Have we really come a long way, baby?

The news that the Harper government was shutting down most of its Status of Women offices (SWC) was greeted with a) cheers from REAL ( a Conservative women’s organization), b) outrage by many Liberals and womens’ rights groups and c) indifference from the majority of average women, who are too busy burning the candle at both ends to question how they even feel at all!

The Tory decision to slash the Status of Women’s operating budget by $5M and close 12 of its 16 regional offices was justified by the government as “administrative efficiency” and the contention that the organization only represented and funded feminists and did not adequately represent women. Forgive my ignorance, but since when is being a feminist at odds with being a woman? I know that to some, the word “feminism” is associated with bra-burning, man-hating females, but what most feminists I know want is equal pay, equal opportunities, equal representation. To suggest, as Harper has by closing these offices, that the fight for equality is over is ludicrous and does disservice to those who need the support the most.

A popular adage states: “The most serious threat to democracy is the notion that it has already been achieved”. Replace the word “democracy” with “equality” and you’ll see where I’m coming from.

So much has already been achieved and so much progress has already been made (particularly in the social and economic circles of the people making these decisions) that, I suspect, we’re sometimes not capable of seeing how much still needs to be done. Too many Canadians overestimate the success of the women’s movement because their perceptions are usually distorted by constant media coverage of successful and strong women. But what about the women we don’t see? What about the single moms on welfare, the battered and abused women with nowhere to go, the women out of options and out of luck? Who speaks for them?

“Just because there’s an equality clause in the constitution does not make us equal, any more than having a peace bond protects us from being harmed or murdered,” wrote Lorraine Sheehan, in the St. John’s Telegram. “They’re just words.”

As long as women are earning less than men, as long as only 21% of our Parliament is comprised of female MPs, as long as women comprise 84% of spousal homicides and the vast majority of people living under the poverty line, as long as we’re still having debates over abortion rights, the fight for equality is not over and a political watchdog and a public research and advocacy group is still needed.

In the SWC’s history, the organization has funded research and advocacy that have changed policies and perceptions. It gave women who didn’t have a voice, the opportunity to be heard. Whether it’s a woman living in fear of abuse or a woman dealing with the fact that her male counterpart is making $1 for every 71 cents she earns, the SWC has done or tried to do something about it. So don’t tell me, Mr. Harper, that the SWC does not represent me. And while you’re at it, how about you give me the 29 cents on every

dollar you owe me?