Empowering women

Expo – Always on mission 5. Cloth bag – Campaign against human trafficking – 2010

Already recognized for its work in education to help girls, in particular, realize their full potential, the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) became involved in several spheres of action following the upheavals of Vatican II and the Quiet Revolution (in Quebec).

In particular, the Congregation has encouraged the establishment of a number of works, including Maison Davignon and Centre le P.A.S. in Lachenaie. The SNJM have also collaborated with a number of other organizations, including La Maison du Père, a home for the mentally handicapped, the Centre des Jardins in Montreal’s east end, not to mention a project for single mothers and the group Rencontres Cuisines. Similar collaborations are multiplying elsewhere, including in Winnipeg, Manitoba (House of Peace) and Wapato, Washington, USA (Marie-Rose House).

SNJMs also work with others to contribute to the emancipation and empowerment of women wherever they operate. In Quebec, this takes many forms, including participation in the Association des religieuses pour les droits des femmes (ARDF). Many actions emerge from this association in collaboration with organizations active in the field.

Events such as International Women’s Day and the World March of Women encourage SNJMs of all ages to get involved. True to their commitment to social justice and the advancement of the cause of women, the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary chartered a 56-seat bus to participate in the 4th edition of the World March of Women in Trois-Rivières in 2015. Joining the Quebec religious was an international delegation made up of religious from Lesotho, Peru, the United States and Manitoba, there to express their solidarity with the cause of women and the theme of the march, “Let’s liberate our bodies, our land and our territories!”

Among those taking part was 85-year-old Sr Jeannine Cornellier, who didn’t want to miss the event. For this ardent campaigner for women’s rights, awareness must continue to be raised and demands asserted. “When you realize that even today, women’s bodies are threatened all over the world, whether you think of the 200 high-school girls kidnapped in Nigeria or the 1,000 aboriginal women murdered in Canada, you realize that there is a lot to be done,” she laments.

In 2021, the SNJM once again found a way to participate in the World March of Women by organizing a symbolic march on its heritage site in Longueuil. At the same time, a delegation of religious joined the ARDF to demonstrate in the streets of Montreal.

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