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  • Reviews

    Women Playing Tennis

    Jul 15, 1999

    Canadian women have long been playing tennis, going as far back as 1874 when the game was first brought here. Canadian women have featured prominently in the sport. Lois Moyes Bickle in the years 1906-1924 was one of Canada's greatest sports champions. read more

  • Reviews

    no choice: Canadian women’s stories of illegal abortion

    Jul 7, 1999

    From 1869–1969, abortion in Canada for any reason was a crime punishable by life imprisonment. From 1892 (when Canada’s first Criminal Code was introduced) to 1969, there was a legal ban on the sale and advertisement of contraceptives and on dissemination of information. The book, No Choice – Canadian Women Tell Their Stories of Illegal Abortion explores what it was like to be a woman of reproductive age during the era when abortion (and contraception) was a crime. read more

  • People

    teacher: Eileen Augusta Headley Alfred

    by Marguerite Alfred | Jan 26, 1999

    When Eileen Alfred emigrated from the Caribbean in 1956, she was shocked by the conditions she was expected to live under. Over the years, when she wasn’t busy working full time, occasionally juggling more than one job, and being a single mother, Eileen made dresses and ran an adult literacy program from her home. Despite racism and personal struggles, she maintained her dignity and commanded respect. read more

  • People

    adventurer: Denise Martin

    Dec 17, 1998

    Bravo! for Denise Martin who, on May 26, 1997, became the first Canadian woman to reach the North Pole. A brave quest, Denise's experience challenges usually-male assumptions about the heroism of daring expeditions. read more

  • Ideas

    December 21: winter solstice celebration

    by Pat Hacker | Dec 12, 1998

    ’Tis the season! Unless yours is a lunar one, you might not find it in your calendar. The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, or the beginning of winter to some, goes back to ancient times. Women who honour the cycles and rhythms of mother earth celebrate this and the Yule season with ancient symbols of rebirth and the promise of a new cycle of life. read more

  • Ideas

    December 10: Human Rights Day

    Dec 2, 1998

    Proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) and celebrated annually, Human Rights Day is in recognition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. Unfortunately for women, the years have shown that human rights in law alone won’t achieve women’s rights. Canada’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is helping put forward the cause of women in a human rights context. read more

  • People

    teacher, poet: Uma Parameswaran

    by Joyce Scane | Nov 13, 1998

    Many people think that there are a lot more immigrants in Canada than ever; in fact, the total number of foreign-born persons in Canada is less than it was in 1911. Born in Madras in South India, believing it was less racist than the United States, Uma Parameswaran and her husband chose to settle in Canada. Their story of emigrating to Canada, like all immigrants before them – including those from the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States – touches on each of our lives in some way. read more

  • Ideas

    women marching against violence: Take Back the Night

    Sep 25, 1998

    Take Back The Night is an annual night devoted to the will to name and end the acts and causes of violence against women. The event started unofficially in Belgium in 1976 at an International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women and has since blossomed into events all around the world. It is important that Take Back The Night continue to investigate its history to keep it a visible, accessible part of society. read more

  • Ideas

    September 22: fall equinox

    by Pat Hacker | Sep 17, 1998

    All religious traditions seem to have legends about going into the underworld to return again – a symbolic theme of death and rebirth that appears in a lot of popular films, too. The most famous and loved myth of the fall equinox and autumn season is that of Demeter and Persephone. One of devotion, faith, determination and sisterhood, it is a story about women. It is also the best way to understand why we have winter. read more

  • Ideas

    laundry: count blessins

    Aug 28, 1998

    The evolution of washing clothing is quite amazing and when it comes to housework, the personal really is the political. This feature has two themes we can all relate to: doing laundry and taking pleasure in our accomplishments, be they modes or great, and begs the questions, whose work is it anyway? And why has it become such a battleground of the sexes? read more

features

  • Seasonal Feature

  • February 2: Imbolc – Groundhog Day

    by Pat Hacker

    Groundhog Day, is the modern version of St. Brigid’s Day and Imbolc (or Candlemas). A time of intuition and looking forward, it is held that the groundhog comes out of her hole and looks for her shadow. If she sees it, she knows there will be six weeks more of winter. The spirit of life is born at the winter solstice when the sun begins its gradual return. In February, at Imbolc, the earth, the physical, has its first experience of life stirring deep within, waiting to appear in the spring. read more