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Mary Two-Axe Earley was a Mohawk activist for women’s rights from the Kahnawake (one of the members of the Six Nations/Iroquois Confederacy) reserve in Quebec, Canada. Growing up, Two-Axe Earley cared a great deal about the family and the community. In the 20s, Two-Axe Earley married a man named Edward Earley of American descent and gave birth to a boy and a girl.

Two-Axe Earley was very gingered when it came to activism and Indigenous rights. The  Indian Act of 1876 stated in section 12(1)(b) — removed land and treaty rights for Status Indian women who married non-Status Indian men. With the section outlined, Status Indian men were able to pass down their status to their wives and children, however Status Indian women could not as they had technically lost their status, once they married out of the culture. The only way to keep or regain status was to marry a Status Indian man.

Mary Two-Axe Earley strived to fight against the injustices and oppression that the Indian Act bestowed upon Status Indian women. In 1966, one of her friends died of a heart attack (Mary believed it was due to stress from the property laws from the Indian Act). Mary began to express her anger and frustration in regards to the lack of Indigenous Women’s rights. In 1967, Two-Axe Earley associated herself with Indian Rights for Indian Women, a group dedicated to advocate for Inidgenous women and resist gendered colonialism.

During her life, Two-Axe Earley was able to spearhead a quest for equal rights for Indigenous women. In 1968, her outcry to amend the portions of the Indian Act relating to women was heard by the Royal Commission. This plea can now be recognized as Bill C-31.

Two-Axe Earley became a strong voice speaking at conferences, commissions and hearings worldwide in search of justice, human rights and the equality for Indigenous women before the law.  Most recently, she was awarded a Governor General’s Award, an Honorary Doctorate of Law from York University, and a National Aboriginal Achievement Award for her part in instating Bill C-31.

By virtue of her Herculean efforts, treaty rights have been reclaimed, post-secondary education and healthcare is now accessible to women of Indigenous descent. Mary Two-Axe Earley served as an example and a servant to the community advocating for changes to occur concerning women who had been marginalized by the Indian Act.

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Women in Canadian History: Mary Two-Axe Earley

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In a period where women receiving a higher education was seen as something that could render them physically and mentally inept, the Irish-Anglican woman, Clara Brett Martin made groundbreaking achievements for herself and many when she graduated from Trinity College, Toronto, with a B.A. in a male-dominated field such as Mathematics at the age of 16.

Martin was determined to become a lawyer, but she was challenged by the patriarchal prejudices of her time. In 1891, she applied to the Law Society of Upper Canada, but was refused due to her gender.

In that time period, women were seen as litigators, witnesses and accused in court, but were prohibited from becoming voters, legislators, magistrates, judges, and jurors.

Martin sought support from powerful confidantes such as Ontario Premier Oliver Mowat, and prominent activists Emily Stowe and Lady Aberdeen. They collectively helped her to petition for a bill to be passed as legislation a year after her rejection, in 1892 that permitted women to be admitted to levels of higher education, and in turn allowed them to become solicitors.

Initially, Martin articled with the Toronto firm of Mulock, Miller, Crowther, and Montgomery in 1893. There, she was maltreated and belittled by hostile male figures until she decided to switch over to the Toronto firm of Blake, Lash and Cassels, where she could finish her articleship and shortly after, begin her career as a lawyer.

Martin began working with Lady Aberdeen and Ontario Premier Oliver Mowat to pass legislation regarding women becoming barristers. The Law Society was reluctant to allow this and even tried to prevent her, but with the support of these two powerful bencher’s of the Society, legislation was able to be passed.

On February 2nd 1897, Martin became the first female lawyer in the British Empire . She graduated from Trinity University, Toronto, with a Concurrent Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.) between 1897-1899. With new measures in place at teh Law Society, Martin was called to the bar of Ontario and entered into partnership with Shilton & Wallbridge and was further recognized as the first Canadian woman to be awarded the degree of Bachelor of Laws (LL.B).

Despite rarely ever being in court due to social turmoil, Martin was able to make groundbreaking achievements that would allow for women to become representatives of the law today.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was an American social civil rights activist, baptist, and spokesperson. He thrived in civil disobedience as he participated in peaceful marches and protests towards black civil rights and desegregation throughout the 50s and the 60s.

Despite King’s “comfortable” upbringing, he was still previewed to prejudices and racism in the South. In his adult years, he led a multitude of individuals who had been segregated for years to a path of freedom and equality.

King is more commonly known for his role in the great March on Washington of 1963 which aimed to achieve civil rights for the blacks. He also spoke at the memorial service of President Abraham Linclon, where he gave his universally historic speech, “I Have a Dream”, which aimed to express his dream of living in a world where whites and blacks could live in unity and in harmony.

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was created by virtue of Mr. King’s efforts. This Act put an end to the segregation of races in public places, as well prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion and nationality. In that same year, King was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. This act however, did not give blacks the same voting privileges as whites.

In 1965, King encouraged a group of activists to peacefully protest the unequal voting rights in Alabama. That year, a bill giving blacks voting rights was passed by Congress and signed into law.

King continued his journey by vying for economic equality. In 1968, King who had been attending a strike concerning employment was shot and assassinated by a sniper who had expressed deep hatred for King.

Despite his short service of 10 years, King was able to achieve many advancements that would lead to the creation of laws and the freedom of blacks all over America.

In 1986, a tradition began where King was honoured by the whole country for one day, Martin Luther King Day. His efforts to achieve social justice and political change were recognized in Washington in 2011.

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On Friday, November 8, 1946, Viola Desmond had taken a business trip to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, when her car broke down near a segregated theatre. That evening, Desmond decided to attend the 7 p.m. screening at the segregated Roseland Theatre while her car was in for repairs. Upon her arrival, Desmond asked for a one-down ticket to sit on the main floor, however Peggy Melanson, the white ticket seller on duty that night, passed her a ticket to the balcony and 70 cents of change. Viola was not aware of her ticket category and proceeded to the main floor. Prima Davis, the ticket collector that evening told Viola that she was not supposed to be there because of her ticket category. Thinking that there was some sort of misunderstanding, Viola returned to the ticket seller to exchange her ticket, where she was told that it was not possible because they did not sell tickets of the main floor to people of color.

She challenged this racial segregation and returned to her seat in the lower part of the theater. Henry MacNeil, manager of the Roseland Theatre, demanded numerous times that she move under the pretext that the ticket says the theater has the right to refuse admission to any objectionable person. The evening ended when she refused to obey the authority of the police, and was dragged out of the theatre by her limbs, to be put in jail overnight. On Friday, November 8, 1946, Viola Desmond was arrested for refusing to relinquish her seat in a white section of a movie theater in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Her singular act of courage was a catalyst in the fight for racial equality that ultimately ended segregation in Nova Scotia.

Upon her arrest, Viola had been charged with breaking the provincial theater, cinemas and entertainment laws of 1915. This law did not contain any explicit provision regarding racial segregation. At the time, Canada did not have laws similar to Jim Crow's which stipulated that races remained distinct, however many Canadian companies, like the Roseland Theater, enforced unwritten rules on segregation. It also stipulated that patrons had to pay a tax on tickets purchased at provincial theaters and that those who entered a theater without paying for such speeches were liable to summary conviction and a fine. The law based the rate of the amusement tax on the ticket price, the ticket price for the Roseland Theater was $ 0.40 for the bottom seats and $ 0.30 for the top seats, this included $ 0.03 ticket tax downstairs and $ 0.02 upstairs tax. The ticket that Viola had been issued was designated for the balcony seats, and by virtue of that she was issued the change for the balcony seat as well. Henry McNeal, Peggy Melanson and Prima Davis gave evidence under oath against Desmond. They said, since she had insisted on sitting downstairs, she was missing $ 0.01. Three white witnesses briefly testified that the accused bought a ticket upstairs and paid $ 0.02 in taxes, then insisted on seeing herself downstairs, despite the fact that she offered to pay for the main level seat and tax.

Magistrate McKay immediately convicted the accused of a minimum fine of $ 20 with the cost of $ 6 payable to the prosecutor. It was clear that Desmond's real offence was to violate the implied rule that black people should sit in balcony seats, separated from white people on the ground floor. MacNeil argued that there was no official provision stating that black people could not sit on the main floor, but it was "customary, ” for Black persons to sit together on the balcony. The case was based on free trade and a person's right not to be discriminated against on the basis of race, creed or gender.

Despite efforts by the black community in Nova Scotia to help her appeal, Viola Desmond was unable to overturn the charges against her and was punished during her lifetime. If Desmond had not taken further action in this case, the remaining trial records would leave no "precedent" of this case. Change did not happen quickly, but Desmond's courageous refusal to accept an act of racial discrimination inspired subsequent generations of blacks, who were no longer willing to endure life as second class citizens in New Glawsgow, and the rest of Canada.

In 1954, segregation came to an end legally in Nova Scotia in large part thanks to the courageous determination of Viola Desmond and others who fought to be treated as equal human beings. Viola’s actions went down in history and greatly influenced the areas of the Charter of Rights & Freedoms, contextualizing equality (section 15.1), as well as arrest (section 10). Decades after her death, Viola Desmond's story began to gain public attention, mainly through the efforts of her sister Wanda Robson. In 2010, Lieutenant Governor Mayann Francis pardoned Desmond and granted her with a posthumous pardon, the first to be granted in Canadian history.

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Malala Yousefzai, commonly known as Malala, is a female education activist from Pakistan. Born to an educational advocate of a father like Ziauddin Yousefzai, Malala grew up enriched in knowledge and activism. At a tender age, Malala’s passion for education grew as she spent much of her time focused on the learning institution.

In 2007, the Taliban, a fundamentalist religious group in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan began to terrorize and take control over Malala’s community. In turn, anyone born of the female gender was banned from attending school. Malala and her father stood firm in their values, not succumbing to the stronghold the Taliban had put over them. Malala’s conviction to her right to education made a great impact on the country of Pakistan amongst other countries. In taking action, she began to anonymously blog about her tribulating experiences on popular broadcasting sites. Over the course of time, Malala’s voice and outcry to have free quality education for all, began to be heard ubiquitously.

In 2011, Malala was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize, and was awarded the Nation’s Youth Peace Prize. A year later, Malala was shot by the Taliban for defying the “law” and expressing her right to be educated. Soon after the shooting had taken place, Malala was sent to an ICU in Birmingham, England, where she would undergo multiple surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation, and later begin schooling. The news of what had happened struck the world with a new sense of awareness. In 2013, Malala was invited to speak at the headquarters of the United Nations. She later published a book titled, “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.” That same year, Malala was awarded the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Travelling the world and sharing her story, Malala had touched the hearts of millions and inspired many to speak up and revolt against the oppression of rights. In 2014, Malala became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, where she once again spoke about her support of female education.

More recently, Malala and her father established an organization called the Malala Fund to advocate for, inspire, motivate and support females receiving education and becoming transformational leaders.

With many leaders today becoming more aware of the change in values, laws regarding education being a fundamental right for all are becoming more popular.

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Malala Yousafzai - The right to learning should be given to any child