A couple years ago, I wrote a blog post titled: An open letter to Donald Trump from a 15-year-old Canadian girl. In that article, I outlined my fears and concerns about what would transpire during these next few years with Donald Trump as President of the United States. I also shared some of my own suggestions for how Trump could go about truly ‘making America great again’. Unfortunately, just as I feared, it’s more than halfway through 2019 and Donald Trump is still President and he has continued to spew his racist, xenophobic, homophobic and misogynistic views through his words and his actions.

Recently, Trump has been unceasingly criticizing four congresswomen who have developed a reputation as “The Squad”. Each of these powerful women have carved a bold and unique path for themselves and they have proved time and time again that women like them belong in the seats of power in America. However, Trump seems to feel threatened by their boldness and what they stand for and he has continually denounced their opinions and actions.

Throughout his Presidency, Trump has continued to use Twitter as an outlet for his anger and as a tool for creating divisions. Last weekend, Trump sent out a thread of extremely racist and misogynistic tweets about these four women of colour and told them to “go back and fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”. The reality is that three out of these four women were actually born and raised in the United States and all of them are American citizens. It is clear that Trump will stop at nothing to make his racist beliefs seen and heard by all.

So who are these four women and why does Trump feel so threatened by them?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

• Grew up in a working class family in the Bronx
• Worked two jobs in restaurants to support her family after her father passed
• Defeated 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in 2018 to become the youngest ever US congresswoman at 29 years old
• Passionate advocate for women’s rights, immigrant rights, healthcare

Ilhan Omar

• Born in Somalia and came to Minneapolis as a refugee
• One of the first two Muslim congresswomen
• Introduced the ‘No Ban Act’ to go against the Muslim Ban that Trump introduced
• She has advocated for a living wage, access to healthcare and affordable housing

Rashida Tlaib

• First Palestinian-American congresswoman
• One of the first two Muslim congresswomen along with Ilhan Omar
• Her priorities include economic justice, Medicare, environmentalism, and protection of schools

Ayanna Pressley

• First African-American congresswoman from Massachussets
• Defeated 10-term incumbent Michael Capuano in 2018 
• She has spoken out as a survivor of sexual violence
• Passionate advocate for abortion rights

It’s clear that these women have accomplished a great many feats throughout their lives and during their time in Congress. As someone with a fragile ego and a close-minded agenda, it’s understandable that Donald Trump would be threatened by these powerful women. Instead of letting his words wash over them in silence, ‘The Squad’, came together to speak out against Trump’s bigotry. On July 15, they held a Press Conference where each of them shared a unified message and explained that “Our squad includes any person committed to creating a more equitable and just world.”

Take a few minutes to watch their press conference below:

As Ayanna Pressley stated in their press conference, “we should not take the bait” from Donald Trump. The reality is that this is simply a distraction from the real issues and action that needs to take place to restore justice in the United States. They explained how continuing to repeat and discuss his ignorant and abhorrent words would be exactly what Trump had intended. Trump’s government and policies are highly prejudiced, and this ‘scandal’ had the potential to serve as a distraction from them. Pressley shared that “What we are focused on is the hateful policies, which are draconian and oppressive and life-threatening and family-separating, which are being rolled out by this administration each day.” Instead of giving in, this incredible group of women have united together to show the country that women of colour are strong, capable, and just as American as anyone else.

Thanks for joining me in my journey to change the world!

–Diviya

On Friday September 21st, 2018, thousands of students across Ontario walked out of their classrooms in protest of the Ford government’s decision to revert the 2015 sex ed curriculum back to what it was in 1998. 17-year-old Rayne Fisher-Quann decided to take action and raise her voice about the harm that this decision could cause. She was able to rally more than 40 000 students to leave class to show the government, that we, the students, demand change and do not consent to this decision. I had the chance to chat with Rayne about her experiences and goals for the future.

Diviya: Can you tell me a bit about yourself and how you first got involved in politics and activism?

Rayne: “I’m 17 and in Grade 12 and I think I’ve always really tried to be involved with activism and to be politically active. I think that’s something that I think everyone can do, which is in itself a form of activism. It’s just being educated and knowing what’s going on, knowing what’s happening with politics. That’s something that I’ve always tried to do and something I think all young people can do as a form of activism. But obviously when I really started getting involved in politics was this summer and that was kind of when I made the switch. I had always been the person who went to rallies but never did any of my own stuff but then when Doug Ford changed the sex ed curriculum and the Indigenous curriculum it really affected me. Obviously it’s something I care about so much and that kind of inspired me to do that protest because he wasn’t listening to the students and I didn’t see any other young people speaking up at the time so I decided to do it, and obviously it was something that so many people really did care about.”

Diviya: Why do you think that it is so important for youth in our country to receive proper sex education?

Rayne: “I think that there’s a lot of answers to that. I think that kind of the amazing thing about the 2015 sex ed curriculum was that it had something for everybody. I think everybody in our province had a stake in the sex ed curriculum, whether they knew it or not. I think that the education that a generation of children receives absolutely will affect the state of the entire province even for generations, like the education that hundreds of thousands of children receive even for a few years will completely change the way that our province turns out. It’s so important, especially living in 2018, and living in the world that we live in. Our children need to be educated about all of the issues that concern modern society, and it’s so important that people know about consent and that people know about gender identity, even if that’s the issue that affects them personally. Even if it’s a straight, white, male guy who probably isn’t personally affected by knowing about gender identity or knowing about LGBTQ issues, it’s so important that everybody grows up to be tolerant and grows up to be respectful. Knowing those issues can make such a difference in how our most vulnerable groups in this province are treated.”

Diviya: What do you think is the importance of proper sex ed in educating young boys with regards to consent and rape, especially given what is currently happening in the US with the Kavanaugh hearing?

Rayne: “Yeah, obviously that’s something I’ve been following really closely. It’s also a particular issue that I’ve spoken out about and has a lot of relevance to myself. Something that I’ve talked a lot about in the media is my own experiences with sexual assault and sexual harassment and how for me almost daily I’m sexually harassed and how I’ve been sexually assaulted just by strangers in public many, many times. A lot of the time I think if any of those men and received an education and consent or had learned how to take no for an answer or learned how to pick up those signs, that probably wouldn’t be my experience and it probably wouldn’t be the experience of so many thousands of girls and even millions of girls around the world. I’ve talked to so many people who have said that before that curriculum, they couldn’t define consent. It’s so hard to exercise that autonomy if you can’t put words to it, if you don’t know that there are laws in place and you don’t know that this concept exists. Being able to put words to it and put words to a feeling is so important to be able to exercise that autonomy to yourself. It’s also so important for men to be aware of that concept too because again there’s there’s just so many guys who just honestly didn’t know that having sex with a drunk girl constitutes a breach of consent. There’s so many people who just didn’t learn that and there’s so many other cases where an education would have made such a difference.”

Diviya: How did it feel on the day of the walkout to see thousands of youth standing up for their rights alongside you?

Rayne: “It was definitely super overwhelming, literally right up until we started getting the numbers. I was scared to death that nobody was actually going to do it. It was really, really stressful, but once I saw it happening it was the most overwhelming feeling that I can possibly describe. I feel like as a teenage girl, which I’m sure is something you can relate to, it often feels like not a lot of people are on our side. It often feels like not a lot of people care what we have to say or think that our voice has value. But feeling that validation of seeing 40000 to 50000 youth across the province standing with me and working on something that I had worked on and really working together to work on this issue that so many people care about, that was such an amazing feeling. “

Diviya: Have you ever dealt with any gender-bias or discrimination as a young woman who is passionate about STEM?

Rayne: “Yeah, absolutely, I mean honestly just the response that I’ve received is so based on my gender. I’ve worked with and talked to a lot of guys over the course of this who are on my side and so many of them have said that if if it was them who ran this they wouldn’t have been receiving any of what I have been getting. Their response to everything that I’ve done has been so overwhelmingly based in gender. People on Twitter and 4chan are out calling me a slut and a whore and saying that I should just keep my mouth shut and look pretty, and it’s so overwhelmingly based on gender. I’ve explained that I go to the best school in Toronto for advanced math and science and I plan on going to MIT for my Ph.D. in theoretical physics. There’s definitely been a lot of discrimination going down that path. It’s so difficult even for people to see me as intelligent. I feel because of how I present and how I dress and how I look it’s a lot easier I think for people to assume that I’m not intelligent because there’s a lot of stigma and a lot of assumptions that people make when they see someone who is very feminine. Often when people want to be seen as smart they think that they have to dissociate themselves from femininity in order to do that. I know that stereotype of the smart girls who doesn’t wear makeup and wears glasses and that kind of stuff, and that’s never something that I’ve identified with. I’ve always wanted to look very feminine and wear makeup and wear dresses, but also be very smart and be very successful. That’s something that I think threatens a lot of people because a lot of them have never really seen that before. I’ve literally had people say ‘you want to go into theoretical physics, but you’re so pretty” that’s something that someone has actually said to me. There’s so much gender bias, especially in physics, which is such a male dominated field and it’s really frustrating. But I think that every single woman that goes into physics or goes into science is working to make that a little better.”

Diviya: How have you dealt with any negativity or resistance towards the message you are trying to spread?

Rayne: “It has been really difficult. A lot of the time I just try to brush it off and try to make a joke out of it. But it can be really scary sometimes. I’ve gotten death threats and rape threats and stuff like that and it can be really scary, especially because a lot of them know where I go to school and have a general idea of where I live. Yeah, so it can be scary but I think that all of the hate that I’ve gotten has almost made me more resolute towards the cause. It’s made me realize how important that education is. When people’s first response to seeing a young woman use her voice is saying “I hope she gets raped”, that’s clearly a statement on the state of our education and the state of education that they received. While it can honestly be really difficult to see all and to see so much of it, it’s almost made me believe more strongly in the cause.“

Diviya: Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

Rayne: “I think that obviously I’m always going to be involved in activism, that’s something that I want to do for my whole life. I really hope that I won’t have to fight this fight much longer. I hope that Doug Ford will make the changes that we want him to, but I’ll keep fighting this for as long as it’s necessary. But in the next five years I’m just planning on going to university and getting my degree, and I’m hoping to be starting my master’s degree by then.”

Diviya: What actions can Ontario youth take to further your message and advocate for this issue?

Rayne: “Like I said, I honestly think that one of the most radical actions that any young person can take is just being educated and being aware and being involved in politics. You don’t have to do anything really crazy or hard to do that. All you have to do is read the news and vote when you’re old enough, that’s so important. Honestly just being an educated youth and being politically involved is so important in getting us the respect that we so badly need right now. Right now the most important thing that youth can actually do is participate in the Ford government’s consultations because they have actually opened their sex ed consultations but they’re kind of trying to hide it. They haven’t released a statement that they’ve opened it and they’re trying to spread the message that it’s only for the parents, even though that’s not true. Anybody can be involved in these consultations, and you can submit as many as you want, so it’s so important that if you care about this, submit a response every single day. Be involved in those consultations and make your voice heard, that’s the most important thing we can do right now.“

If you would like to participate in these consultations about the future of Ontario’s education, go to https://www.ontario.ca/page/for-the-parents.

Thank you so much Rayne for allowing me to ask you a few questions!

Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!

-Diviya

A few weeks ago, myself and nine incredible Canadian youth set off on a journey that would change all of our lives forever. As Youth Advocates for Plan International Canada’s #ChangetheBirthStory campaign, we were given the opportunity to travel to Ghana to see the programs we support in action.

Change the Birth Story is a campaign run by Plan International Canada that is working to improve access to healthcare for women and girls during pregnancy and childbirth around the world. The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness and support for programs being implemented in countries including Bangladesh, Ghana, Haiti, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique. The goal of these programs is to contribute to the reduction of maternal and child mortality in targeted regions among marginalized and vulnerable women, especially adolescent girls and children. Plan is working to change the birth story by training health care providers, engaging men and boys as proactive partners and delivering sexual and reproductive health and rights education through local partners. They have also helped to establish Adolescent Clubs, Daddies’ Clubs, and Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) to strengthen the community.

There are 30 Youth Advocates spread out across Canada who I am working with to collect endorsements as part of the Change the Birth Story campaign. Our goal is to show the government that Canadians care about these issues and want funding to continue to go towards this project. An endorsement can look like a written signature, an online signature, or a picture of raised hands at a larger presentation. Over the course of this year, each of us will be collecting 500 endorsements of support from Canadians by word of mouth, giving talks, and raising awareness on social media.

Shortly after our Youth Advocate Training for this year, 10 of us were chosen to embark on an incredible trip to Ghana to enhance our understanding of this project. The purpose of this trip was to facilitate an exchange of knowledge and experience with Ghanaian and Canadian youth. Throughout our trip, all of us were able to form deep and lasting relationships with individuals who have been directly impacted by this project.

After a long 24 hours of travelling, we arrived in Accra, the capital of Ghana. On our first day we visited the Legon Botanical Garden where we were able to explore and appreciate the natural beauty of Ghana.

On our second day we left Accra and got on a 3 hour bus ride to the Volta region where we we met the 10 Ghanaian youth who had been selected from their communities. They are each leaders of their Adolescent clubs in their communities and they are all incredibly kind and motivated. Throughout the week, we visited community projects and participated in workshops together.

During our trip, we had the opportunity to visit three communities in the Volta region. We were welcomed by the entire community each time and then had the chance to sit in on some group and club meetings.

One of my favourite meetings we sat in on was the Daddies’ Club where there were 40 men in attendance. They participated in an activity where they compared male and female gender roles in their community discussed how they can support their wives in the household. They came together to find ways they can help that included cooking, sweeping, washing, caring for children, and taking their wives to the clinic or hospital during pregnancy.

We also sat in on a Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) meeting that is a savings groups where community members to come together to support each other financially. These community-based groups are locally run support systems that benefit all members. In order to be a part of this group, each member must contribute a small share. During medical or financial emergencies, any member is able to rely on the group for support. After only one year of this group, they were able to afford things like children’s school supplies and roofing maintenance.

In many of the communities that this project is working in, youth are involved in Adolescent Clubs. These groups provide a safe space for discussions to take place about topics including reproductive rights, healthy lifestyles and the importance of education. We watched as the youth participated in games, activities, and drama performances to demonstrate their learning.
On the second day of project visits, we had the chance to sit in on a meeting with the Community Health Committee who are all volunteers. When asked why they joined the Committee the volunteers explained that they simply wanted to save lives in their community. In this community, the closest hospital is one hour away by car and there is only one car in their community that is able to provide emergency transport. The Committee members want to see improvements in education, access to transportation, and learning facilities. They are inspired to continue their work to continue helping people in their community.

How is the birth story changing?

• Youth are being empowered by learning about their rights
• Teen pregnancies are decreasing rapidly
• Male engagement is increasing
• Community members are able to rely on each other for financial support during times of crisis
• Access to safe and quality maternal, newborn and child healthcare is steadily improving
• Communities are eager to ensure that these projects can be sustained in the future

My Biggest Takeaways

1. Ghanaians are courageously kind people
2. They are incredibly generous and welcoming
3. Communities are open-minded and eager to make a better life for themselves and their children
4. They are able to have conversations about important topics that are often taboo in Canadian culture
5. Western culture is very isolating – it is important to let down our walls to discover the power of community
6. We all have a story worth sharing and fighting for

I learned so much simply from having conversations with young people who have grown up in very different circumstances, but still share the same passion for achieving gender equality. This trip has truly left me with an open mind, a reignited passion, and a full heart.
If you would like to support me in reaching my goal of 500 endorsements, click here to sign your name and show the Government of Canada that these issues matter to Canadians.

Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!

-Diviya

“Freedom of speech is not freedom to propagate hatred”

-Simon Wiesenthal

A few months ago I came across this quote in a poster created by the ‘Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies‘, that was advertising an exciting speech competition called ‘Speakers Idol’. This contest gives Ontario youth the opportunity to enhance their writing skills and public speaking abilities, while exploring real world issues that matter to young people. After doing more research, I learned that Simon Wiesenthal was an inspirational Holocaust survivor, Nazi hunter, and writer. This organization is committed to honouring his legacy through Holocaust education, and Speakers Idol is a platform for youth to learn more about his story and give their perspective on one of his quotes.

I found his assertion to be very intriguing, so I put my pen to paper and developed a three-minute speech that I sent in along with hundreds of other applicants across Ontario. I was very excited to have made it past the semi-finalist round and into the finalist round that took place on March 27th at the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts. It was a truly unforgettable experience to stand alongside 9 passionate and eloquent young people who are all raising their voices.

Below you can find a written transcript of my speech, as well as a video that was filmed.

Our world’s history is fraught with a long line of malicious and corrupt rulers who have caused tremendous pain, violence, and suffering for millions. Each of these heinous leaders share the corrupt ideology that the freedom to spread hatred is an extension of freedom of speech. Many years ago, Simon Wiesenthal, an influential Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter affirmed that “Freedom of speech is not freedom to propagate hatred.” This statement was true during the Holocaust in World War II, and it is still relevant in 2018. However, I believe that the deep-rooted meaning of his assertion is that uncontrolled hate speech leads to the rise of evil power.

Freedom of speech is a fundamental component of a just and democratic society. However, what many people fail to recognize is that Canada was not created simply on the basis of freedom – our country was born out of a dream for justice and equality for all. Freedom of speech can only function within an equitable society if reasonable limits are placed on the extent to which individuals can express their opinions about others.

During the early 1900s, as Adolf Hitler began expressing his abhorrence for the Jewish population, others began listening to his words and felt justified in expressing their own latent hateful beliefs. During World War II, the Nazis used their power to deny the basic humanity of an entire religious group. The devastation caused by Hitler’s reign is a powerful example of the snowball effect that one person can create by abusing their freedom of speech.

More than seventy years after World War II ended, this snowball effect can be observed once again in the global political theater. During the 2016 US election, Donald Trump capitalized on the nation’s fears and exposed the suppressed attitudes of a subsection of the American people, empowering his followers to begin turning their thoughts into action. The impact of the Donald Trump era has demonstrated the importance of drawing the line between constructive conversation and blatant discrimination.

Simon Wiesenthal emphasised that hate speech serves no purpose to our society except to further silence those already stripped of their voices and humanity. As Canadians, it is essential that we work to preserve and protect our shared values and beliefs by calling out hate speech when we hear it, putting pressure on our government to continue enacting change to protect marginalized groups, and giving our support to victims of hate speech. It is only when clear lines are drawn between free speech and hate speech that discrimination will cease, and inclusivity will prevail.

If you are interested in learning more about the incredible work that this organization is implementing, check out their website at: https://www.friendsofsimonwiesenthalcenter.com/

I am honoured to have had this opportunity to share my passion, and I am very grateful to the organizers and judges who helped to ensure that Speakers Idol 2018 was such a success!

Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!

-Diviya

Living in Canada, news of a pregnancy is often associated with love, celebration, and the excitement of bringing a new life into the world. Regular checkups take place, baby showers are held, and women and girls have access to the care and resources they need and deserve. However, in developing nations, mothers and their babies are often faced with difficulties and complications that result in death.

The harsh reality is that complications surrounding pregnancy and childbirth are the second leading cause of death for young women worldwide. Each day more than 800 women and girls die due to these complications, and  unfortunately, 99% of these maternal deaths occur in developing nations. Globally, approximately 2 million girls under the age of 15 fall pregnant each year. An additional 2.7 million newborn babies lose their lives each year, equivalent to the population of Toronto.

Issues and Barriers:

In developing countries, young women and girls face numerous barriers and delays to receiving the proper care and resources necessary for a healthy pregnancy and childbirth. These barriers include the recognition of complications, the capacity to seek care, available transportation to care, and receiving skilled care from qualified professionals.

The Cause:

The sad truth behind these injustices is entrenched in the inequality of the sexes and the cultural notion that women and girls are subordinate to men. In many parts of the world, women and their bodies are not given the respect and care that they deserve. Unfortunately, this translates over to a lack of access to resources and education, increased gender-based violence, decreased decision-making opportunities, and increased rates of early marriage and pregnancy. Around the world, women are continually denied their reproductive rights and their ability to make decisions about themselves and their bodies. As a result of the injustices they face, they are left unable to make decisions about the timing or amount of children they wish to bring into the world.

Change the Birth Story:

I am very excited to be working with Plan International Canada as one of their Youth Advocates who are working to raise awareness about their Change the Birth Story campaign. Plan is working with 4.7 million people in 5 countries around the world – Bangladesh, Ghana, Haiti, Nigeria, and Senegal. They are working closely with communities to increase access to resources and care so that women and children can receive proper health services. Additionally, they are engaging entire communities including men and boys to raise awareness about the diverse needs of women, girls, and their male partners. Plan is making a real and lasting impact in the lives of millions of women, girls, and their children around the world.

Your Name has Power:

My role as a Youth Advocate is to educate and inspire the Canadian public to take action on this issue and endorse the meaningful change that Plan is implementing globally. Over the course of this year, I will be collecting 1000 endorsements of support from Canadians across the country. Your name and 60 seconds has the power to amplify this campaign and truly change the birth story in developing countries.

Click HERE to sign your name and help #changethebirthstory!

Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!

-Diviya