In case you missed it over the holidays, here’s the latest gender equality and social justice news:
- 2022 was a busy year for changemakers, with major funding announcements, intense debate on the disbursement quota, and more. Future of Good rounded up a list of the top 30 newsmakers of the year. Read it here.
- The Taliban announced an indefinite ban on Afghan women from attending universities. The ban adds to reduced freedoms and increasing restrictions on the rights of girls and women in the country, with girls already banned from accessing a secondary education, women disproportionately pushed out of the workforce and new rules introduced to prohibit women from accessing public parks and funfairs.
- Trans and nonbinary folks have unique health needs, and unique contexts in which they navigate these health needs. To kick off the New Year, Action Canada shared a Trans Health Series, view the resources here.
- Wisdom2Action will be hosting a free, in-person event in Ottawa providing a sneak peek of Not Just The Tip, a brand-new sexual health toolkit for educators! Check out their Instagram post for details.
- The 54-member UN Economic and Social Council adopted a resolution to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the remainder of its four-year term ending in 2026. “Activists and rights groups have said Tehran’s role in the 45-member commission on the status of women was a farce, considering the regime’s forces have beaten and killed women peacefully calling for gender equality.”
- The Government of Canada launched a call for proposals for projects that address gender-based violence. Applications can be made through the promising practices stream or the community-based research stream. Learn more and apply by February 3, 2023: https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/news/2022/12/call-for-proposals-to-address-gender-based-violence-through-promising-practices-and-community-based-research.html
- Following the royal assent and passing of Bill S-219 in Parliament in December 2022, January 4 marked the first National Ribbon Skirt Day in Canada. The bill was put forward by Senator Mary Jane McCallum and inspired by Isabella Kulak, a member of the Cote First Nation, Saskatchewan, who was told her ribbon skirt was not dressy enough for a formal event at school and shamed for wearing it.
- The Yellowhead Institute shared its fourth Status Update: Calls to Action Accountability Report. Download it here.
The Equal Futures Network acknowledges that Indigenous people are the traditional guardians of Turtle Island, on the land also known as Canada