“Women of all ages are among the most vulnerable members of humanity. In every country, including Canada, they face many forms of abuse, neglect, poverty and violence. We condemn such injustices against women, every one of whom is someones daughter. We seek a better life for them and for everyone, beginning in our own community.”
- Daughters Day Organizing Committee, Edmonton, 2011 -
Welcome to Daughters Day
Daughters Day is a community initiative to highlight the importance of girls and young women, and to stop human rights abuses against them.
In this century most immigrants to Canada have come from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, China, the Middle East and Africa. They bring with them their traditions, both good and bad, including discrimination against girls, born and unborn.
A number of articles have been published in the Canadian media about practices such as aborting females before birth, honour killings, bride burning, and depriving daughters of education and participation in some sports. Such discriminatory practices have occurred in Canada, and we must condemn and eliminate these.
After discussions about this challenge, community members in Edmonton resolved to increase awareness about the loving, caring and sharing daughters as human beings, mothers and leaders in fields such as medicine, business, arts, education, and politics.
Their goal was to inaugurate Daughters Day, an annual celebration, on September 1, 2012 in Churchill Square. The celebration included education about the role of daughters in building a civil society and a message to families to respect human rights of girls and women, and to abhor violence against them. There were speakers from a variety of political affiliations and organizations, music, and entertainment.
Many community associations supported this initiative and we received positive responses from all levels of government. We are currently planning our celebration for 2013.
