This was International Women's Day outside Parliament Hill

The scene inside Parliament hill was quite optimistic on March 8. It’s been a century since the majority of Canadian women received the right to vote — and on Wednesday, in celebration of International Women’s Day, more than 338 young women representing each federal riding in Canada took a seat in a closed session at the House of Commons to highlight women’s suffrage.

The Daughters of the Vote delegates were young, between the ages of 18 and 23, and were chosen our of over 1,500 applicants by Equal Voice — an organization that pushes for parity in Canadian politics.

Shortly before noon, the scene outside Parliament Hill was remarkably subdued. Although women’s rights were still on the forefront of minds from the people we spoke to, it didn’t draw the anticipated crowds that the marches brought forth in late January (where a reported 120,000 Canadians participated in over 35 sister marches across the globe, included thousands who protested down Laurier Ave. in Ottawa).

We asked visitors to the Hill about their views on Women’s Day and what it means to them — their outlooks were optimistic and eye-opening. The majority stated that it’s a day to honour the achievements and victories our female ancestors made and hopefully inspire present and future generations.

“It’s a day to think about all the people who have suffered, but it’s also a day to be hopeful, and to think about the future,” one woman said, as she pointed at her 16-year-old niece. See more responses in the video below.

Even if there weren’t thousands of protesters rallying on the streets, activists were showing their support in other productive areas. The ONE Campaign marked International Women’s Day with a massive coordinated push for girls’ education that included Parliamentary walk-ins, United Nations walk-ins, policy reports and open letters urging leaders to help every girl get a quality education. It was one of the largest (ever) lobby days for girls’ rights and took place in 107 cities and 12 countries.

Selmor Mtukudzi was a key part of the lobby. Mtukudzi is a musician, a woman’s activist from Zimbabwe and a major ambassador for the ONE campaign. She believes that one prime way to bring change in this world is through education. Mtukudzi visited Ottawa for International Women’s Day and met with MPs to discuss the importance of girls education and the corresponding challenges females face worldwide.

According to ONE, a reported 130,000 million females across the globe are denied access to quality education. Girls in poorer countries are less likely to receive education than their male counterparts and young females are being denied the education they need to get a good job and break the cycle of poverty.

In Selmor’s meeting with Bob Nault, Chair of the Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee, Mtukudzi pushed for the federal government to double the development budget toward global education, from 2 cents per Canadian per day to 4 cents per Canadian per day — she’s more than hopeful that her meetings will bring change.

“I believe that once a woman is empowered, the whole nation is empowered, therefore having such a day to celebrate that is pretty special,” Mtukudzi told Yahoo Canada.

Watch Mtukudzi’s full interview here and check out more of our International Women’s Day coverage here.

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