On Tuesday, March 8, the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) Women’s Collective is hosting an informational event on both campuses in honour of International Women’s Day.
“We’re offering beverages, buttons, and educational pamphlets informing people about events that are happening with the Women’s Collective and also just some info about [women’s rights],” says CCSS women’s director Afaf Burrow. “We also have a sign-up sheet for people who are interested in volunteering with the Women’s Collective.”
Burrow says the goal of the event, and more broadly of the Women’s Collective, is to spread awareness around women’s struggles, and to facilitate informational discussions and advocacy for all women.
“We want to spread awareness about what goes on around the world regarding women’s rights and what we can do as allies in our everyday lives to support women of all backgrounds, economic levels, and colours,” she says.
Burrow emphasizes the importance of encouraging women’s events and their surrounding discourse, specifically in a college setting.
“I think it’s very important, because women’s education in the past has been severely limited, but with the rise of activism and feminist movements it’s been more supported,” she says. “It’s just very important to continue that and to ensure that we can allow women to be heard on all platforms.”
Burrows says the Women’s Collective has also been involved in other ongoing initiatives around campus.
“Previously we have done period-product campaigning, which is to support menstrual equality throughout all campuses,” she says. “So we have some [products] available in Lansdowne close to the library area and we’re hoping to spread it out more around the campus as well as at Interurban.”
Whether or not a student attends the event on International Women’s Day, Burrow encourages everyone to always be mindful of women’s issues, and to support people who choose to speak up about them.
“I would say the most important thing is just acknowledging our implicit biases and doing more reading, more allyship, and more support,” she says. “Be mindful of what goes on and what we can do to help, offer a lending hand, and just do some reflection.”
Burrow says the Women’s Collective has plans to host events supporting women’s history throughout March, which is Women’s History Month. She encourages anyone interested to reach out and volunteer with the collective.
“We have bi-weekly meetings—due to COVID they’re online through Zoom—to discuss how we can help out around the school, and promote campaigning,” she says. “We also work with the British Columbia Federation of Students to try to support students, and especially women of all backgrounds.”
The International Women’s Day event will take place between 9 am and 12 pm on Tuesday, March 8. It will be in the Fisher Building at Lansdowne, and at the Liz Ashton Campus Centre building at Interurban. See camosunstudent.org for more information on the CCSS.