence. Consider organizing a discussion after the film screening involving local frontline organizations working with violence survivors. Amnesty has the screening rights to the documentary.
Accompany the film screening by taking action calling on Canada to enact a national action plan on gender-based violence.
Solidarity with women human rights defenders like Azza Soliman in Egypt
Because women human rights defender Azza Soliman has dared to defend gender-based violence survivors in Egypt she is banned from travel, her assets are frozen, and she now faces time in prison. Take action calling for all charges for Azza to be dropped.