Feminist Futures: Resisting Colonialism and Genocide

On Tuesday, June 18th, a conversation was held by the Simone de Beauvoir Institute at their offices in Montreal, located downtown at the Sir George Williams Campus of Concordia University. The dialogue was centred on exploring the intersecting struggles faced by Black, Indigenous, and Palestinian communities worldwide. It also aimed to address current issues, including the ongoing genocides in Palestine, Sudan, and the Congo, the political interference in Haiti, and the persistent displacement of Indigenous communities across Turtle Island, the land we have come to know as Canada.

The speakers and panellists included Duha Elmardi, a Sudanese newcomer who sought asylum in Canada and with over a decade of experience in community and non-profit sectors as an educator, facilitator, program and project coordinator, curriculum developer and organizational development consultant. It also included Ellen Gabriel, a filmmaker and prominent Indigenous rights activist in Canada, particularly during the Oka Crisis in Quebec in 1990. They were also joined by Nada Elia, a Palestinian scholar and activist focused on challenging oppression through feminist and anti-colonial frameworks, and Nathalie Batraville, an academic and activist who engages with issues of imperialism, political interference, and the struggles faced by marginalized communities in Haiti and beyond.

There was a large turnout for this panel as, over fifty people attended the event, packed in a conference room at the downtown campus of Concordia.

The event was described as an opportunity to discuss possibilities for feminist solidarity towards ongoing violence in Palestine, Sudan and the Congo, the imperially-driven political interference in Haiti and the continued dispossession of Indigenous communities across Canada.