ae. women in ithe ‘90s

‘ The ‘following is an excerpt

fiom a-speech given by Sylvia:

Farrant.. western. vice Dresident

of. thes, Canadian Advisory...
Council ‘on the Status’ ‘of

Women.

Ht was delivered fo a meeting ,
of the Tamitik Status. of: -
Women/Bread and Roses’
Women’s Centre. meeting fast -

month i in Kitimat,

" Wilat ‘Asy.feminism:: in, the’. an
1990's? say feminism mu ‘be

a bumanizing’ farce.

_ It must recognize all peoples, Ne
all persons — and it must strive, |. |.
to grapple with beliefs and value"

systems that: ‘discriminate
against groups. and individuals.

The pressing issues for:

feminists i in. 1990. must be prac-
tical: ones, for- ‘they are ‘issues

that! ‘threaten the lives of women -

every day,

© matter what .< ‘our ‘young’

people are’being taught by the
media, the school system, or.the
politicians, we are ‘not equal
when 10° percent of us are being.
beaten up in our own homes. .

' Weare notequal: when weare -

afraid | to walk alone in our own
neighbourhoods.

Weare not equal whet. we are -

paid “60 per cent of a man’s

wage. In 199) our chances of be

living in poyerty are five and a

- half times higher if we are single
mothers. ../ °°"

We must continue to fight the

inequality | io fight the inequality — f

around uf. In many cases we
have brought so-called

“women’s issues” to the table

of general débate,

We have succeeded in making

wifé-batfering a public issue,
but mary judges continue to see
batterifg as a ‘“‘minor crime’’,
imposidg lenient sentences and
even riaking sexist. comments
on the bench.

Polite : are now required by
law to press charges if a woman
is beaien up by her partner, but
they are still hesitant to interfere
in ‘domestic disputes”, “

any. . women. dan’ts, trust;

police when it comes-to batter. -

ing, $0 much so that: victims on--

ly report: about 40 ‘Per cent of
assaults. 5
he. Canadian” Advisory.
ne ouncil on ‘the, Status of
me studdy’ “Battered but |
Beaten’? éstimated that one
‘ten women: in Canada were
batiered. AL fecent Ontario
smudy found ‘that eight in 10
original. women living - on
erves Were ‘battered: |
‘But still, governments con-

nue to underfund services ‘and —

helters for battered :wonien,
and out: leaders refuse to”
apknowledge the. issues urideriy-"
batiering — - sexismin socie-

omen and social’: attitudes.
- toward “‘the family!".... ae
Today, our: strategies. must

help. governments |: ‘and. law- =;

enforcers to accept the validity, :
ahd..appropriateness

“ summer:

FEMALE To MALE EARNINGS PATIO. oe
(FULL-YEAR FULL-TIME EARNERS

1981

1980

|, Source: Stalistics Canada 13-217

1982 .

1983 1984 1985

[J B.c. [] Newoundland Canada

1

986 1987 1988

| Syivia Farrant

and individuals work together,
only then will the programs be
effective in preventing violence
against women.

Women and children are the
most. vulnerable. to physical

violence, ,and they. alsq.suffer ;z
. most from assualt of.a.different...

"nature. A tise in the number of
women and ‘children \ving*’in |
poverty..,

The myth stands that only the:
unemployed and the:
unemployable suffer from

_ poverty in Canada, but that i is -

‘not the case,
~The | Canadian Advisory

‘job creation,

More than 44 per cent of single mothers live in
poverty. The poverty of women is the main.reason
there are an estimated one million poor children in

this country.

poverty rates are astounding for
single mothers, Single mothers
have unique responsibilities,
and the cost of purchasing alter-
native services like childcare
keep ther from having produc-
tive, full-time careers, and from
earning adequate i incomes.

More than 44 per. cent of
single mothers live in poverty.
The poverty of women is the
main reason there are an
estimated 1 million poor
children in this country.

About one third of the
women in Canada belong to
aboriginal, racial minority or
immigrant communities, and

‘these double-disadvantaged

workers face. sex and -race- .

related barriers in the labour
market.

- A minority groups‘are: rOVer= ur

; represented: i in’-clerical and: sera:

e

vice jobs — the jobs most often’

associated with working pover-
ty

We need to look at real
‘ Jabour market changes, such as
wage im-
provements through employ-
ment equity initiatives and more

job training. We also must work

it is estimated that one in 10 women in Canada

were battered.

are battered, A recent Ontario study found that
'. eight in 10 aboriginal women living on reserves

, the economic dependence of: Couns. on the - Status of

: Women released ' ‘a book this
that “detailed the
- feminization of working pover-
tyin (Canada. Women are work-
: ing. in the labour: force in greater

‘of numbers than‘ever before, and
men’s fear, We‘'muist ‘get in-:,

- despite’ government protesta-

y lved in our communities, and: tions. about pay equity,

arp from the programs set-up
feminists i in, other cities,

*Hivable”. minimum wage and
“comprehensive social | pro-

We. need comprehensive | ‘graitis’’, many of them are forc-

! preventative programs. where : ‘ed to live below the poverty line.

(governments, the legal system, -

T RRACE -— - More: teen

mbthers give birth-here than in :

_ vince?
hat: statistic worries Dr.
D vid Bowering.
The ‘Skeéna’: Health, Unit's
medical health ‘officer’ says
- fuinbers. for. Skeena.—~..which
br th; ‘northwest, tegion has a
rate’ among: teenage girls

y" ‘dther Tegion of the pro-

- daub et rovincil average — 7

teenage, ‘fertility ‘rate,

. 3 you haven potential fe thin

mes gener. sald.

, | yey bing Aerentng” =

 gtuation: can‘ result’ in
| during and after.

* tiny probld

_ of mat ity OF the mother... .
"Peer! mbthers are. often aot:

: sete n: latlonshipe hep can:

ike child abusé,. poor.

The Tesearchers found : ‘that

are also statistically’ more likely
to deliver ‘low-birthweight
babies for physical reasons, *
. “Coming to grips with being
_@ ‘teenager often involves ex-
.- perimenting | with’ alcohol and
cigarettes. and - various * other
: things that car Put. the pregnan-
‘ oy-itself- at risk,*!.he explained:

“There are problems associated

with it’. -

‘ Bowering sald: he was surptise

“ad. how high: ‘the’ teen ‘birth: Tate.” counterparts,

‘ Bowering said there could be

numbers, he ‘said,
“Tt fits the: ‘small’ ‘town: syn
‘drome, where the boy. will’ fins
‘high school‘and get a job: in th

mill, and: then the girls are kind £
of left to) att pregnan > and’

*Tpecom
“rate: amon
_15-19-yent-olds” in: Skena’ :

“'gald’a ‘pregnant teen ina small

loward income securily plans
such as welfare reform, better
child related-benefits, enhanced
earning supplements for single

‘mothers, and” enforcement of

child support and inaintenance
payments. ‘

We must continue to fight for
these initiatives that will help
ensure women have economic
freedom, as well as freedom
from physical violence. But our
freedom will not be complete
unti] we succeed in securing our

“It's hard far me to believe
the pregnancy rates (of those
two areas) are as different as
that would imply,’’ Bowering

sald, “It may be that a higher
‘Proportion of teenagers in
_Skeena do ‘get .pregnant, but 1
‘doubt if it’s just that. The dif-
ference i is just tao great.”’

More’.likely, he says,

eral reasons for that, The ex-

bout lack of privacy. Bowering

‘northern town deciding whether

‘to have an abortion or not is.
‘“aften Faced with the knowledge -

that the lab technician, a. recep- Terrace are:Heaty users of the

tionist or a nurse at the hospital

his’ sme applies to: téen
are becoming sexually: ac

teenagers here are having fewer |
“abortions : than their southern

‘cistence of ‘two free-standing”

Few teens tie t tend to: go” abortion clinics in the Lower.

+ on to-college or, university, and.
“that also tends to | skew the

right to the..freedom of
reproductive choice.

As we look ahead to the 2Ist
century we must recognize that
our communities are made up
of women. and men. That the

_issues of sexism, racism, rights

for persons who are differently-
abled, equality for persons. of
all sexual orientations transcend
community,. econamic class,
and regional biases.

The ties between ourselves
and our environment are not
severable. It is the unifying

force of this form of feminism -

that’ synthesizes rather than
fragments our definition of
“ourselves,

We can look forward to a
journey towards a new con-
sciousness, for both women and
men. Growth in consciousness
is difficult, often painful.

But if we are to grow beyond
our divisiveness, our alienation
from ourselves, each other an-
dour very environment, a shift
in consciousness is needed.

‘We will not achieve that vi-
sion in giant steps, in leaps and
bounds. It will be achieved on
small step at atime, Hannah
Arendt,’ ‘a philosopher who
grappled with the question of
the Holocaust, .talked ‘about
“the banality of evil’’,

She looked for what set the
perpetrators of the Holocaust
apart. from the rest of us, what
was it that'was special about
them. And she concluded, there
was nothing.

Evil does not come. clearly
marked; it is not set apart. It is
in the accumulation of small ac-
tions, performed daily. ‘Sexism
and racism are similarly found
around us, are manifested daily,
and must be combatted daily.

In addition, the big steps have
already been taken. Clearly
identifiable discrimination has
been outlawed. What is left, is
subtle; is insidious and
sometimes innocent,

\Teenage mom rate rises -

live and» want information
about: birth control and con-
traceptives,

“The problem is in a . small
community it’s often hard for a
teenager to feel safe and confi-
dent that it's going ‘to’ be con-
fidential,”’ Bowering says.

_ “They” “worry about their
parents: “finding: out, 9; for in-

‘instltutional

~ sources of ‘this information here

av there 3 are. in a bigger city.”

-Malnland ‘could make the ser-° teenag
‘vice more accessible for teens, on
‘there... cat

iit another possibility is fear a me

“(Suspect ‘that ‘takes it a little

“tougher. for, them sometimes,”

Bowering said:
_ Bowering sald teen moms in

‘child: development. centre’s

ould bé a friend, neighbour or.”

Keach program.

high-risk

pregnan- oe

ln

Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 22, 1991 —

— Page AS

_LETTERS _

TO THE TERRACE STANDARD —

| letter, May 1, 1991.

; Ral mzi

: Dear Sir:

A response to Dr. Robin's.

~ Robin. Chorn, wasn’? born:,

-in tie Middle East. He didn’t

visit the Land of . Palestine

- and The Girdle of Civiliza-

tion, and he: didn’t study
middle east history like we

‘did. What he did study about

the Middle East came out of
North American text books.

Robin has no family, .
brothers, sisters or loved
ones in Iraq to worry about.
He can’t feel how we feel, the
anger, the confusion,-1o not
hear from your family for 9
months,

Robin Chorn is seeing too
much CNN, and thinks that
he knows it all, but the fact is
you get most of the history
andlysis, and true facts from
regular readers like us; who
don’t have a Phd, or MD,
(the so called field expertise).
I lived there, and was involv-
ed in living it everyday. -

I love the Middle East and
I have held many lectures on
Mesopotamia, Egypt, and
the Holy Land. That is where
Jesus was born, crucified,
and will return — to che land
of the Middle: East, ‘not
Washington. 1 am not trying
to be an erudite in history,

I didn’t take classes in
Middle East History like Mr.
Dyer, but I lived it, and
heard it from the mouths of
the elderly, who witnessed
the events, ;

“If my article is so boring,
they why did the paper print
such an article?! And why
did you read it?!

That’s history, it is our job
to make it alive, not boring,
and we'are trying.

It is people like you who
know only how to criticize
people‘and make it difficult
for ordinary people to write

letter”

draws response.

and express their viewsand: J.

to release their thoughts, itis.”

-: a good learning experience

for us.

the USA. as a -villain ‘and a

public enemy. That. is what ~.

you: hear on CNN, but the
double’: standards. of the.
American. government. {not~
people), towards the poor,
by allying with a rich oil pro- |
ducing country like the Gulf
States,:.and by previously
helping ‘the Dictator Sadam
Hussain, and not helping the:
Palestinians! :

The only reason I write is .

to put the truth of the matter |
on the spot without. distor-
tion. Mr. Bush is not Mr.

Nice Guy. To me he is like :

Sadam, both love war, and
both are after oil, money,

power and distortion of the

truth. ’
Regarding my ultrasound
training in the USA, so what!
We buy American cars, com-.

puters, and food from the.

USA. Canada has no degree
program for sonographers,
and lam not going io go to
Russia to study ultrasound!

Most of it was taught by Ger- ~

man, Irish, Polish and Euro-
pean teachers. :

The people are very nice,
the country is beautiful, but

that doesn’t mean you have :

to like their government.
Don’t be naive.

If you want the truth, you
will not find it on CNN, or in
the Enquirer. Remember one
rule, ‘‘Don't write when you
are constipated”’,

And remember that writers
like us make the news, even if
it is boring.

Yours truly,

Steve Ramzi, BSc, RDMS,
RTR, General Sonographer,
Vascular Technologist
Terrace, B.C.

More on Steve

’ Dear Sir: .

~ It was with delight today
that I read Mr, Chorn’s letter.
re: Steve Ramzi and his opi-
nions about Iraq. 1 had
wanted to write earlier, but
delayed so as not to be labell-
ed ‘“‘rascist’’.

My question to Mr. Ramzi
is “If you. feel so strongly
about yor native land, why

_ are you in Canada?” Should

you not be fighting in your

own country to right all the
wrongs that we evil Cana-
dians and the US have rained
an your poor misunderstood
country.

1 thank God for Canada.
Where else could I be allow-
ed to say this to you, and not
worry about being in-

‘carcerated? Certainly not

Iraq.
Yours,
Sharon Shearsotten

Two problems
disturb writer

Dear Sir:

There are two things peo-
ple in Terrace don’t know
how to do, One is drive; the
other is standin line, In both
cases they act like they're
drunk all the time.

Some people say if you
want to live long enough to
-survive the drivers in Terrace
you've got to drive likea Ter-
race driver.

'. People don’t know the dif-

“ference between two lanes
‘and four lanes’ --- and when it

comes to getting on and off

- the overpass there might as
well be one lane. What's

your hurry, B.C,?

Every time-I try to find a
lineup in the supermarket 1
have-to stop and realize that
most of these drivers are the
shoppers of Terrace, too. It's
like a moose stampede.

Going to the checkout is
an adventure in itself, A lot
‘of the time lineups are in the

* shape of an inverted ‘‘Y’ so
fo matter which’ side of the

lineup you pick you're going
to be accused of butting in.

The other day 1 was in a
store and three women were
standing ina circle gossiping.
Lestimated where the head of
the line was and took my
place. Tums out standing in
a circle gossiping constitutes
a lineup in Terrace.

Did these old hens kick up
a fuss or what. How dare |
take their place in line. They

spent until the time their turn
for service came up telling
each other what a rotten per-
son I was.

1 guess they never heard of
the old adage: “‘Use it or lose
it.”

The banks are no better.
They have Tope fences for
lineups. One is supposed to

stand in between the ropes in -

the lineup and wait one! s
turn,

cont'd A7

My article didn’ t mention

TY notice that some people :
can form a third lineup out- ~

~ About

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