See text below.
EXCERPTS
Over the past few weeks, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's attempt to be the Global Good Guy on Women's Maternal Health -- as long as those wombans are fully operational, that is -- has been grabbing a goodly, not to mention Godly, amount of political and media attention.
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Meanwhile, the usual right-wing suspects, mostly male pundits, are accusing Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff of advocating abortions for women in poor countries, as if he is some evil eugenicist.
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I have to say that, from my little corner of the Canadian FemiNazisphere, it's been great to see women's rights finally get the attention they deserve.
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As a scathing report released Monday by a coalition of feminist and labour groups details, since the Conservatives occupied Parliament Hill in 2006, Canada's standing in the World Economic Forum's annual Gender Gap rankings has nosedived.
We went from 14th place four years ago to 31st in 2008, with a slight improvement to 25th last year.
The report outlines all the anti-woman measures taken by this government, starting with the cancellation of a $5 billion national child-care program for a mere $100 a month, taxable dollars, which barely pays for a babysitter on a Saturday night.
The report will be presented to the UN Women's Conference in New York next month, where it will serve as a counterpoint to the government's rosier account of women's progress here.
Progress that, it should be noted, seems to stop in 2006, the most recent year cited for many of the statistics cited in the government presentation -- and the year the Conservatives took over.
Interesting that.
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Which is why it isn't too cynical to note the hypocrisy of Status of Women Canada's latest slogan, "Strong Women. Strong Canada. Strong World."
This from the very government that has systematically chipped away at women's rights, women's advocacy groups, women's access to rights challenges in the courts, women's pay equity, women's safety, even women's access to education on contraception.
Strong women, yes.
But just strong enough to keep birthing them babies.
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reprinted from the Toronto Star