Consuming the news can make you feel hopeless. It can make you feel that even as we take one step towards gender equality, that the next moment we can fall ten steps behind. An easy antidote is to ignore what’s going on, but is that the best idea?
I was at the Toronto Eaton Centre on October 11th, and happened upon some young women wearing pink t-shirts. There were standing with their arms crossed beside these statues in the same pose, reminiscent of the fearless girl statue installed in New York City. They looked like superheroes, minus the cape. What was going on?
Little did I know that the young women were there to Defy Normal and in collaboration with Plan International Canada, they were spreading the word on the International Day of the Girl that they won’t accept Normal.
Several young women got onstage and spoke to the growing crowd and news cameras with strong (but slightly shaky) voices. They declared that the status quo is not acceptable. It is not acceptable that so many girls around the world are denied access to an education. It is not acceptable that every year nearly 12 million girls are married before the age of 18. It is not acceptable that girls do not feel safe, even here in Canada.
I was in awe of their bravery. To get up there and speak before the national media takes guts. They shared these shocking statistics and then to my surprise Sophie Grégoire Trudeau appeared.
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau is the Global Ambassador for Plan International Canada, an organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls across the globe. You have probably seen their commercial of a child bride holding hands with her much older husband. It is hard to watch.
Seeing these young women face everyone’s fear of public speaking, watching as pink t-shirts, #defynormal, and #dayofthegirl took over my Instagram feed that day, and seeing Sophie Grégoire show up; I couldn’t help but feel a powerful change in the air. I couldn’t help but feel a surge of hope that comes from one empowered woman looking into my eyes and demonstrating through example that one voice has power. Imagine what change can come from a million united voices. Those small ripples can turn into a tide, and crash the status quo.
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