Women鈥檚 March Canada is coming to the Fraser Valley on Jan. 20 with an event in Chilliwack.
鈥淚 attended the Women鈥檚 March last year in Vancouver and I just found it very empowering and meaningful,鈥� said march organizer Patti MacAhonic, executive director of Ann Davis Transition Society. 鈥淭here was a strong sense of sisterhood created.鈥�
ADTS partnered with University of the Fraser Valley to organize the Women鈥檚 March Canada-Fraser Valley for those interested in women鈥檚 issues from the communities east of Vancouver.
The plight of women in Chilliwack is 鈥渘ot enough鈥� of a going concern of the community, she said. So to raise some visibility about pressing issues, they started organizing Women鈥檚 March Canada-Fraser Valley.
鈥淲omen who are at risk of being homeless, or fleeing an abusive situation for example, are especially vulnerable,鈥� said MacAhonic. 鈥淭hey have distinct issues.鈥�
The last homeless count showed 37 per cent of those who self-identified as homeless in Chilliwack were women. That is the highest female homelessness rate in the Fraser Valley.
鈥淲e need to address that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 sit at a lot of different tables in Chilliwack, and I can tell you for the most part women鈥檚 issues are not on the radar.鈥�
The idea for an event closer to home grew out of the Women鈥檚 March on Washington held in the U.S. last year.
鈥淭he theme of the march nationally is 鈥楻eflect and Resist鈥� and raising the level of education about these issues could go a long way toward that,鈥� MacAhonic said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a way of resisting the social norms that have kept women stuck in the dark ages. I think we鈥檝e gone backwards rather than moving forward on this in recent years.鈥�
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Everyone is invited to take part in the 2018 Women鈥檚 March in Chilliwack, she added.
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Women鈥檚 March Canada-Fraser Valley will head out from the Ann Davis Transition Society offices at 9046 Young Rd. in Chilliwack. They will start gathering at 11 a.m. on Jan. 20, and march to Chilliwack City Hall at 8550 Young Rd by about 11:30 a.m. There will be some short speeches, drumming, and info available following the march.
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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