Inuit model Willow Allen calls out 'horrifying' treatment of Indigenous women being forcibly sterilized in Canada
The 25-year-old mother urged people to read articles and stories about women who went through the "devastating" experience.
A model in Canada is calling out the "horrifying" treatment thousands of Indigenous women have experienced when it comes to sterilization. Willow Allen, an Inuit model and content creator, took to social media on Wednesday to share a video where she talks about the forced sterilization reportedly happening in the country.
Last summer, the Associated Press reported that Indigenous women in Canada are still being forcibly sterilized despite other countries stopped the practice decades ago. The article, published in July 2023, explained a doctor was penalized that past May for a 2019 surgery where he took both fallopian tubes out of an Indigenous woman without her consent.
"Just imagine if I told you that after I gave birth to my baby, they tied me down and forcibly sterilized me," Allen, 25, said in her clip. "That is so unimaginably devastating and horrifying.
"Imagine you're a young girl, you're going through a completely irrelevant medical procedure and they forcibly sterilize you without your knowledge or consent. Decades go by and you wonder why you can't conceive and you learn you were forcibly sterilized and you can never have a baby."
Allen continued to say at least 12,000 women were forcibly sterilized, which was a number Sen. Yvonne Boyer told the Associated Press last year while her office collected data about the situation. According to Boyer, those cases have all occurred since the 1970s.
Continuing her message in her clip, Allen added the last known instance of this occurring was in 2019. Back then, an obstetrician-gynecologist treated an Inuit woman in Yellowknife who had abdominal pain and ultimately chose to sterilize her without her consent.
"As a mother, to think somebody has the right to do that simply because I'm Indigenous ... is absolutely horrifying," Allen, who gave birth to son August Rivers on Jan. 20, 2024, said at the end of her message.
In the caption to her video, Allen encouraged people to read about some of the testimonials and articles telling the stories of women who have experienced forced or coerced sterilization. One story she noted in particular is that of activist Morningstar Mercredi, who spoke to CBC Radio about being sterilized at age 14 and now wanting the practice to be criminalized.
On Instagram and TikTok, Allen's posts received numerous comments from people who were shocked to hear about the situation.
"Devastating and unacceptable. It isn't right. My heart breaks for all those women," someone shared.
"It is quite shocking and sheds a lot of light on why some of my ancestors denied being indigenous to protect themselves on many fronts," someone else wrote.
"That’s horrific!!! OMG, how did this happen in 2019," one person questioned.
"Thank you for using your voice and experience to educate," a viewer penned.
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