NDP marks Women’s History Month

The Official Opposition’s Women’s critic, Niki Ashton (Churchill), made the following statement for Women’s History Month:

“Today marks the beginning of Women’s History Month – an opportunity to reflect on the status women have achieved. Through persistence, organization and solidarity the reach for gender equality has advanced from a time when women struggled to get the vote until today, when women have gained reproductive rights, and are accessing education at higher rates than ever before.

While we stand proud of those achievements, we must also mark the deficits in gender equality. In Canada, women suffer higher rates of poverty than men. Women remain underemployed nationally and too many women live under the threat of violence every day.

Internationally, Canada has pushed for limited access to reproductive health, abortion and sexual education for millions of women around the world. Last month Canada dismissed United Nation recommendations for a national review of missing and murdered Indigenous women. We must be wary of turning back the clock on women`s equality.

Women’s History Month is a time for us to celebrate and commemorate our history and let the world know that Canadians will not rest until all people are considered equal.”