Canada: Women's program cuts raise feminist ire

Article here. Excerpt:

'The Harper government's latest showdown with women's rights groups, suggests the time has come for Canadian women -- and men -- to reclaim the word feminist. Bring it back to its mainstream roots.

A day after Conservative Senator Nancy Ruth warned aid groups that they risk a backlash if they don't "shut the f---up," news reports revealed Status of Women funding for at least 14 women's groups wasn't renewed for the current fiscal year.

According to the government, these organizations are victims of limited resources, even though they do valuable work that advances the cause of women's health, rights and equality.

So what does feminism have to do with it?

If the word were used properly, there would be less of a divide that occurs when programs rightly or wrongly get cut. Feminism simply means a belief that all people are equal, regardless of gender.

Most voting Canadians are feminists, they just might not know it. Even many men are feminists by the true definition of the word. Anyone who believes it's wrong to discriminate against the opposite sex because of their gender, falls into this category, whether they want to admit it or not.'