The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, prides himself on being a feminist. In a visit to the University of Chicago, on 7 Feb. 2018, he said, “You don’t define yourself by what you get from the world, but what you give to the world.” He has stated several times that he and his wife are raising feminist children because that is what we need to do to make the world better. In fact, in October 2017, Trudeau published an essay on MarieClaire.com, titled “Why I’m Raising My Kids To Be Feminists”. This exclusive article received 65 thousand views and was praised quite a lot.
In the article, Trudeau says, “Feminism is not just the belief that men and women are equal. It’s the knowledge that when we are all equal, all of us are more free. It’s a relentless commitment to look for ourselves in each other, because that’s how we start to build a world where everyone is treated with respect and recognition. And it’s the unwavering conviction that all people have the same rights and freedoms—that my rights are your rights, and it is only when your rights are fully protected that mine are, too.” He makes a wonderful argument and truly has a talent for using words in his favor. However, what most people don’t realize is that Trudeau is manipulating the Canadian public, as well his international audience.
Yes, Trudeau has an equal amount of men and women in his cabinet. Yes, Trudeau has gotten Canada to adopt Sweden’s feminism policy. But, in his essay and speech at UChicago, Trudeau talks about building a world where everyone is equal, not just a country. So, while Trudeau is doing great things for his country, Canada, he has failed to make the world a better place.
In late 2014, the Liberal Party signed a deal with Saudi Arabia; it was an arms deal. It was around a $10 billion (Canadian) dollar deal that the Liberal Party was obstinate about signing. In fact, when there was outrage over it, the Canadian government lied and said that they could not do anything to cancel the deal. However, they had fair suspicions that the Saudi Arabian government could use these Canadian-made weapons on their civilians. In 2015, Trudeau became Prime Minister of Canada. So, why go through with the deal if it impacts the world negatively? After all, aren’t Trudeau’s speeches about creating positive influences for a globally positive impact?
Saudi Arabia is a government known for its harsh restrictions placed on women, along with the women’s rights violations that occur there. Women cannot have their own bank account, get married, or wear the clothing of their choice unless given male consent. According to the Canada Broadcasting Corporation, nine million Saudi Arabian women and girls’ rights are violated every year. That’s nine million women out of approximately 14 million women. So, next time Justin Trudeau calls himself a feminist, just remember that he’s the leader of the party who worked hard to gain a deal with a sexist country.
Photo Credits: Instagram of UChicago
