women’s rights

Women march for equality and an end to poverty

Women march for equality and an end to poverty

Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

cassandra@qctonline.com

To mark the 30th anniversary of the historic 1995 Bread and Roses March, women across the province held commemorative events. In Quebec City, women and men assembled beside the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec on June 7 for speeches before marching along Grande Allée to the National Assembly and to the Parc de la Francophonie for celebratory cake and refreshments.

Françoise David played a key role in the 1995 march as president of the Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ) and later became an MNA, serving as co-spokesperson for Québec Solidaire. She said she still feels there is much work to be done in the name of gender equality and the fight against poverty, despite the progress made over the last three decades. “On the legal level, in terms of laws, we can’t say that women have taken a step backwards in Quebec,” she said. “The creation of a network of childcare centres was essential for women to be able to work, and recently, given the rise in reports of sexual assault against women, the creation of a specialized court. So, there has been progress for women.”

“It is a good thing to celebrate this milestone now, especially in these international political times,” said social worker Elizabeth Lopez. “We cannot allow the toxic masculinity and patriarchy rising from the south to undo all the work we have done in the past decades. That is why I skipped school to march back then and that is why I am here today.” She added, “It is great to see so many men among us and support[ing] us.”

“It is amazing to see how much has changed in 30 years,” said Amélia O’Connor, a retired social worker and volunteer in a women’s shelter in Montreal. “The demands we made back then still resonate with us today.” According to the FFQ, the marchers’ main de- mands included pay equity, social programs for women with potential jobs, security benefits and unemployment insurance, social housing, and an automatic child support collection system. This year, women walked for equality, social justice and an end to poverty.

Much has improved for women since the initial Bread and Roses March in 1912, a strike of immigrant workers at a textile factory in Lawrence (near Boston), Mass. Over the past century, women in North America have gained the right to vote, hold office, have careers outside the home and keep their jobs after giving birth and while raising young children. The gender salary gap has decreased, abortion has been legalized and shelters for women who have escaped domestic violence have become more accessible, although challenges remain.

Much remains to be done, as demonstrated by the hundreds of women and men present in Quebec City this past weekend. Among them were some of the original 1995 “godmothers” (sponsors and co-organizers) and newly appointed “godmothers,” including freelance journalist and broadcaster Ariane Émond, Sen. Chantal Petitclerc, Indigenous rights activist Michèle Rouleau, artist Marie-Claire Séguin, Radio- Canada anchor Marie-José Turcotte, and former executive director of the Maison d’Haïti and Montreal-based immigrant rights activist Marjorie Villefranche.

Handmaids fill the streets for International Women’s Day

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / March 11, 2025 / Cassandra Kerwin, International Women's Day, Quebec City, women's rights

Handmaids fill the streets for International Women’s Day

Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

cassandra@qctonline.com

On March 8, hundreds of women in red capes and white bonnets marched through Quebec City for International Women’s Day, at Laurier Québec in Sainte-Foy, in front of the U.S. Consulate in Old Quebec and in a march that ended at the Palais de Justice de Québec on Boul. Jean-Lesage. Similar protests took place at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa and in 14 cities and towns across Quebec, including Montreal, Sherbrooke and Frelighsburg, on the U.S.-Canada border.

The capes and bonnets are taken from Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, set in a dystopian world in the near future, where women are stripped of their rights to read, write and control their reproductive choices. Handmaids – lower-class women whose red dresses and capes and white bonnets make them stand out – are forced to give birth to the babies of higher-class families, who wear green. The book was adapted into a popular TV series in 2017.

Inspired by the story, the Regroupement des groupes de femmes de la région de la Cap- itale-Nationale dressed in red capes and white bonnets for their protests on International Women’s Day. One red-clad group of protesters surprised shoppers at Laurier Québec around noon by walking in tight unison into the atrium with signs bearing misogynistic quotes from public figures.

Less than an hour later, the women attracted a rather large crowd when they assembled at the corner of Avenue Sainte- Geneviève and Place Terrasse-Dufferin in front of the U.S. consulate, protesting the rise of anti-feminist sentiment in the United States under President Donald Trump.

At 2 p.m., these women joined the crowd at the Centre résidentiel et communautaire Jacques-Cartier in Lower Town.

The year 2025 is the 30th anniversary of the of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a sweeping inter- national plan to achieve a better world for women and girls. To mark this milestone, feminist groups around the world, including in Quebec City, marched under the theme of “Still Fighting.” The local groups chanted in French, “Still fighting to end violence against women! Still fighting against the poverty experi- enced by women! Still fighting for feminist climate justice!”

“With everything that’s going on right now, it’s really a good

time to come together and feel less alone,” said activist Maria Tremblay. “It is not a question of gaining something over men, but equal to men. Some toxic masculine-misogynistic groups are growing in popular- ity, mainly in the States, and passing laws there that are removing the rights of women. We hear not only men but also women speak about how women must become wives, mothers and even servants to men. That boggles our minds. It is exactly what Margaret Atwood wrote about 40 years ago.”

The march ended in front of the Palais de Justice in Saint- Roch, where the handmaids in red raised their white bonnets and chanted along with the crowd, “Mother, daughter, sister, never again in fear.”

With files from Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

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