“Migrant Feminisms in the New Millennium: 30 years
of Sisterhood, Strength, Struggle and Success”
A report on the conference-forum held to commemorate 30
years of the South Asian Women’s Centre (SAWCC) in
Montreal
November 4-6th 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Day 1
Opening ceremony: water as life, love struggle
Post-its brainstorm! Violence against Women and Migration
Hands of Lady Justice: the power of non-verbal theatre
Day 2
Overview
Session 1: Successes and Challenges
a. Combating violence in our communities: Shipra Barua
b. Working towards migrant justice: Ramani Balendra
Note and Commentary: Bill C-31
c. Outreach Skills and Support: Autonomous & Independent Project: Ponchi Chakma and
Deleena Theva
d. Supporting Elders: Sadeqa Siddiqui and Anne Caines
e. Spanning Generations: From Elders to Youth!: Sadeqa Siddiqui
f. LGBTQ Programming: Gaps to be filled: Ghazala Munawar
Summary
Session 2: Interactive Panel- Sharing Experiences
a. Queer experiences, South Asian Realities: Indu Vashist
b. Working for women under a neo-liberal regime, challenges and lessons: Kripa Sekhar
c. Migrant Justice Organizing: linking our struggles: Tess Tessalona
Session 3: Small Group Strategizing
Overview
a. Violence Against Women
b. Coalition building, organizing intergenerationally
c. Sexuality, sexual orientation, safe spaces
Next steps, moving forward, strategies
Day 3: In solidarity with Decolonize/Occupy Montreal
Closing Remarks
Introduction and overview
During the weekend of November 4th-6th 2011, the South Asian Women’s Community Centre
(SAWCC) in Montreal, QC, Kanienkehaka Mohawk Territory, held a conference-forum to
commemorate 30 full and rewarding years of service provision, advocacy and political and
feminist activism. The theme of the conference was “Migrant Feminisms in the New Millennium:
30 years of Sisterhood, Strength, Struggle and Success.”
When SAWCC staff, members and allies began talking about marking the anniversary, they
really wanted time to reflect, identify challenges that SAWCC had encountered and overcome
over the last three decades, and also to come up with creative and effective strategies to advance
ideas of creating equality and a just world. SAWCC’s Gala celebration, which preceded the
forum, was a great success, but was not an evening to discuss the more political aspects of
SAWCC’s past, present and future. It was decided that a conference-forum would provide
participants with an opportunity to share experiences and ideas with fellow community members;
a time to recognize the strides that have been made and also to draw out some lessons learned
over the years. It is this concept that gave rise to the theme of Migrant Feminisms in the New
Millennium.
As eloquently stated by longtime SAWCC member and co-founder Dolores Chew, originally, we
were all migrants. Though this may have changed with time, we still occupy a space in the
chronology of migration, and this remains a large part of our identities. But we are also feminists,
struggling to build a world free of patriarchy and divisions of race, class and gender. We are
living in an era with many challenges: women’s organizations are being NGO-ized, and are on
the decline. Women still face huge amounts of interpersonal, economic and state violence. The
current Conservative regime has introduced increasingly hardline immigration and refugee
policies, and has slashed funding for women’s programs. For Dolores and others, the hope was
that the conference-forum could represent a rallying point, a beginning where we can keep
feminism and feminist organizing alive and well in the coming decades. Consequently, the
conference was meant to be hands on, practical and action oriented to ensure maximum
opportunities for wide participation and skill sharing. An overarching goal for this weekend was
to come up with concrete, tangible ideas that can be used by participants and SAWCC members
and staff moving forward in the future.
Water as life, love, struggle
The evening opened with a water ceremony led by Denise Nadeau. Water is an element that is
common to every tradition, and is essential for how we live; it heals, refreshes and gives life.
Despite its essential nature and power, water is very much under threat. This ceremony was
designed to acknowledge the importance and spiritual energy of water in our day to day lives and
traditions. Each table was adorned with a small bowl of water, and participants were asked to
each share what water means to them, in whatever form this might take. Subsequently,
participants were asked to draw on the strength and cleansing power of water as they move
forward through the conference and their own personal and political struggles.
Post-its brainstorm! Violence against Women (VAW) and Migration
Following a few icebreakers, the participants were launched into their first activity. Two broad
themes were introduced: a) Violence against women and, b) Immigration and Refugee (Migrant)
Rights. The participants were asked to break out into small groups of 2-4 people and identify two
challenges and two successes that were faced in each of these themes. These were then written
on post-its and stuck up on the wall under each category. After the activity, the participants
circulated the room looking at what everyone had written, before coming back together for a
discussion.
The post-its brainstorm elicited a wide range of responses. Though there was overlap, there were
also widely differing and sometimes seemingly opposed challenges and successes under a given
theme. Though of course there was no right or wrong answer, the activity demonstrated the
highly personal and subjective nature of what constitutes a challenge or a success in all of our
lives. The following section provides an overview of some of the main ideas and themes that
came out of this initial activity.
a. violence against women
 some of the main challenges identified in fighting VAW were:

Education, or the lack thereof. This includes education for fellow women, men, and all
individuals within the community.
 Dealing with poverty as part of the struggle: this concept was connected to the need for
a holistic approach to dealing with VAW. VAW for example, may be compounded by
issues of poverty or substance abuse, among other systemic factors.
 Being able to address VAW in a holistic manner is extremely challenging in practice,
particularly as violence is by no means limited to interpersonal interactions, but also
extends to the state and the system as a whole
 the successes in fighting VAW could also be broadly categorized:
 Listening and talking about campaigns on an institutionalized level has increased (ie:
through SAWCC, providing a safe space to discuss these issues)
 International solidarity movements, including as it relates to working with feminist
lawyers and doctors on the sub-continent
 Specific methods that have been used for empowering women including non-verbal
theatre and self defense
 Fighting VAW on an interpersonal level included things such as helping a
friend/individual to leave an abusive situation, facilitating a process that works against
VAW and helping two people get married though their family did not approve
b. Women, immigrant and refugee rights
 the challenges in this arena are as vast as those in fighting VAW, and among those identified
were:
 the fact that Canada is seen as a haven for immigrants. How can we acknowledge the
reality that people in this country are displaced and face deep-rooted racism both
historically and in the present
 Migrants feeling isolated, no community, no support
 Government policy: refugee/migration policy is changing so fast, it is very hard to keep
pace, policies are also becoming increasingly restrictive making it harder for families
to reunite, difficulty accessing healthcare, CSST (Commission de la santé et de la sécurité
du travail)
 nevertheless, there have been wonderful successes experienced in this field, including:
 Some government level successes, such as state-paid language training
 Successes on individual levels with sponsorship and obtaining permanent residence and
citizenship
 Successes in social movements, with increased dialogues and support in the
community for migrant rights, movements that are active and vibrant

Community mobilization: sanctuaries (such as churches) that have prevented
deportations, the minimum wage increases set by the international Labour Organization,
as well as building stronger alliances to fight for migrant rights.
This activity not only produced interesting and varied responses, but was also a collective thought
process that enabled participants to identify key issues. Some participants expressed how
difficult it was for them to think about successes, while others came up with big, creative ideas
for addressing some of these issues, from an all women-cabinet to organizing a people’s
government based on a people’s demand. In addition, it was readily apparent from this activity
that successes and challenges can be very subjective notions which produce different needs,
demands and strategies for addressing these issues, some of which may not be compatible with
each other. For example, some strategies for combating VAW or migrant justice issues may be
focused on state engagement and policy reform, whereas other perspectives may see the state
itself as the main perpetrator of violence, and therefore seek strategies that use extra-state
resources to achieve these same goals. While the merits of any one of these proposals can be
hotly debated by all sides, it is surely evident that these are complex, multifaceted issues that
cannot be easily or quickly addressed.
However this brainstorming activity also demonstrated the immense power and level of skill,
knowledge and work that is already present and active in our communities, and many of the
themes and ideas that came out of this discussion continued to be raised and developed as the
conference unfolded.
Hands of Lady Justice: the power of non-verbal theatre
During the post-it brainstorm activity, the use of non-verbal theatre was identified as one way to
combat VAW, and is a tool that is often used by SAWCC to empower women. SAWCC staff
proceeded to present a short skit that they have used in the past, to demonstrate this technique.
The skit was focused on the services provided by SAWCC to their clients, and dramatized how
these services can help to empower women to handle their own affairs in the face of sometimes
reluctant and disapproving husbands.
Sadeqa Siddiqui, the current centre coordinator of SAWCC explained how the Centre started
using non-verbal theatre in 2004 as an alternative way to communicate issues with clients.
Methods of popular theatre are used ( ie the participation of nonprofessional actors). The
participants, (who are typically clients) prepare something genuine that reflects their personal
realities and also realities in society. The use of theatre becomes a very useful tool for expression
of feelings, and also for communication between clients and staff, particularly if there are
language barriers or if clients are faced with particularly sensitive issues they are not comfortable
expressing verbally. The medium of theatre also makes it easy for women to see something
happening, relate to an issue and bring out the solution by themselves in a very hands-on, tangible
way. SAWCC continues to use this method with very successful results.
Day 2
Saturday morning began bright and early with a light breakfast and informal yoga session, to
wake up participants and prepare them for the enriching day ahead. The agenda was packed with
information, speakers and group activities, followed by a dinner and cultural show in the evening.
Session 1: Successes and Challenges
The first formal group activity of the day was centered around learning from the expertise and
experience of SAWCC staff members and volunteers through a facilitated discussion and
question/answer period. The idea behind this activity was to allow staff members to share
information about the various projects and programs that they are involved in, including any
challenges and successes they have encountered. Through this sharing, conference participants
would be able to gain a more thorough understanding of SAWCC’s programming and activities.
In addition, it is often too easy to become caught up in one’s own work without having an
awareness of what is happening around us; the facilitated discussion was also aimed at giving
staff members themselves an opportunity to learn about what their colleagues are doing at the
Centre.
Moderated by youth worker Keren Tang, SAWCC staff discussed the themes of:
 Violence against women
 Migration and refugee justice
 Community building/support/alliances and coalitions
 Sexuality, sexual orientation/identity and sex work
 Elders
 Youth
Combating violence in our communities
First to present was Shipra Barua who spoke about family violence. She noted that family
violence is not limited to one person beating their partner; rather family violence constitutes an
abuse of power aimed at harming or controlling a family member, and it encompasses a wide
variety of behaviours, words and actions that may not always be readily identifiable.
Shipra made the important point that abuse is something that transcends language and culture.
Nevertheless, language and culture are very relevant considerations that certainly impact the way
a person receives and understands violence, as well as their ability to access networks of support
while in this situation. Women who have come to Canada from a different country may find
themselves extremely isolated, and lacking a community of support who speaks the same
language as them, or who have an understanding of the cultural context in which they are living.
As a result, women may become affected by mental health issues such as depression and anxiety,
and find it even more difficult to integrate into society and leave an abusive situation.
SAWCC provides essential services for women who are in situations of family violence. Staff at
the Centre help women become independent through assistance with translation, mediation and
interpretation. Women may feel more comfortable at SAWCC with other women who speak
their language, and also respect and understand their cultural values. SAWCC works to earn the
trust of their clients, and help them build a community, and a sort of “extended family” here in
Montreal, which in turn helps break patterns of isolation. Programs incorporating non-verbal
theatre have also been an excellent means of encouraging conversation about how to help friends
and neighbours who may be facing situations of violence, from recognizing someone who may be
victimized to figuring out safe strategies for helping them.
Working towards migrant justice
Ramani Balendra was next to present on the vast and pressing issue of immigration and refugee
justice. She began with a history of how SAWCC first became involved in these issues given the
political situation in Canada and abroad. In 1983 the heightening conflict in Sri Lanka led to a
large number of South Asians coming to Montreal as refugees. SAWCC took a stand to help
these refugees through filling out forms, given them information of the refugee determination
process, referring them to lawyers and legal help who would not take advantage of their situation,
and working to help prevent discrimination. In 1986 a boat of Tamil refugees arrived in
Newfoundland and relocated to Montreal, where SAWCC welcomed them, providing them with
assistance and resources.
However, Ramani notes that much has changed since this time. In her experience, during the
1980s and 1990s immigration policy was relatively clearer and there appeared to be less
discrimination. Family reunification was simpler, and immigration authorities seemed to actually
facilitate this process. This is certainly no longer the case. Communication with immigration
officers is extremely difficult. Laws are modified and changed at an alarming rate. Funding for
settlement services has been slashed, and families seeking to be reunited in Canada face
increasing barriers. The provincial and federal governments continue to pass the buck on who
takes responsibility for these issues. Discrimination and xenophobia are rampant, systemic and a
central feature of government policy, particularly under the current Conservative regime.
In the face of these challenges, the support and services provided by SAWCC have never been
more important. SAWCC does interpretation and mediation, and ensures that refugee rights are
respected. The Centre works in solidarity with other organizations to fight for better services for
immigrants and refugees. SAWCC has had many victories in the face of all these challenges,
including successfully lobbying for reform to existing spousal sponsorship laws, which leave
women vulnerable to abuse. Though challenges in this field promise to continue presenting
themselves, SAWCC will continue to take them on, fight and succeed.
Note and commentary: Bill C-31
As aptly noted by several participants and staff, it is increasingly difficult to keep pace with the
vast, sweeping changes which the Harper government continues to introduce to the immigration
and refugee system. In the wake of this report, in February 2012 the Harper government
introduced yet another bill to reform existing immigration and refugee legislation, which has not
even been fully implemented yet. Bill C-31 seeks to streamline procedures even further, to allow
quicker removals of people whose claims have been rejected. The new bill keeps provisions that
authorize mandatory detention for a year of asylum seekers who are deemed to have arrived
“irregularly”, while further prohibiting these claimants from applying for permanent residence or
sponsoring family members for 5 years. Bill C-31 however also gives the Minister sweeping
powers to designate “safe countries” from which asylum claims will be fast-tracked without the
option to appeal, and unlikely to succeed.1 The previously proposed changes from March of 2011
would also see the imposition of a “conditional” permanent residence status for 2 years for
spouses who are sponsored to come to Canada, in effect preventing them from leaving potentially
Kristen Shane, “New refugee bill lumps together biometrics, human smuggling bill, past reforms”
<http://www.embassymag.ca/dailyupdate/view/200> Feb 2012. See also: “New bill further
undermines refugee” CCR media release, Feb 2012: <http://ccrweb.ca/en/bulletin/12/02/16>. And
for full text of Bill C-31 see: <
http://www.parl.gc.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&billId=5383493.
1
abusive changes, and undoing the hard won victories from prior years.2 Community and
settlement organizations such as SAWCC will most certainly feel the impact of these changes in
the months to come, though with hope they can come together to provide information and
networks of support to those most affected by these discriminatory policies.
Outreach, Skills training and Support: Autonomous & Independent (A&1) Project
Ponchi Chakma and Deleena Theva next provided an overview of the Autonomous and
Independent Project at SAWCC. This initiative grew out the recognized need to address the
particular issues facing migrant women who come to Canada with their partners; while husbands
go off to work, newcomer women are often left alone to take care of all the domestic duties,
including managing the children, doctor’s appointments, groceries and school, among other
things. Frequently, migrant women come from communities where such tasks and duties are
shared collectively with help and support from joint and extended family systems. However in
Canada they must face these tasks alone, in addition to facing language and cultural barriers,
isolation and discrimination.
In 2006 upon identifying these issues, the A&I project was initiated to try and break these
patterns of isolation, and assist newcomer women in becoming integrated in Montreal and
overcoming various obstacles. It initially began in the Côte des Neiges and Parc Extension
neighbourhoods in Montreal, where there is a high concentration of low income South Asian
families, with door-to-door outreach in an attempt to reach and recruit South Asian women. Upon
talking to these women, it was clear that there was a need to have a safe, secure space near their
homes where they could come together to talk, share and learn.
Rooms were rented within these communities for workshops, information sharing and language
and transit training programs on a weekly basis. The sessions were informal and needs based, and
facilitators adapted to the requests of the participants. Trips were taken around Montreal to teach
participants about the public transit system, as well as how to read signs, landmarks and gain
more exposure to the city.
Since this time the project has grown immensely. In addition to ongoing recruitment of new
participants, the project has become focused on helping existing participants become autonomous
and independent. This was done through helping them gain financial independence with small
business enterprises and money management skill building, job search skills training with Emploi
Quebec, as well as other government job and language programs.
Husbands often do not approve of their wives gaining these skills and independence, as they feel
that they are losing control of these women. However it is clear that the A&I project continues to
be a resounding success, currently serving 915 women.
At the time of writing, the members of the A&I project are awaiting a decision as to whether they
will receive funding from the City of Montreal to continue the project in the coming year.
Supporting Elders
2
See CCR Statement on Proposed Conditional Residence < http://ccrweb.ca/en/statement-proposedconditional-permanent-residence-sponsored-spouses>, also as published in the Canada Gazette:
<http://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2011/2011-03-26/html/notice-avis-eng.html#d114>.
Yet another incredibly important aspect of services provided through SAWCC relates to issues
facing South Asian seniors. Since its inception, SAWCC has strived to provide activities and
services for clients of all ages, but it is certainly true that seniors and elderly people face
particular challenges and difficulties, especially as newcomers. Upon recognizing the isolation
and often abuse that South Asian seniors may face, SAWCC initiated programs to break this
cycle through the provision of meals-on-wheels and meal sharing programs. However with
limited resources, lack of infrastructure, and limited mobility of clients, the programs could not
be continued on a regular basis.
SAWCC however formed partnerships with other organizations doing work with seniors, and one
such partnership was with RECCA, which was elaborated on by Anne Caines.
She spoke about her involvement with a project at SAWCC called “Building Bridges”. This
project was aimed at making connections between public institutions and community/cultural
organizations, to identify the barriers that cultural communities and seniors in particular face in
accessing resources available in the system. This project looked at Elders who are marginalized
and challenged by culture, isolation, language and health barriers, and who as a result, face Elder
abuse. Though the project only lasted for eight months, the group of participants who were part of
it decided to stay together and start their own grow to grapple with these issues: RECCA.
RECCA represents the voices of the Elders in various cultural communities, and seeks to deal
with issues of Elder abuse through working with the Elders themselves to find viable and relevant
solutions, often with tools such as non-verbal theatre. RECCA helped to show that Elder abuse is
something that affects all cultures, and they continue to work closely and collaborate with
SAWCC.
Spanning Generations: from Elders to Youth!
A growing aspect of programming at SAWCC relates to South Asian youth in Montreal, which
was presented by Sadeqa Siddiqui on behalf of the two youth workers Naila Aldina (who was
unfortunately unable to attend) and Keren Tang, who was facilitating the discussion. South
Asian children growing up in Canada are often straddling two or more different cultures and
identities, which may often come in conflict. Parents for example may be very controlling
according to this aspect of their culture, whereas children might simultaneously face pressure to
embrace values of openness which often heralded by other non-South Asian cultures. This reality
helped inspire programs for youth, such as the SAWCC summer day camp which was started in
1983. This camp provided a space where parents felt comfortable sending their children, and it
enabled youth to get out of the home during the summer and socialize with others from their
respective cultures.
In working with South Asian women who were isolated, it became evident that young girls are
also growing up in isolation at home, as they may feel ashamed or misunderstood in both South
Asian and Canadian contexts. SAWCC started working in schools in 2002 with girls aged 10-12,
and started small activities with them, such as painting, silk screening and dancing. SAWCC also
facilitated a process whereby older youth from the South Asian community come to the schools
to act as mentors for the younger girls. Though funding was a constant challenge, the program
was fairly regular and SAWCC was able to staff one youth worker. Currently there are two
Youth Coordinators working in 4 schools at both the elementary and high school levels.
Recently, a group of young individuals came together to develop youth programming with an
anti-violence, anti-discriminatory, anti-racist perspective. SAY (South Asian Youth) first formed
as a result of young women and men in Parc-Extension discussing realities of violence in public
spaces and within interpersonal relationships. It began an anti-violence against women campaign
with the hopes of engaging young women and their allies in the struggle against harassment in
public spaces. SAY’s first Day of Action against violence against Women was held on September
24th, 2011 in Parc Extension. One of the main goals of SAY is to encourage dialogue and
exchange amongst peers, elders and communities at large, and their complete Basis of Unity will
soon be available on SAWCC website.
Since its inception SAY has developed and grown in many ways. Some of SAY’s collective and
member initiatives and accomplishments include:
 Participation on various panels, including a panel on anti-racist feminist organizing at the
Concordia Study In Action conference, as well as for International Women’s Day at
Vanier College
 Monthly movie screenings dealing with issues around South Asian sexuality and identity
 Ongoing organizing efforts for a Radical feminist summer camp
 Discussing alternative sexual education sessions
 Supporting weekly Self-defense classes at the Intertribal Youth Centre (ITYC) as part of
the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal (NFCM)
Volunteers are youth between the ages of 15 to 35, consisting of students, concerned members of
society, youth workers, community workers, artists, activists, feminists and allies. The
conference-forum has been identified by some SAY members as a pivotal weekend for the
growth of SAY, as it helped to crystallize ideas for various projects and also created a space for
youth to come together and discuss issues that are incredibly relevant to them.
LGBTQ programming: gaps to be filled
One of the areas that was repeatedly identified as a gap in service provision at SAWCC centered
on issues around sexuality and LGBT and queer identity. During the planning phase of the
conference, this was acknowledged and recognized as something that must be highlighted over
the 2 day event. Ghazala Munawar affirmed this recognition, noting that this is a very taboo
issue in the South Asian community and many challenges remain in addressing it. However
SAWCC is taking baby steps. Youth coordinators Naila and Keren have begun monthly education
sessions for centre staff to gain exposure and a better understanding of terminology and current
realities facing South Asian youth. It is hoped that through maintaining an openness and
awareness around sexuality, LGBT and queer issues, SAWCC can become a space that can also
address the needs of communities and individuals in this realm.
Summary
It is evident through hearing from staff and participants that SAWCC’s programming is
innovative and responsive, and has evolved throughout the years to ensure that essential services
continue to meet the ever changing needs of communities and individuals. While gaps were
identified, particularly in relation to LGBTQ programming, SAWCC is slowly but surely moving
towards addressing these needs. SAWCC and its clients face immense challenges on both a
systemic level and individual level with respect to funding, government policy, state violence and
discrimination and accessibility barriers, as well as the many ongoing forms of oppression that
are felt by women across the board.
Session 2: Sharing Experiences
Following lunch, the first session on Saturday afternoon was an interactive panel discussion with
three diverse speakers, Indu Vashist, Tess Tessalona and Kripa Sekhar. The panel was aimed at
hearing and sharing experiences across generations, and demonstrating the range of issues facing
women and racialized communities over the years and continuing today.
Queer experiences, South Asian realities: Indu Vashist
Indu Vashist is an organizer and activist for queer and gender rights in both Canada and South
Asia. Some of her work includes writing a column for the New Indian Express, and is also the
Montreal representative for 2B Magazine. Indu points out that oftentimes, we in the South Asian
diaspora do not have access to the immense organizing and work that is happening in the
subcontinent; Indu’s blog “Global Queer Desis” aims to break this isolation, share information
and foster connections and networks between South Asians across borders.3
Indu’s discussion provided a strong context on how movement building in the subcontinent has
grown and evolved over the past several years, and gave some valuable insight into how culture
and background can impact how these issues are conceived and received in the Canadian context
as well.
Indu spoke about the experience of “coming out” within a traditional Punjabi community in a
small town in Canada, and the intersection of issues of migration, class, patriarchy, sexuality and
preservation of culture and tradition. In the 1970s, there were vast amounts of immigration to
Canada from Punjab, recreating a space that was akin to a rural Punjabi community in terms of
cultural expectations and norms. In this context, she notes that every act of self determination,
both of body and self were seen as a threat to and incompatible with traditional cultural values.
The barriers to self determination become even more acute with the particular challenges that
accompany womanhood as well as queer identity. Indu points to the fact that women’s lives are
often heavily monitored within the family, community and society at large, and this is particularly
acute when it comes to their sexuality. In addition, queer south Asians in particular are often
faced with the choice of either a gay/queer community or a South Asian community, both of
which are fraught with their own complexities and difficulties; for example, a queer brown person
in a white queer community may have to deal with latent or blatant racism, while the same queer
brown person in a South Asian community may be faced with various manifestations of
homophobia. Of course is not to say that there is no racism in brown communities or homophobia
in queer white communities, but race, class and culture certainly present unique and particular
barriers within these contexts.
In the subcontinent, perceptions are slowly shifting, and people are mobilizing to fight for LGBT
rights. Many movies and various media do depict gay characters and discuss this issue, albeit
often within heteronormative lenses (ie depicting stereotypical gay men). In 2009, a landmark
ruling by the Indian High Court decriminalized same sex activity by overturning Section 377 of
the Indian Penal Code. This judgment came largely because of a public interest petition brought
forth by activists across the country, and headed by many parents and family members of queer
South Asians. 4 Indeed, all across the subcontinent legal and social battles are being fought and
won: Nepal is governed by a very progressive constitution with respect to queer rights; a 2009
Pakistani Supreme Court ruling gave trans people equal benefit and protection of the law; Sri
See Indu’s blog at Global Queer Desi: <http://globalqueerdesi.wordpress.com/>.
See also, for an overview of the legislative fight for LGBT rights in India: Jypti Thottam, “India’s
Historic Ruling on Gay Rights” Time Magazing: July 2009
<http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1908406,00.html>.
3
4
Lanka now has three fully functioning LGBT groups, and in Bangladesh there are online sources
of support for LGBT people. However despite these victories, Indu notes that many challenges
lay ahead. Indeed, legal battles may be easily won, but real victory would require a significant
cultural shift, and a shift in the minds, hearts and values of societies and communities.
Homosexuality must not be seen as a betrayal of Indian/South Asian culture. Feminism must play
a role fighting battles both within the private and the public spheres. Sexuality and gender must
be seen as political in nature, in order to truly gain an understanding the connections between
power and sexuality, and of how to deconstruct existing hierarchies that reward some behaviours
and activities while punishing others. Indu argues that self determination in all its forms must be
a key focus in the ongoing struggle for LGBT rights, including bodily sovereignty. This must
happen across all movements (queer, trans, migrant justice, Indigenous, labour, reproductive) in
the context of anti-colonial, anti-capitalist work and in communities, rather than through policing
or strict moral codes.
Indu importantly identified that the realities of queer people must be actively integrated into
SAWCC’s mandate. This includes but is not limited to discussion so pre-martial sex, and same
sex relations(hips) in general. Some tangible steps that can be taken by SAWCC include having
a queer friendly counselor on-site and possibly creating access to a queer helpline.
Working for women under a neo-liberal regime, challenges and lessons
The Executive Director of the South Asian Women’s Centre (SAWC) in Toronto, Kripa Sekhar
provided a very thorough and insightful analysis on Toronto’s political context, and the struggles
that accompany service provision for migrant women in the wake of increased and sustained
budget cuts and hostile government policies. Kripa gave an overview of the projects that SAWC
uses to help increase the economic and political power of South Asian women in society through
a holistic approach. These include projects on forced marriage and human trafficking, women’s
groups for youth and seniors, one-on-one counseling and legal help, theatre pieces as an
intergenerational medium of empowerment, and a sewing collective.
Prior to December 2010, SAWC received a considerable amount of funding from Citizenship and
Immigration Canada (CIC). Following budget cuts however, this funding was completely slashed,
and SAWC faced significant challenges around adequate service and resource provision to
clients. Around the same time, the Conservative government also enacted significant changes to
the existing immigration legislation through the passing of Bill C-11, the Balanced Refugee
Reform Act5, which had significant impacts on immigrant and refugee women. The changes, for
example, seek to make it even more difficult for spouses who are sponsored to come to Canada to
obtain permanent residence and secure their status.6 As a result, women may be left in a situation
where they must remain with an abusive partner for fear of losing status and being deported back
to their home country.
The City of Toronto had also been facing particular issues that contributed to the difficulties
migrant women were already facing. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) had been
conducting raids in women’s shelters, and detaining and deporting undocumented women that
were found there. Though significant campaigns were mounted against this practice, in the end,
5
For the full Bill see
<http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/LegislativeSummaries/Bills_ls.asp?lang=F&ls=c11&Parl=40&S
es=3&source=library_prb.>
6
See CCR Statement on Proposed Conditional Residence < http://ccrweb.ca/en/statement-proposedconditional-permanent-residence-sponsored-spouses>, also as published in the Canada Gazette:
<http://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2011/2011-03-26/html/notice-avis-eng.html#d114>.
CBSA officers are now still authorized to enter shelters.7 In addition, in December 2010
Conservative candidate Rob Ford was elected to the mayoral post in Toronto, and continues to
implement devastating cuts to essential social services and programming, including child care,
libraries and public transit.8
As a result of this hostile climate as well as the ongoing implementation of governmental policies
that marginalize women of colour, SAWC was receiving a huge number of women reporting
violence that they had experienced, and was facing particular challenges in relation to service
provision. CIC would not provide an explanation to SAWC as to why their funding was cut off,
despite their having met all the requirements to continue receiving this income, and it becomes
clear that these decisions are politically motivated, and form part of a sustained Conservative
strategy to cut back on essential social services and settlement projects, as well as the ongoing
privatization of immigration services.
Kripa identified the need the make “feminism” a priority in order to combat these forces of
austerity. Under the current regime women’s issues are not a priority, and feminism appears to be
“out the door”; the discussion around this issue needs to be revitalized to understand various
feminist critiques in order to create a movement among women that is inclusive, collective and
globally connected. Though we may all have differences of opinion and approach, we can still
work in solidarity and share the single goal of liberating all women and children. Solidarity also
includes a recognition of responsibilities and involvement of men in this process.
Despite the many challenges that SAWC and women of colour everywhere face in the wake of
neoliberal government policies, Kripa makes the important point that with lack of government
funding also comes increased freedom to actually implement the programming that they know is
essential for their clients, to organize press conferences, and to serve the community without
feeling shackled by state mandates that are incompatible with their goals and values. They have
increasingly looked to external sources of funding and support, through aid agencies and through
raising awareness in communities themselves, which has allowed people to realize the power and
resources that they already possess.
Migrant Justice Organizing: linking our struggles
Tess Tessalona, from the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC) in Montreal shared her valuable
experiences from the perspective of migrant organizing, with a focus on domestic workers and
regularizing their immigration status. When she first began organizing in the 1980s, there were
virtually no labour standards for domestic workers. One of the challenges lay in figuring out
where and how to build alliances within the women’s movement; for example, in 1996 the
Fédération des Femmes du Quebec (FFQ) organized the Bread and Roses march to highlight
poverty amongst women, but there was no discussion about immigrant and domestic workers. In
the various campaigns that she worked on, it became clear that there are several factors that
contribute to successful migrant organizing. While organizing more than a thousand workers in a
sock factory in the north of Montreal, the workers and the organizers experienced the process of
unionizing and striking to demand better working conditions and to receive their wages on time.
The families of the workers all mobilized during the dead of winter, and it really became a
community project, demonstrating that organizing with and amongst local communities provides
7
For an overview of the Shelter, Sanctuary, Status campaign to keep CBSA officers out of shelters see:
NoOneisIllegal Toronto, <http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/node/503>.
8
For an analysis and overview of Rob Ford’s policies as well as efforts and campagins to fight them, see
Toronto Stop the Cuts Network <http://www.torontostopthecuts.com/>.
a strong avenue for success. While working on a campaign against the deportation of Melca
Salvador, Tess and others adopted a two pronged approach that was both legal and political in
nature. This campaign exposed the sexist, racist and classist aspects of the Live-in Caregiver
program (LCP), and much was gained from the solidarity and support of a wide range of
women’s groups. In her current work at the IWC, Tess mainly deals with issues of labour and
migration, but the Centre also has active collaboration and working relationships with many other
organizations, including a long standing relationship with SAWCC.
In the future, some of the main challenges facing migrant organizing lies in connecting local and
global struggles with each other, and building alliances across borders; if conditions in home
countries allowed for a sustainable way of life, there would be no real issues of having to seek
temporary work in another country.
Session 3: small group strategizing
Overview
After a short break for tea, the conference participants regrouped. The activities in the afternoon
were geared towards strategizing and giving individual voices a chance to weigh in on the many
complex issues that had come up over the 2 day conference. The participants were divided into
three smaller working groups according to three themes:
a. violence against women (both state and interpersonal
b. Coalition building and intergenerational organizing
c. Sexuality, sexual orientation and safe spaces
The small group discussions were facilitated by the three panel speakers, Kripa, Tess and Indu
respectively.
Each working group was asked to discuss challenges and issues around that exist around their
given topic, and to strategize around how we might tackle these issues moving forward. After 2025 minutes of discussion, the participants rotated and started discussing the next theme, until all
the participants had been at each of the three discussion tables.
This activity produced rich and meaningful discussion amongst all the participants. At times it
became difficult to enforce the strict time limits on the discussions, as there was clearly much to
be said. The smaller groups facilitated by one person allowed for more voices to be heard, which
may have otherwise remained silent in the context of a larger group discussion. The smaller size
also allowed for a more focused conversation on what are undoubtedly vast, complex and all
encompassing topics.
The following section will highlight some of the themes and proposals that came out of each
themed discussion, as well as from the group strategizing session that followed when the breakout
groups came back together.
Violence Against Women
The theme of VAW is one that was underlying throughout the conference forum, and presents
many complex and oftentimes overwhelming issues to grapple with. However the participants
were able to come up with some solid and interesting ideas and analysis around this, some of
which is outlined below.
Creating/identifying/accessing safe spaces
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Violence must first be identified as such, and then we must find, create and promote
awareness of safe spaces
Need to ensure that these spaces are inclusive of all ages, races and walks of life
Services must take into account linguistic and cultural differences as well
ID need for outreach, safe spaces, awareness raising, women organizing themselves,
recognizing intersectionality of issues
Women need basic services: affordable housing, tools to get out of poverty, access to
legal support
Role for young men, male allies
Interpersonal vs. state violence
 perhaps these require different remedies, and yet it is clear that they are intimately linked
as well
 how can we create alternative means of dealing with violence without resorting to the
state? ( ie: cops and CBSA)
 how to create forms of community accountability?
 Tension between idea that state should offer a support system but also that it contributes
to VAW: State makes it difficult to self-determine, when youth protection becomes
involved they often force women and children to go to shelters.
 Safe house model vs. shelters
Intersections of race and VAW
 Group given scenario of extreme family violence in a South Asian communityAmandeep Kaur migrated here from India, was repeatedly raped and eventually murdered
by her father in law. During the aftermath, the media characterized this is a South Asian
issue. (This reality of media and societal essentialization of violence to particular
ethnic/racial/linguistic communities is repeatedly seen, for example in the 1997 murder of
Reena Virk9, and most recently during the Shafia murder trials.10)
 Main issues for migrant women is that they lack support and family here in Canada,
different skills needed for survival in Canada versus countries of origin (ie language),
and based on this reality there is much more dependence on abusive partner
 The state also inflicts particular types of violence on migrant women through various
immigration policies
 Need more solidarity between women
Coalition building, organizing intergenerationally
As identified by Tess T. during the earlier panel discussion, effective alliance and coalition
building is an essential aspect of organizing for rights in various contexts. Some of the main
themes touched upon during this small group included:
9
For comprehensive analysis on this issue, see Sheila Batacharya, “Racism, “Girl Violence” and the
Murder of Reena Virk.” MA Thesis, University of Toronto: 2000. Available online:
<http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape3/PQDD_0017/MQ49780.pdf>.
10
See also Gerald Caplan, “Honour Killings in Canada even Worse than we Believe” Globe and Mail:
2010. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/gerald-caplan/honour-killings-incanada-even-worse-than-we-believe/article1650228/.>, “There is No Honour in Killing: VNC Statement on
the Shafia Murders in Canada”, Violence is Not Our Culture: Feb 2012, and “Quantifying the Hype, the
Shafia Case in Context” The Shameless Blog, March 2012: <http://shamelessmag.com/blog/2012/03/theshafia-case-in-context/>.
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Step by step organisation model used in Filipino community
meeting in houses, allows informal setting, building of trust
political discussion and social activities, as a way to build politically
need to find issues that unite people, goals that cross boundaries
Larger forums allow community members to discuss tenuous points
youth and elders have similar points = isolation
empowerment of individual, empower group
medical model is often used in service provision, and therefore experiences/skills are
often not transferred to fellow workers/feminists.
Sexuality, sexual orientation, safe spaces
Through the planning phase of the conference as well as during the morning session, the absence
of programming and dialogue dealing with this theme in particular was evident. Some very
important observations and discussions came out of this small group, including:
 Women don't know how to prioritize experiencing pleasure. How do women know/are
women supposed to feel pleasure (between and across generation)
 Idea that sexuality is not discussed within south asian cultures, but how is that the case
when South Asian culture is obsessed with marriage (and hence sex).
 Ways to discuss sex in a non-western way. i.e. can talk about sex-positivity without
reference to west
 don't need to talk about identity politics, i.e. “that's the domain of gay people”, instead,
need to talk about homosexuality across conversations
 when talking about sexual violence, need to also discuss sexual pleasure
 SAWCC: currently no infrastructure to have these discussions. Colonialism has imposed
its own values about how sex/sexuality should be talked about. Need to look into our
own herstories about how this is discussed.
Next steps, moving forward, strategies
Though participants and facilitators were exhausted at this point, there were some important
proposals for concrete strategies moving forward that came out of the final group discussion.
Of the three focus groups, some of the most concrete proposals came out of the discussions on
sex and sexuality. This may also largely be related to the fact that there is a lot of silence around
these issues in South Asian communities generally, and this certainly translates into a gap in
SAWCC’s programming, work and organizing.
Three main ideas were proposed:
 The creation of a space in which people can have group discussions conversations about
sex, with a focus on intergenerational conversation. Whether practical or not, this needs
to be discussed. Speak with contemporaries/allies first and then go into intergenerational
discuss.
 Film screenings organized by youth, with characters that don’t fall into sexual binaries.
The goal of these screenings would be to facilitate intergenerational dialogue around sex,
sexuality and gender identity within SAWCC, without imposing a conversation that is
personal and awkward
 Sexual education for youth
All three of these proposals form part of an ongoing discussion and plan for the next few months
for SAY. The monthly film screenings have already been actualized and are currently in their
fourth successful month, having previously screened Bol (2011), Amar Naam Salma (2009) and
Circumstance (2011). This discussion at the SAWCC forum was a direct catalyst in the
realization of these ideas, and there continues to be exciting energy and plans coming out of these
spaces.
With respect to the themes of coalition building and continuing the fight against VAW, there
were several strategies that were also proposed fro SAWCC as a centre, that it can concretely
implement to build awareness and solidarity around these issues.
 SAWCC needs to outline a strategy plan for the next 3 years, including:
 how it will access resources (e.g. consider fundraising through membership/community)
 Where SAWCC can go from here, overarching theme can focus on self-determination
(across various spheres – sexuality, financial, etc).
 Consider working towards a national committee
 There is a lack of a national committee (e.g. National Action Committee (NAC) on the
Status of Women)
 SAWCC has never made distinction between services and activism, it will therefore
continue to promote political activism
 Proposal: building network of migrant feminists across country. Next step: Working
group that can spearhead this project, building on networks that already exist (e.g.
Women of Diverse Origins, International Women's Alliance, etc).
Though these proposals have yet to materialize, the SAWCC conference-forum was an incredibly
important space to begin this discussion and create connections across generations of women in
our community, who all share common goals of an end to all forms of oppression against women.
The discussion groups were followed by a candle lighting ceremony, whereby participants
debriefed together and shared their experiences over the last couple of days. Most people
expressed their exhaustion at the amount of activity, information and intensity of the issues that
were addressed. However participants also expressed how much they had learned, as well as an
overwhelming deep sense of gratitude and empowerment that they felt at being present in the
room and engaging with so many powerful, extraordinary women and allies.
The second day of the conference closed with dinner and an enriching and diverse cultural show,
consisting of theatre, music, poetry and film.
DAY 3: In solidarity with Decolonize/Occupy Montreal!
The SAWCC conference-forum was also taking place during an interesting and powerful time for
political organizing work and movement building. In particular, the Occupy Wall Street
movement had exploded in cities across the world with hundreds of thousands of people
protesting growing income inequality and corporate greed in our modern capitalist system,
through camping out and occupying public space. Montreal was no exception, with Square
Victoria in the downtown financial district being transformed into the People’s Square, and
upwards of 100 tents creating a self sustaining community with food, music, artwork and daily
general assemblies.11
11
For a photo retrospective of the Occupy Montreal movement see:
<http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Photos+Occupy+Montreal+retrospective/5915651/story.html>.
On Sunday November 6th some SAWCC put together a small contingent from the conference to
go to People’s Square for a speak-out, to express our solidarity with the movement, but also to
interject an explicitly anti-racist perspective into the general dialogue, which, as some have noted,
had been conspicuously absent from the more mainstream anti-capitalist analysis coming out of
the Occupy movements.12 Farha Najah Hussain, Dolores Chew, Swathi Sekhar, Anne Caines
and Nighat Hussain proudly donned SAWCC t-shirts and took to the megaphone in front of a
small crowd, to speak about the fight for migrant justice, the importance of feminist analysis and
recognizing that the terrain of our struggles is on stolen Native land, the amazing
accomplishments of SAWCC and even some revolutionary Urdu poetry. This was all in the
context of acknowledging the efforts and strength of activists at Occupy/Decolonize Montreal. It
was a wonderful, revitalizing end to an already full and exciting weekend.
Closing Remarks
It is difficult to measure the impact that SAWCC has had in the Montreal area and elsewhere over
the last 30 years, let alone over the course of 3 days. Nevertheless the Migrant Feminisms
conference did demonstrate aspects of this, through engaging with SAWCC staff, members and
longtime allies, through an in depth examination of SAWCC”s programming, and through a
process of ongoing self-critique and strategizing of how we can best move forward in the future.
It is hoped that this report can serve as a tool to continue this process of reflection, and also to
begin realizing the amazing strength and resources that we already contain within our
movements. For the author, this weekend demonstrated the enormous power of intergenerational
dialogue, and of creating spaces where feminists from all walks of life can come together to
share, learn and strategize about how we will continue fighting until all of us are free.
For very interesting, experiential analysis on this issue, see Manissa McCleave Maharawal, “So Real it
Hurts- Notes on Occupy Wall Street” in Leftturn: notes from the global intifada, October 4, 2011 <
http://www.leftturn.org/so-real-it-hurts-notes-occupy-wall-street>, Ayesha Kazmi, “Why I am not
Protesting at Occupy”, Personal blog: AmericanPaki, December 6, 2011 <
http://americanpaki.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/why-i-am-not-protesting-at-occupy/> and Hena Ashraf,
“Why I am Protesting at Occupy”, a response to Ayesha Kazmi’s piece. In Front and Centre: critical voices
in the 99% < http://infrontandcenter.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/why-i-am-protesting-at-occupy/>.
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