International Women's Day's Colourful Additions

International Women's Day (IWD), which is supposed to be a celebration of women's strength and unity, has, in recent years, become a celebration of something else -- namely, a display of disunity among women.

The 1998 celebrations were no exception in that they resulted in some very colourful action in different parts of the country.

Toronto-Ryerson Polytechnic University

Close to 200 booths representing various women's organizations were set up at Ryerson University on IWD. The place was packed when an uproar broke out. First of all, a man (who else?) started the melee by shouting what was described as "gender-related" remarks. Next, an argument broke out about the treatment of women in Iran , which related to the display at one of the booths. The Iranian women had to be escorted from the building; about 30 people lined up to hold back the crowds so that the women could leave safely. It took about 20 minutes to get this human cordon set up, and during this time, yelling, screaming and stamping of feet reigned supreme.

Once the women left, the crowd turned its careful attention to a booth staffed by three Armed Forces recruiters (who were valiantly trying to recruit women for combat duty). The military display included pictures of female pilots, divers and service jobs. A woman with a bull horn announced to the IWD celebrants that the military display "didn't belong here". The crowd obediently began shouting, "Get the army out" and tearing up its signs. The soldiers left by the back door. According to 26-year old Corporal Janice Collins, a nine-year veteran of the force, she would never attend an IWD Fair again, either as a civilian or a recruiter.

This "celebration" was another clear example of the kind of hazing feminists impose on anyone who doesn't follow their left-wing, radical agenda.

Vancouver

The 1998 Vancouver IWD Rally consisted mostly of a rag-tag crowd of radical socialists and communists. This was due to the fact that an NDP conference was being held that same weekend so that many of the more "mainstream" feminists -- vs their more radical sisters -- were absent from the rally. The speakers were ethnic, with no high-profile names among them. Former NAC President, Sunera Thobani, was in the crowd, but she wasn't acknowledged in any way.

Some pro-life/pro-family women proudly carrying their signs, joined the happy throng on the Vancouver streets, protected, of course, by a large police presence. Unlike last year, however, they didn't receive any threats of violence. According to a bystander, the contrast between the two contingents was startling. The first part of the parade consisted of tough, unkempt, generally unpleasant looking women. The other contingent, consisting of pro-life/family women was neatly dressed, clean and attractive. Bystanders didn't have any difficulty determining which was which -- and the pro-life message came across clearly.

It takes courage and determination to join a radical feminist crowd -- and our BC REAL Women have both in spades!

Parry Sound, Ontario

Our REAL Women Chapter in Parry Sound decided to join in the IWD celebrations, adding both flair and a sense of humour with their unique contribution.

The celebration was held in the local community hall and our REAL Women contingent put on a little skit to edify and dismay the local radical feminists. One of the REAL Women members, Nancy Bartz, began by carefully reading from a 1950s Home Economics manual. She was then interrupted by her cohort, Kathie McGann, who came speeding onto the stage on roller blades carrying a brief case and speaking into her portable telephone and continued talking for ten minutes on REAL Women! The feminists, consisting mainly of lesbians and women's shelter workers, were definitely not amused by these antics! The audience, according to Kathie, was obviously hostile as you could feel the ice when they entered the room. Yet there were still several people who came up to them and asked for information on pro-life/pro family issues and took material from the REAL Women display, as well as Focus on the Family and Parry Sound Pro-Life table set up by our members.

Kathie also reported that the attendance was definitely down from last year. We predict that declining interest in feminist propaganda, the main purpose of IWD, will be a continuing trend.

We would like to encourage all RW members to not hesitate to take part in these sorts of events. We never know whose heart we will touch or what door may be opened.

It's also good for us to see first-hand how much taxpayer money is available to radical feminists, with their tables upon tables of new age, lesbian pamphlets and posters. Such knowledge can be useful for spurring us on to expose the dishonesty of the feminist agenda.

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