Quebec's World March of Women in Outaouais

Despite pouring rain, local supporters of the World March of Women in the Outaouais region came out to a community supper and festive spectacle on October 15 to support the regional lead-up to a Quebec-wide rally on October 17, under the banner "Libérons nos corps, notre Terre et nos territoires!" ("Liberate our bodies, our Earth, our territory!").

Although the march through the streets of downtown Gatineau was cancelled due to heavy rain, the mood was high in celebrating Quebec's hosting of the World March of Women in regions across Quebec. Free food and feminist musical performances took place in the main building of the Universite du Québec en Outaouais, scene of recent confrontation between police and students, and notably between police and professors defending students' right to strike. 

The World March of Women will culminate in bringing together an anticipated 15,000 people on October 17 in Trois-Rivières. The event's focus on centres outside of Montreal and Quebec City builds on previous Quebec-wide actions against austerity that have dug deep into Quebec's regional sentiment for resistance to both oppression and austerity.

And, as the media release for the Trois-Rivières rally says, the event "will demonstrate the strength of women's mobilization for true equality between men and women, between women themselves, and between peoples."

It is this call for true equality that will give the lie to those, like the Tories, who claim to speak for women's rights, all in the name of persecuting Muslim women, and all the while ignoring murdered and missing Indigenous women in this country.