The St. Albert Baha’i believes that achieving full equality between the sexes is an important prerequisite of peace. Because of this they take International Women’s Day very seriously and have been active participants for more than 15 years.
In keeping with the United Nations International Women’s Day mandated celebrations in March, the Baha’i plan to honour women from St. Albert and the Sturgeon region.
Once again the group is asking the community to submit nominations for women who go above and beyond to improve the lives of people around them.
Over the years, recipients have come from every walk of life, including composer Sandra Brenneis, educator Anne Bradley, former senator Thelma Chalifoux, RCMP officer Jane Spaans, environmentalist Elke Blodgett and community volunteers Pauline Vaugeois and Therese Gervais.
When asked what qualities these women possess, one of the organizers, Elaine Tahririha replied, “What qualities don’t you see? Creativity, determination, love, caring, a generous spirit and working together for the community good. Many have been pioneers in their own field and there is lots of selflessness, lots of humbleness.”
This year the United Nations theme is “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures” and the Baha’i would like to see the upcoming crop influence girls and young women to take active roles.
“I often think about how society values productivity and success and often doesn’t value the feminine support role,” Tahririha said. “When I look at International Women’s Day, I get a clearer idea of how important the support role is. And yes, women can do important work in a support role.”
By drawing attention to the contributions of women and honouring their achievements, the Baha’i are committed to building a stronger society.
“It’s not so much a fight for rights. We’ve gone beyond survival. Now that we have a lot of material abundance, we can move forward with other things,” Tahririha said.
The nominations committee is asking the community to consider women in the arts, business, community service, education, health, literacy, mentorship, motherhood, peace, youth, aboriginal initiatives and science. The committee will select five recipients.
Nomination forms are available through www.stalbertbahai.org. The deadline is Friday, Feb. 3.
Forms can be mailed to Box 87, St. Albert, AB, T8N 1N2 or emailed to [email protected] or faxed to 780-460-8408.
“We’re really grateful for past support,” Tahririha said. “Without the members of the community letting us know about people, we wouldn’t be able to hold this event.”
