York’s Centre for Human Rights (CHR) has put together a full slate of events to celebrate International Women’s Day Thursday at the Keele campus. And to get you prepared, they’re starting three days early.
“International Women’s Day is a day to highlight, recognize and celebrate the accomplishments made by women throughout the centuries, in spite of historical and ongoing barriers to the full dignity of their personhood,” said Nythalah Baker, CHR’s senior adviser, education & communications. “It’s also an opportunity to consider where improvements are still needed to ensure women’s human rights are achieved.”
Volunteers will be tabling in Vari Hall beginning Monday through to Wednesday, between 10am and 2pm, sharing information about women’s accomplishments, especially in non-traditional fields. They will also be raising funds for Nellie’s women’s shelter.
On Thursday, International Women’s Day at York begins at the tables in Vari Hall with a bagel breakfast from 10:30 to 11:30am. Button making and other activities will take place from 10am to 3pm, with a pizza lunch scheduled from 1 to 2pm.
At 3pm, the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Support Line (SASSL) and the Faculty of Education Students’ Association (FESA) will present a performance titled Far from the Heart, in the Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre, Accolade East Building.
At 6pm in room 312 in the Joan & Martin Goldfarb Centre for Film Arts, Oxfam Canada at York will hold a screening of Miss Representation, the documentary by 
Jennifer Siebel Newsom, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and aired on OWN: the Oprah Winfrey Network. The film – which features interviews with actors Rosario Dawson (right) and Jane Fonda (far right), among others – explores how the media’s misrepresentations of women have led to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence.
Later in the month, at the Lunik Café, Glendon campus, there will be a performance of The Vagina Monologues, starting at 7pm, followed by refreshments and a post-performance celebration where recipients of the 2012 International Women’s Day Hope Awards will be announced.
The events at International Women’s Day at York are organized by SASSL, the York Federation of Students, Glendon Women and Trans Centre, Diversity Peer Education Team (DPET), Oxfam Canada at York and FESA.
For more information, visit the York Centre for Human Rights website.