The lighting was dim thanks to a few unbroken bulbs from the chandeliers hanging overhead. It was enough to light up the stage and the faces on it, just enough to create an inviting and warm atmosphere that instantly made you comfortable.
But the mood wasn’t sluggish. It was sharp and clever and empowering to anyone in its presence.
I was at the Women’s Day Open Mic at Dalhousie’s Grad House. The room had the essence of a woman.
The company was interesting, the jokes were generous and quick and the people who attended were open and appreciative of each other.
Students at Dal and all over the peninsula took part in the Women’s Day Open Mic that took place few days before International Women’s Day in order to shine light on gender inequality.
Canadians are fortunate to live in a country where gender equality farther along than in other places around the world, but signs of injustice towards women are still evident in everyday life.
Anyone who wanted to participate in the Open Mic could express their thoughts on the matter, whether by song, poem, or a short play—or they could simply enjoy the company (and the brownies).
Ali Calladine, president of Oxfam at Dal and the host for the open mic, put on by Oxfam at Dal, says that Oxfam is “trying to combine the local perspectives on human justice and the global perspectives on human justice.“
Oxfam Canada specifically focuses on building a world free from poverty created by gender inequality. By empowering women and girls they help make sure their rights are promoted and respected.
Their website states that about 70 per cent of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty worldwide are women and girls.
Ali says their goal with the event was to, “create a really accessible way to join that conversation.”
And people of all genders were joining in on the conversation and voicing their thoughts.
Ali says it has definitely has gotten louder since last year, when they had a similar Open Mic with only a few contributors to the night.
The Gazette’s own Daniel Bergman sang “What a Good Boy” by the Barenaked Ladies, a choice that he thought fitting with the night’s theme.
Laura Burke, the peer support coordinator for the DSU, voiced her opinion on the matter by reading a poem that referred to the metaphorical “chains” a woman carries with her, after being labeled with words like pretty or nice or cute from a young age.
She got involved because she was curious about what was going on with the Oxfam group on campus, and just wanted to celebrate International Women’s Day.
“There’s still marginalization of groups of women in the west,” she says. “It’s a really nice opportunity to think about solidarity and think about what it means to be a woman.”
The theme of the event was evident—to empower all women and to support the ongoing awareness that poverty is largely created by gender inequality. But the undercurrents of the night suggested we recognize the organic beauty in women and girls, before the world’s rules, stereotypes and presumptions are pushed on them.
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