By Joanne Rodgers, Bruce Peninsula Press
In the midst of a mid-afternoon blizzard, 25 women and allies and 4 dogs marched along Main Street in Lion’s Head to show support for women in the community and around the globe. Worldwide, on 18 January 2020, women and supporters joined this yearly event to bring focus to the fight for equality, justice and women’s human rights.
Organizer Betsy Burrows had previously attended marches in Wiarton and Owen Sound and wondered “why we weren’t protesting in our own town”. Braving an all-day snow storm and hazardous road conditions, Marchers turned out to advocate for women’s rights, filling gaps in medical research for women, gender equality, abortion rights, missing and murdered indigenous women and women living under oppressive regimes.
BPDS student Browyn Stanton led the March alongside Jan Mackie, representing the youth and elders of the community.
Trace MacKay, wearing the signature hand-knitted pink hat, trademark of the first march in 2017, wants to see greater progress and funding in women’s health and gender-based medical research.
Neda Sarbakhsh lends her voice to the women who cannot speak for themselves, especially in the Middle East. She says even though there is still work to be done in Canada, never take for granted the freedoms we enjoy here.
Brian Taylor urges the group to be courageous and speak up when people are being disrespected due to gender and race.
Jan says in the closing remarks “as women, we are fortunate to live here in Canada, and yet we also have some distance to go to ensure equality for women in our society where inequality is deeply embedded in our systems. We cannot be complacent; we need to keep working and talking and advocating. There are women in many parts of the world that need our ongoing support. And there is a need to have compassion and patience for those who need educating around issues of inequality.”
