Women’s March Act 3 : All out on Saturday, January 19th

Special to RY

For a third year, women are mobilising for their annual march throughout North America. It all started in January 2017, when millions of women throughout North America gathered to oppose Donald Trump’s election, playing a crucial role in the opposition to this warmonger, misogynist, transphobic and homophobic, racist and xenophobic, fascist-friendly US President.

The last two marches are credited as counting among the biggest women rights events in the recent years. Last year, the march was linked to the #MeToo movement, a movement followed by millions of women across the world denouncing gendered violence. More than a simple hashtag, this movement showed that women throughout the world are willing to mobilise and play a role in the global fightback against patriarchy and misogyny in a time where right-wing populist and fascistic movements on the rise keep perpetrating these ideas. Embedded in these ideas is also racism and xenophobia to further attacks on the youth, progressive movements and on the working class.

¡REVOLUCIONARIAS!

Róisín Lyder

Rebel Youth presents 10 biographies of revolutionary women!

Angela Davis

“The idea of freedom is inspiring. But what does it mean? If you are free in a political sense but have no food, what’s that? The freedom to starve?”

Angela Davis first became involved in the black liberation and communist movements in the late 1960s as a professor at the University of California Los Angeles. As an outspoken critic of US imperialism and white supremacy, Davis was targeted for persecution and was imprisoned in 1970 on charges of murder and kidnapping. After a massive mobilization across the world demanded her freedom, Davis was acquitted in 1972. She has continued her political work to this day, as well as pioneering theoretical work on the relationship between race, class, and gender and on incarceration. Lefties today are sometimes still spotted sporting a nostalgic ‘Free Angela!’ button.

A quick reminder why Feminism is necessary

Marianne Breton Fontaine

Not a day passes without reminding me of the necessity of feminism, despite the surreal campaign “Women against feminism,” a US initiative where women post photos of themselves explaining why feminism is not needed by them. “I do not need feminism because if I wear a top like this, it’s for you to look at,” said one of them. “I do not need feminism because I like to cook for my boyfriend,” says another. It’s funny, because for me, these arguments convince me of the need to continue the struggle...

This morning’s daily reminder was made when I learned that the Couillard government will cut the “Chapeau les filles!” program, this program that was promoting education for women in areas still reserved for men, such as science and engineering. However, this cut will only save tiny crumbs for the public treasury. The icing on the cake was that earlier yesterday the same government announced that it would fly to the rescue of Bombardier if the company requested, because the company is currently experiencing some declines in profits. Is there anyone who still doubts that the State is at the service of a specific class?

International Women’s Day: Reinvigorating Marxist-Feminist Struggles in Canada

 Jenna Amirault

This March, the Young Communist League and the Communist Party of Canada will celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) by expressing solidarity with the ongoing and past struggles of women. While IWD is widely celebrated in civil society today, often little is known about the holiday’s socialist roots. IWD would not have been possible without the struggles of socialist women. The political activism of Clara Zetkin (1857-1933) and Luise Zietz (1865-1922) was particularly influential. Zetkin and Zietz were committed communists dedicated to organizing working class women and educating their male comrades on the importance of women’s struggles. They understood that the success of socialism depended on proletariat women and men “fight[ing] hand in hand…against capitalist society.”1   In August 1910 at a general meeting of the Second International, Zietz suggested holding an International Women’s Day to bring attention to equal rights, the suffrage and the struggles of working class women. Zetkin seconded the motion and over a hundred women from seventeen different countries voted in support of creating IWD. The next year on March 18 (chosen to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Paris Commune) the first IWD demonstrations were held in Europe. It was a tremendous success with an estimated 300 demonstrations being held across the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1922, with the help of Zetkin, Lenin would name International Women’s Day an official communist holiday.

Dentist Misogyny at Dalhousie

By Nicole Hattie, Halifax

A widespread public outcry has been heard across Nova Scotia following news that 13 male Dalhousie Dentistry students were members of a self‑described "gentlemen's facebook page" used to discuss chauvinistic and misogynistic messages. The men engaged in a poll, which asked who they would like to "hate fuck," and discussed using chloroform to rape women. The results of the poll were posted on Dec. 6 - the 25th anniversary of the Montreal massacre.

The response by some people, like the Globe and Mail's Margaret Wente, has been to say that this was a "joke" and should not be taken as a direct attack on women. But many labour, community and women's groups sharply disagree. A protest of approximately 300 students, faculty and other people on Dalhousie's campus rallied against all forms of sexism and harassment, denouncing the university's approach as unacceptable.

Bowing somewhat to public pressure, Dalhousie president Richard Florizone later suspended the men from clinical duties at the Dalhousie clinic, saying the school is looking at many options and is not ruling out expulsions. Despite this, many continue to be outraged.

These violent sexualized acts of hate speech had reportedly been taking place months prior and the university was well aware. However, nothing was done about the issue until it went "viral" in the media. There had also been reports of a male professor showing sexualized videos in class that objectified women as a way in which to "wake the male students up."

It appears the dentistry programme at Dal is basically a sexist "old boys club" for the sons of Nova Scotia's well‑heeled elite.

Harper Vs. Women

by Marianne Breton Fontaine

Rape culture, discrimination, poverty, violence, etc.; the list of evils of patriarchy is long. One might think that every year, the status of women is improving in Canada. But it’s not, and it's not just women's groups and the left that say so. According to the World Economic Forum, Canada’s place on the international gender equality index has steadily declined from 7th place in 2004, to 25th in 2009. This is not a coincidence; it is the result of clear policies enacted against the advancement of women's equality. Yes, Harper is anti-women!

Funding for women's groups

Since Stephen Harper took power in 2006, the Conservative government gradually eliminated funding for groups that promote women's rights. For example, he has closed 12 of the 16 regional offices of Status of Women Canada. The Conservatives have made significant changes to the funding criteria of women's organizations, saying that they will only fund groups that are “directly involved” with women. In other words, groups that were doing research on issues affecting women, defending feminist positions or lobbying on women’s issues are no longer considered eligible for funding. Harper did not stop there. He also removed the word "equality" from the ministry’s objectives. Thus, groups such as the Victoria Status of Women Action Group (SWAG) and the Coalition for Pay Equity in New Brunswick saw their funding cut drastically, and in some cases these groups have had to close their doors permanently.

New issue of Rebel Youth looking for articles

Rebel Youth magazine is coming out again, soon!

The theme of the next issue will be women's struggles today and the feminist movement.

The magazine will also run report-backs and stories about anti-imperialism and the 18th World Festival of Youth and Students.

If you would like to submit an article, photo, cartoon or graphic, poem, etc. to Rebel Youth, in English or French, please write to: rebelyouth@ycl-ljc.ca

The deadline for articles is MARCH 28th and we are looking for submissions!

Documentary: Status Quo, The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada

This is part of our IWD 2014 series.

Feminism has shaped the society we live in. But just how far has it brought us, and how relevant is it today?

The National Film Board presentation Status Quo? (Karen Cho, 2012, 87 min) zeroes in on key concerns such as violence against women, access to abortion, and universal childcare, asking how much progress we have truly made on these issues.

It uncovers answers that are provocative and at times shocking. Rich with archival material and startling contemporary stories, Status Quo? is crucial viewing for every Canadian. View the trailer below or visit the film's official site here.

Students and feminists rise up in the Quebec student strike

Marianne Breton Fontaine

At the beginning of the Quebec student strike, the movement did not merely demand increased accessibility through a reduction in tuition fees.   There was, from the outset, a principled opposition to the policies of user fees and privatization.   But there is also a direction to this movement which is profoundly anti-oppressive and pro-feminist.

Afterall, in practice the increase in tuition fees would affect women, and especially working class women, more severely than most other sections of society. Now, the student struggle in itself has become an platform to promote feminist debate.

Some thoughts on same-sex schools

Lord of the Flys Collegiate?

Recently one of Canada's largest school boards, the Toronto District School Board, announced that it intends to introduce boys-only classes and schools to address male underachievement. This initiative will take the form of a leadership academy for boys as an alternative school staffed mainly by male teachers -- an "all-boy Male Leadership Academy" -- and has opened up a host of sexist commentary says McGill women's studies student Jamie Burnett. Please note his article has been edited from the original, and reflects the views of the author.