The Distinguished Visitor in Women’s Studies program this year will honour a diverse group—activists whose struggles helped to enshrine gender equality in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Their vision and determination have made it possible for us to live in a country that values fairness and justice for women,” says Anne Forrest, director of the women’s studies program.

Representative members of the Women Behind The Charter will conduct a series of presentations on campus and in the city from October 15 to 26. The central event is a community reception on Tuesday, October 16, featuring keynote addresses by Susan Bazilli and Sukanya Pillay.

Bazilli is director of the International Women’s Rights Project, and the executive producer of Constitute!, a film documenting the work of the 1981 Ad Hoc Committee of Women and the Constitution, which resulted in the inclusion of gender equality in The Charter.

Pillay is director of the national security program of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. A former member of the Windsor Law faculty, she is also a UWindsor alumna (BA communication studies 1987, LLB 1990). Her human rights documentaries have appeared on television and in film festivals.

The October 16 reception begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Caboto Club, 2175 Parent Avenue at Tecumseh Road. Tickets are $30, $15 for University of Windsor students, available online at www.uwindsor.ca/wsvisitor or by phone at 519-253-3000, ext. 3727.

Find a full list of events featuring the 2012 Distinguished Visitors in Women’s Studies at www.uwindsor.ca/womensstudies/dvws-events.