Love trumps hate: the new faces of feminism

In a special edition of Campus from Washington -- looking at the changing face of feminism in the aftermath of the now historic Women's March. We followed three Canadian university students to dig into why there's such a strong sense that women's rights are now at a tipping point.

CBC Radio · Posted: Jan 27, 2017 7:45 AM EST | Last Updated: February 2, 2017

In a special edition of Campus from Washington -- looking at the changing face of feminism in the aftermath of the now historic Women's March. We followed three Canadian university students, each with unique personal backgrounds, to dig into why there's such a strong sense that women's rights are now at a tipping point.

Election Day

November 8th, 2016 was supposed to go down in history as the day that Hillary Clinton became the first female president of the United States.

At least that's what three Canadian students, Tasha Donnelly, Anchal Bhatia and Alexandra Harvey, thought.

Alexandra left the library early that day to go home and celebrate what she believed was a foregone conclusion.

But as the night progressed, it started becoming clear that Donald Trump was going to be the 45th American president. When it was all over, the results shocked Alexandra.

Anchal also felt stunned and worried. "Like how backwards are we going to go?"

Like how backwards are we going to go?

For Tasha, this was so much more than an election. It was supposed to be "a beacon within history… A point of possibilities and irrefutable evidence that progress has come."

Supporters of U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton react at her election night rally in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 8, 2016. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

November 9th, 2016

The news and its implications triggered a defensive response from Tasha. "I thought, I'm not in the U.S. I'm not directly connected to this. I need to keep living my life and not get get trapped in some kind of despondency for a presidency that's not even mine."

Alexandra, a budding journalist, who cops to the privileges in a life that has protected her from sexism, was suddenly beginning to feel the full weight of misogyny. "I had somehow lost this hope inside of me. And a lot of this kind of feeling of security and accomplishment."

For Anchal, the election of Donald Trump signalled an affront to not just women's rights, but to all human rights. The three women couldn't sit idly by and watch it happen.

Tasha Donnelly

Tasha's work in sexual assault prevention was informed by having to protect herself from a stalker ex-boyfriend. After years of constant vigilance and keeping a lookout for him, she realized she wasn't responsible for his behaviour, he was. We teach women [the same way]. 'Don't get raped…'"

We teach women [the same way]. Don't get raped…

"I had someone telling me at the time 'This wasn't your fault this is related to someone else's choices.' I realize for myself I had very much internalised that it was my job not to aggravate him not to draw his attention."

Anchal Bhatia

Anchal's feminist journey began at home. Coming from a traditional South Asian family, there was always an implication that women weren't as intelligent as men. As she got older, Anchal realized that this was deeply concerning.

Justice League, along with Black Lives Matter made their presence felt at the Women's March on Washington. (Sean Brocklehurst)

One day, she voiced her opinion. "I started calling my parents out on it and I started calling my family out on it. To a degree was very frustrating."

It led to some in her family begrudgingly admitting that she'd make a good lawyer one day, but they'd still always remind her, "you know, just remember that you're not a lawyer here."

Alexandra Harvey

Alexandra remembers being 16 or 17 and taking issue with her school slogan. Emblazing "Girls can do anything" on the walls of an all-girls school felt too obvious.

"I felt very strongly that a boys school would never have the slogan 'boys can do anything!'"

So she wrote an op-ed in her school newspaper taking the school to task. For her, the slogan should have been "a bit more celebratory of women, and the accomplishments we had made, rather than stating something that was so obvious."

This was Alexandra's introduction to activism, and sparked her journey to discovering her identity as a feminist.

Two Muslim women at the the march in Washington, DC, U.S., January 21, 2017. (Sean Brocklehurst )

Marching on Washington

Ultimately, it's no surprise that all three women dropped everything to be at the Women's March on Washington.

"I think this march is really important for me personally because I think I've finally come to the point where I'm done being scared," says Anchal.

I'm done being scared.

The trip to Washington gave Alexandra the opportunity to march for all the women that couldn't. For her, it was simply too important to miss. "If not now, when? The time is now. We need to make people realize that. We're not going to back down."

Going to the U.S. capital was the only option for Tasha. "I feel that I have to go because I really want to live that myself and know that the end of the day I put in long hours."

She says she needed to "get down there, put my feet on the ground and use the only voice I've got, which is mine, and tell people 'I'm not standing for this.'"

Hundreds of thousands march down Pennsylvania Avenue during the Women's March in Washington, DC, U.S., January 21, 2017. (Bryan Woolston/Reuters)

The new feminist movement

For countless people, including Tasha, Anchal and Alexandra, the campaign and election of Donald Trump triggered a new feminist movement.

"I think we're seeing a rise of a feminism that promotes unity and promotes love as the main goal, promotes equality," says Anchal.

Tasha agrees; "People are going to find it's not that they have to be in their silos fighting for what they need.

Regardless of any opposition that might come their way, all three women are driven to always keep fighting. For Alexandra, it's been truly inspiring.

"I definitely feel like the fire within me has been lit. And just after this weekend, I feel very empowered, and I definitely feel more of a sense that one person really can make a difference and that it's really like the small day to day decisions that we all make, to actually create change."