Constitute

Canadian Forum on Women’s Activism: Feminism Across the Generations

Shot intensively over 3 days at the Canadian Forum on Women’s Activism in Constitutional and Democratic Reform, the documentary will look at the history of women’s rights activism in Canada and how the feminist message is being carried on today by a whole new generation of activists.

On Valentine’s Day, 25 years ago, an Ad Hoc committee of women gathered for a conference that fundamentally changed Canadian history by ensuring that the rights of women were written into the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 25 years later, on the same day, in the same room on Parliament Hill, a new conference took place where many of the original women joined politicians, international women’s rights leaders, and a new generation of students and activists to celebrate the past and pass the torch of feminism to a new generation of activists.

Women across the generations agree that there remains much work to be done in the realm of women’s rights. While many advances have been made, there remain areas, the issue of violence against women for example, where surprisingly there has been no statistical progress. In other areas, such as childcare and equal representation in government, it appears that advances made in the past are actually being eroded.

Now in the early stages of post-production, the documentary is shot using two film crews: a professional crew featuring award-winning journalist Sally Armstrong, and a student crew featuring aspiring journalist Meara Michalska. This dual shooting style highlights the intergenerational nature of the conference, placing equal emphasis on established and up and coming activists.

While many young women today no longer identify themselves as “feminists,” it is clear they continue to fight for the rights of women in novel and progressive ways, expanding their activism to fight for equality in all facets of society. Representatives from Rwanda, South Africa, and Afghanistan put the issues in a global context, demonstrating the need for women the world over to work together to ensure the advancement of women’s rights into the future.

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