Archive 1997-2016
On a blustery late winter morning, several dozen students gather in a cramped but cheerful series of classrooms tucked in between the Island Jerk West Indian Restaurant and the Beirut Food Centre. The students, most of them women, have come to this busy Bank Street strip mall to learn English.
Nubia Cermeno moved to Canada in 1975 to get an education in a country with more opportunities for women than in her native Venezuela. Just a few years after arriving, however, she found herself divorced and on her own with a young son to support.
What does Beijing mean to you?
For most, it’s the capital of China. But for those working on women’s rights and gender equality issues, the word marks a watershed historical moment.
In 1995, 189 governments signed the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women.
In contrast with Canada’s international reputation for human rights, experts say the country is failing to meet the needs of its largest group of citizens — woman.