International Women’s Week at Vanier College presents Backlash!

Vanier College is pleased to announce that International Women’s Week takes place from March 2-6, 2020. This year, speakers, panels, films, workshops and events respond to the theme of “backlash.” In 1991, U.S. journalist Susan Faludi published Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women, which traces the anti-feminist view that the women’s rights movement is detrimental to women and culture as a whole. While the quotation above refers specifically to the “backlash” that emerged in the 1980s in the United States against gender equality, it is still applicable in 2020.  All events take place in the Vanier Auditorium (A-103).

Among the guest speakers, Vanier is especially pleased to welcome award-winning Abenaki documentary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin who will present her latest work**: Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger**_. Alanis Obomsawin's fifty-second film tells the story of how the life of Jordan River Anderson initiated a battle for the right of First Nations children to receive the same standard of social, health and educational services as the rest of the Canadian population. Co-sponsored by MEES. (https://www.nfb.ca/film/jordan-river-anderson-the-messenger/). Thursday, March 5, 4 p.m.-5:15.

Monday, March 2, 4 p.m.–5:15 p.m.: Climate Change, Pipelines, and Violence against Women. McGill students Lucy Everett and Jen Gobby will discuss the connections between climate change, oil and gas development, violence against women, as well as the struggles of women, especially Indigenous women, who are leading the fight for environmental justice in Canada and across the world. Co-sponsored by MEES.

Tuesday, March 3, 4 p.m.-5:15 p.m.: Online Male-Supremacism and the Alt-Right. An award-winning scholar on the alt-right will discuss the role played by antifeminist and male-supremacist online communities in alt-right recruitment, aesthetics, and worldview.

Wednesday, March 4, 1:30 p.m.–3 p.m.: Vanier Students Talk about Gender. Six Vanier students from a variety of backgrounds will share their thoughts on and experiences of gender as young people in our current political climate. Sponsored by MEES.

Wednesday, March 4, 3:30 p.m.–4:45 p.m.: Living in the Shadow of Law 21. Two Muslim women will share how Law 21 has affected their sense of belonging and ability to thrive in Quebec. Speakers are Nadia Naqvi**,** a high school science teacher, and Laïty Fary Ndiaye, a community organizer, sociologist, and lecturer at Saint-Paul University. Co-sponsored by MEES.

Friday, 2:30 p.m.–3:45 p.m.: The Feminist Fight for Sex Workers’ Rights. Presenters are Jenn Clamen and Marlène from Stella, l’amie de Maimie.

Consult the full program online for details and other events.