“این عکس یک پسر جوان در حال خندیدن است”

This picture is of a young boy laughing.
Aida has thick eyebrows.

The history of women’s struggle in Canada dates back to the late 19th century, when women united to define their identity and social-political status. It was a fight for equal rights with men, which after years of perseverance, resulted in equality that can be traced back to not so distant years.

Prior to the year 1900 AD, in the history of Canada, gender inequality and discrimination could be observed. Discrimination in laws, lack of voting rights or participation in political matters, lack of control over property, limited job choices, lower wages for equal work, and so on. Specifically, women who were born before the year 1929 AD were not recognized as “persons” under Canadian law.

The history of women’s struggles in Canada may in some ways resemble those of women in America. Women began their organized activities by forming an organization to ban alcohol. Women who were the first victims of violence in this area protested against the sale of alcoholic beverages, and these protests continued until the demand for women’s right to vote.

Perhaps one of the most influential figures in women’s activism during those years was Hellen (Nellie) Letitia Mooney. Nellie Mooney, also known as Nellie McClung (1873-1951), was a writer, teacher, social and political activist, leader of the temperance movement, politician, and one of the “Famous Five” group, one of the most well-known and influential activist groups for women’s rights in Canada.

Nellie was born into a farming family in one of the cities in Ontario, and due to the poverty of her region, she was unable to attend school until the age of ten. At the age of 16, she was able to obtain her teaching diploma and began teaching. During those years, she became acquainted with a person named Annie McClung. Annie McClung, who later became Nellie’s mother-in-law, was one of the most influential figures in her life, and she introduced Nellie to the topic of gender equality.

As mentioned in Nellie McClung’s book “Nellie My Own Story”, she is surprised by the equal treatment and behavior between girls and boys in the McClung family and is influenced by this behavior. Later, Nellie McClung begins her serious activism in 1907 by joining the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and then joins the suffrage movement. She is also a member of the Political Equality League and the Women’s Press Club. Along with Claude Nash, Nellie McClung also fights for the rights of working women, protesting against unfair working conditions, unhealthy environments, and unequal wages.

In 1914, Mack Long, as the leader of the suffragette campaign, defeated the conservative government of Raymond Rubine, who was against women’s suffrage and participation in elections. According to her memoirs, Nellie Mack Long and Claude Nash went to see Raymond Rubine to discuss women’s rights for housewives and workers. After the meeting, Prime Minister Rubine had told them that he was surprised that women like them wanted such things for women, and in his belief, “good women” were not advocates for suffrage.

Mack Lang was present as a speaker at public and political gatherings and with his sarcastic criticism, he caused the defeat of many opponents and attracted the attention of many people. He protested against the law of “non-personhood” of women by joining the “Famous Five” group. This group consisted of five women named Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, and Henrietta Muir Edwards. The efforts of this group resulted in women being able to vote for the first time in the city of Manitoba in 1916, and the fight for women’s suffrage continued in different cities and states. The “Famous Five” group was also successful in changing the law in 1929, and from then on, women were recognized as persons in Canadian law.

Women’s struggles in this country continued by this group and other active women in other states and cities, and it continues until today. Women’s equality in Canada was recognized by the adoption of the Constitution in 1982 and until today, 33 years have passed – which shows the short lifespan of this equality.

But perhaps by observing the activities of women today in Canada and the social-cultural relationships prevalent in this society, it can be said that legal equality is not the end of women’s struggles in this country and it will take some time to achieve equality at the social level and in the lower layers of society. It may be hidden in these societies and reaching certainty for all individuals, not just based on coercion and fear of punishment for disobeying laws, may take some time to be accepted in the patriarchal mindset.