Re: News Article “Political Pink”
We are very grateful for the coverage on page 15 of the March 10, 2017 Campbell River Mirror edition and for the excellent video posted online.
Unfortunately, your photo choice for the front page feature brings great frustration.
The highlight of the International Women’s Day Tea was not that BC NDP Leader John Horgan was in attendance and I’m sure he would be appalled that he landed on the front page and not some of our own strong women who live and work in our community.
We appreciate his attendance and support as an ally, but the role of an ally is not to steal the spotlight away from those who are still fighting for equal rights and visibility in the public sphere. In this case – women.
We would like to share with you the importance of International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th March all over the world.
This day is to appreciate and give respect to all the women who are the essence of our lives. This day is a day to honour the life, grit and determination of all women.
Charles Malik, former President of United Nations General Assembly aptly sums up the role of women: “The fastest way to change society is to mobilize women of the world.”
Unfortunately, women throughout history were not given their due respects yet they went on without complaints.
Over time women organized and supported each other to bring about change.
Women fought against all odds to emerge with a new-found power and place in society. History is replete with examples of courageous women like those recognized at the International Women’s Day Tea.
International Women’s Day is intended to honour the women who have paved the path towards our progress and struggled to take ‘womanhood’ to the level of equality that we currently enjoy.
But these gains are tenuous and not yet universally achieved.
Consequently, this day is also a reminder of the discrimination and inequality that continues to plague our society.
This special day, dedicated to women, is a celebration of the great success of women across all spheres of life as well as shaping the future.
With that it saddens me greatly that some of our powerful community members were not featured on your front page.
If you wanted to take a political turn on the celebration you could have easily featured Claire Trevena or lona Campagnolo, B.C.’s first female Lt. Governor, who were both also in attendance.
On the surface, International Women’s Day can be seen simply as a special day dedicated to women and their role in our lives.
The true essence of the day, however, lies in identifying the rights and power of women and giving them the status that they deserve. Not as stated and I quote, you believe “…that the leader of the opposition warrants front page coverage as does the premier.
“But that doesn’t diminish the importance of the IWD events.”
Unfortunately, it did diminish the perceived importance of the IWD event and yet again put a male public figure before a woman.
It is part of our philosophy and belief at the Women’s Centre that everyone makes mistakes, however, it is expected that we learn from our mistakes and do right by them.
This is a perfect example of how the quality of a woman can be understood “If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant’s life, she will choose to save the infant’s life without even considering there are men at the base.” Such is the power of a woman.
Additionally, we would like to thank you for changing the online link once we voiced concerns, and of course thank your wonderful reporter Jocelyn Doll, for the fantastic story and coverage provided on page 15.
Jodi Boyd, Executive Director
Campbell River Women’s Resource Centre