Atena Barforoushi

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

West Island resident Linda Sestock addressed the United Nations last week, delivering an urgent message about the fragility of women’s rights worldwide.

Speaking as president of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) at the 69th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), Sestock emphasized that progress on gender equality requires constant vigilance.

A prominent West Island figure and respected community leader, Sestock has built a legacy of advancing women’s rights from her home base in the West Island to the international stage. Her work through local initiatives, combined with her leadership in CFUW, has established her as one of the region’s most influential voices in the fight for gender equality. Through years of dedicated service, she has transformed local advocacy into global impact, making the West Island proud on the world stage.

From the UN General Assembly Hall, Sestock voiced growing concerns about potential threats to women’s rights, particularly focusing on recent developments in academic and technological spheres. Her message resonated strongly with delegates from various nations where recent history has demonstrated how quickly women’s rights can be eroded. In a written response to Sestock’s address, Montreal-based Iranian women’s rights activist Atena Barforoushi reflected: “As an Iranian, I have witnessed first hand how freedoms can be stripped away overnight. Since the Islamic Republic’s revolution, Iranian women have endured systemic oppression, a stark reminder that progress is fragile. Canada has built a foundation of gender equality, but as Linda emphasized, we must remain vigilant.”

A key point of her address centred on the challenges facing women in academia. Sestock revealed that professors within CFUW have reported losing research grants after refusing to remove gender-specific language from their proposals. “We have a lot of professors in our organization, and people are losing grants because they are being asked to remove words like female and gender,” she explained.

Technology emerged as another critical concern, with Sestock highlighting the need for increased female representation in STEM fields. “We need to be hyper-focused on ensuring that women are educated and entering STEM fields, because right now algorithms are slanted towards men and can be used against women,” she stated.

The timing of her address coincided with International Women’s Day demonstrations, where protesters reinforced the message that vigilance in protecting women’s rights remains essential.

For the West Island community, Sestock’s appearance at the UN represents a significant achievement, bringing local leadership to the global stage. Her advocacy work continues to influence policy discussions at both national and international levels, reinforcing Canada’s commitment to advancing women’s rights and gender equality.

The session concluded with Sestock’s clear message that protecting and advancing women’s rights requires ongoing commitment from all sectors of society, making her voice from the West Island now part of the permanent record in the halls of the United Nations. n