Today, March 8, 2022, we celebrate International Women’s Rights Day. This day is extremely important because it aims to highlight past and present struggles for women’s rights around the world. It is also an opportunity to take the pulse of equality and the advancement of women’s rights in Quebec.
On this International Women’s Day, the Green Party of Quebec feels it is important to reiterate how important it is to improve the status of women because gender equality is far from being achieved in almost all sectors of society. In 2022, Quebec politics will still be dominated by men, as evidenced by the fact that 56% of the members of the National Assembly are men. Despite the progress made in recent years to reduce the gender representation gap in the National Assembly, we must ensure that we achieve parity in the long term. Inequalities also exist in terms of salary, with women still earning on average less than men in Quebec and Canada.
International Women’s Rights Day is also a reminder to the world that many women still suffer violence and discrimination because of their gender, and that we must still fight for justice for them. It is a time to reflect on how we can address the dynamics that create these inequalities and oppressions. At the Green Party of Quebec, we believe deeply that the direct participation of women on these issues is paramount, and we opt for an intersectional approach to achieve lasting change. There is still a lot of progress to be made on this path and we want to start as soon as possible so that concrete actions are taken to fight against all forms of violence against women, inequality and discrimination.
The Green Party of Quebec hopes that Women’s Rights Day will be a day of respect for all women who identify themselves as such and that the rights they have been fighting for for so many years will finally be granted. On this day, let us unite to celebrate the achievements of women on many levels: political, social, economic, cultural etc. but also to advance gender equality, justice; let us think fairly.
Halimatou Bah, deputy leader of the Green Party of Quebec