STRONG WOMEN HARD TIME
????????????????????????????????????????????????Strong Women Hard Times
by Tazeen Siddiqui
????????????Colonialism has negatively affected Indigenous women. A vast number of these women have gone through physical, mental and sexual abuse. They have the honor of being the mothers of this nation. They were once ruling the lands and hearts of their people. Unfortunately, colonizers subjugated them and destroyed their true identities.
????????????When the settlers first arrived in Canada the native welcome and helped them. Relationship was strong, warm and loving. There were different treaties and promises assuring that native would never be molested. Even the queen promised to have bilateral relationship which will broaden and intensify gradually. Unfortunately, those were just false promises. Settlers betrayed their trust and took over Canada. Natives were molested and their children were killed in residential schools (Bauer, 2016). In 1867 British North America Act brought Canada as a nation into existence which is referred as Confederation. The Indian Act was passed in 1867 that was one of the only racist legislations in the world. It was meant to deal with the Indian problems. It gave parliament control over Indian politics, their reserves, other resources and economic growth. It controlled the lives of Indigenous peoples on reserves. It also denied women rights and introduced residential schools.?????????????
???????????Indigenous women played a very significant role in the society. They were appointed as law keepers in the society. As McAdams (2015) suggested that Creator sent laws to the people through wisahkecahk and those were mainly the women who were the law keepers. These women became warriors later on (p.38). McAdam further explains that these law keepers are the nchiyaw women, but due to Indian Act, the status of women and the illegalizing of nehiyaw ceremonies had a terrible impact on parenting and the promotion of Indigenous knowledge. It is this knowledge that is important in creating a foundation of laws in which each child is nurtured and raised. Each nehiyaw ideally should have been raised with these teachings since it is their inherent knowledge, and they must follow these teachings from birth to death (p. 28). Indigenous people considered the love of a woman is very powerful that it creates and once she withdraws her love that results in destruction. ?McAdams argues that Indigenous women were warriors, hunters, healers or women of higher position in the society. They were expert in marriage and childrearing too which is also vital for the well-being of the community (p.55). They were well versed in botanical and medicinal knowledge too. Kermoal & Altamirano- Jimenez (2016) praise Indigenous women’s ability to classify different plants, assess their quality and their availability in different seasons (p.73). They also acknowledged the Métis women’s specialized environmental and traditional knowledge of lands and resources in their ancestral territories which went unrecognized and has been undervalued and underutilized (p. 165). They were skilled hunters and midwives too. Indigenous women were actively involved in family celebrations for example, McAdams recalls how these women sang songs in lodges to comfort the woman during childbirth (p.32). The design of the lodges was always approved by these women. Hence, they were skilled in designing and architecture too.
????????????In 1867 Indian Act was passed which weakened the status of Indigenous women in?society. According to this Act if any Indigenous woman married a non-Indigenous man, she would lose her status as Indian whereas Indian men could marry anyone without losing their status as Indigenous. According to Bingham et al. (2019), “the Canadian government introduced a definition of “Indigenous”, whereby women forfeited their Indigenous status when they married a non-Indigenous man, while Indigenous men retained their status regardless of spousal ethnicity.” This is called systematic racism. They were also deprived of their right of marital property. Moreover, Indigenous woman would lose the right to own any marital if they were divorced or separated from her spouse (Bingham et al., 2019). This right to property, under Indian Act had devastating effects on Indigenous women by making them financially insecure. Though both Indigenous men and women were victimized by Canadian policies and treaties, but Indigenous women suffered a greater degree of poverty, humiliation, and illness (Menzies, 2009). She was further refused annuity, if she had no child and left her husband to live as a common law partner with another man. In order to get divorce, she had to prove bestiality and adultery while her husband had to prove adultery only. According to Indian Act they were also denied the right to own property. As a result, reserves were the property of Indigenous men only. This Act also prohibited the women to vote and running for office. Indigenous women also became victim of forced sterilization in past and it continues. This act openly violates human rights where women and girls are forced to give up the ability to bear children. Residential schools are another example of gender-based racist system where boys were given more opportunities in the areas of vocational training, recreation, and leisure while girls did all the chores within the school (Forsyth, 2005, p.75).
??????????Colonization forced Indigenous peoples to surrender their lands to the Crown under under treaty right. This Act also limited the fishing, hunting, planting rights of both the Indigenous men and the women (Olthuis, 2012). The history of government polices forced the Indian women to live in poverty. Therefore, they were forced to move towards prostitution for livelihood. According to Kermoal & Altamirano-Jimenez (2016), “Through the effects of colonization, however, our natural abilities and responsibilities have been eroded and our identities and self- perception have been negated, disregarded, re-visioned, and reconstituted according to the ideals of another people” (p.33). ??
????????????The Highway of Tears is endless road in the province of British Columbia, where women and girls have disappeared since the 1970s, at least 19, but unofficially estimated at over 40. Most of them belonged to the Indigenous population. According to Amnesty Report (2004), “When a woman is targeted for violence because of her gender or because of her Indigenous identity, her fundamental rights have been abused. And when she is not offered an adequate level of protection by state authorities because or her gender or because of her Indigenous identity, those rights have been violated” (p.4). Though this is a very serious sociological issue yet Canadian government has failed to provide protection to Indigenous women. The Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission noted that Canada’s treatment of Indigenous peoples amounted to not only cultural genocide, but also physical and biological genocide. Canada attempted to eliminate or assimilate Indians therefore Indian women were targeted in different ways, including forced sterilizations to reduce population numbers. Their children were killed into residential schools, and the transfer, through child welfare practices, of thousands of children from Indigenous mothers to white families. Sex discrimination in the Indian Act is used by the Canadian Government is to destroy the existence of Indigenous women and children through sexual, mental and physical abuse, but not Indian men ( Day, 2019). ??
??????????Indigenous women also became victim of forced sterilization in past and it still continues. This act openly violates human rights where women and girls are forced to give up the ability to bear children (Collier, 2017). Residential schools are another example of gender-based racist system where boys were given more opportunities in the areas of vocational training, recreation, and leisure while girls did all the chores within the school (Forsyth, 2005, p. 75). Violence against native women occurs at a higher rate than violence against white women. White women wanted to liberate herself from the patriarchy. They were also forced to accept male supremacy. Indigenous communities were more broadminded than colonizers regarding gender equality and women rights. White women were also supposed to surrender all property rights to husband when she married. Secondly men could seek divorce based on adultery, but women could not until 1925. Divorced women had no rights to children or property. White Canadian women lost citizenship if they married a non-Canadian. They had no right to vote. Those women who were working in their homes were not gainfully employed. They were never viewed as career women. There was always a huge gap between the salaries of both the genders. Women earned less than men.
????????????There was always resistance by the Indigenous and European women. The BNA act of ?1867 used the word persons for more than one individual. Women were not persons under this ?Act. The first wave of feminism started in 1900’s and ended in 1930 which was led by upper- middle class and wealthy, white Christian women. The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Canada started in 1878 under the leadership of Dr. Emily Howard Stowe who demanded the right to vote for women. In 1916 women won the right to vote provincially in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta and then by 1940 women could vote across Canada. The Suffrage Movement also demanded the government to support single, widowed, and deserted women. As a result, other’s Allowance (social assistance or welfare) in the 1920s was introduced.?This gave many ?women the support they needed so they did not have to work while running a household. This further opened the door for rights and education for both children and women. In 1960 ?Indigenous women and men gained the right to vote in federal elections that was the result of second wave of feminist movement. 1971 Jeannette Lavell challenged Indian Act in court. First Canadian case to deal with discrimination based on sex. Her case was successful after 14 ?in 1985 (Brodsky, 2016). ?In 1973 the first rape crisis centers opened in Toronto and Vancouver and one of the first shelters for abused women. Bertha Wilson became first female Supreme Court Judge in 1982. Then in 1984 Jean Sauve is the first female Governor General of Canada. In 1988 Canada’s abortion law was struck down, protecting a woman’s right to choose. The Federal Employment Equity Act came into force on June 27, 1986, which ensured that all Canadians are provided with fair employment and promotion opportunities and are treated with respect. It includes women, Indigenous people, people with disability and all other Canadians. The third wave of feminism is still an ongoing movement and has attempted to tackle and change the societal outlook of many serious social issues such as: reproductive rights, rape culture and victim shaming, and glass ceilings. The resistance and the struggle of Canadian women is still going on. In response to protests by organizations such as Equal Rights for Indian Women, there were calls for reform in the 1970 report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. (SWC) is a federal government organization that promotes the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada. SWC works to advance equality for women and to remove the barriers to women's participation in society, putting particular emphasis on increasing women's economic security and eliminating violence against women (Brodsky, 2016). According to Day (2019), “The UN Human Rights Committee, following the 2015 periodic review of Canada, urged Canada to remove all remaining discriminatory effects of the Indian Act that affected Indigenous women and their descendants, so that they enjoy all rights on an equal footing with men.”
?Conclusion: Throughout history Indigenous women have been treated as an outcast. They have been through thick and thin. Indian Act which is based on gender discrimination is a root cause of aggressive violence against Indigenous women. These innocent women suffered with acute impact of colonization. Unfortunately, Canada being a social welfare state, has shut its eyes to the extreme brutality these women have suffered.?How can Canada let these women be openly discriminated on their own motherland? It must pay attention to these serious issues which the world media has already captured. There are a number of issues from treaty rights to residential schools which immediately need to be addressed. Though the world media has already thrown light on this matter many times, but each time government fails to take appropriate action. Why is Canada taking too long to remove discriminatory elements from the Indian Act??Does Canada have some hidden agenda? Government only wants to save its money by not making more annual treaty payments. According to Indigenous law It's considered a pastamowin to remain silent or to take no action while a human life is being harmed. In common law, it is called acquiescence; acquiescence is compliance, or when you are not anything to stop the harm, it shows you are a have committed a pastdmowin because you failed to prevent or protect another human being ((McAdam, 2015, p.40). Hence, Canadian government has committed a pastdmowin since it has failed to provide safety to Indigenous women.
????????????Liberal government is in power now, it should eliminate gender discrimination from the Indian Act. Government should also keep open communication channel with Indigenous people so, it can consult Indigenous people about every issue. Secondly the government and Indigenous tribes must discuss what preventive measures could be taken to stop the disappearances of Indigenous women. There should be a collaborative investigation into this matter. These women are suffering with poverty, homelessness, lack of education, good, clean water and security. They should be moved to safe housing where they get clean water, healthy food, access to health care, education and employment too. Since they too are Canadians, they should also get the same rights which every Canadian enjoys. There must be social programs for Indigenous communities and special training programs should be offered to Indigenous women on protection against violence. These women must be encouraged to get higher education so they can play an active role in politics and society. Their voices will be heard when they are given political representation. These women should be trained for leadership roles in the society.
???????????????????????????????? ?References
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领英推荐
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