Action des femmes handicapées de Montréal is an association that she co-founded in 1986, further to her involvement in the establishment of a Canada-wide organization called DAWN Canada. All of the women involved in the creation of DAWN returned to their respective provinces to create what they used to call, "little DAWNs", small women's associations. In the groups for persons with disabilities and in women's groups, there was nothing for disabled women. They often tell us that they were working on behalf of women's rights or disability rights, and that only afterwards would they look at the intersectionality or specificity of certain groups such as women with disabilities.
So Ms. Barile established Action des femmes handicapées de Montréal, saying, "If there's no environment for us, then we'll create it; we too have to work." That was the basic idea behind DAWN. Action des femmes handicapées de Montréal still exists, by the way, and it has been there since 1986.
She worked a lot on issues and challenges that concerned women, but also persons with disabilities, because she was deeply involved in the various groups; women's health and welfare, and sex education, among other things. She also worked hard on reproductive rights and sexual health, as well as all kinds of violence against disabled women and girls, whether institutional, spousal, family or sexual.
It's a legacy. I have benefited considerably from this legacy and am continuing her work. I think about all the work she did with Action des femmes handicapées de Montréal, and even her writings and her research to promote the distinctive identity of disabled women, and to encourage support for these women.
She was also one of the first to approach the Quebec government about our inclusion in discussions of action plans to combat violence against women.
In 1995, the first action plan in which there was much more discussion than usual about disabled women, came about because of Maria Barile's work. Women were treated as victims, but a number of other measures and approaches were developed.
Unfortunately, there is still work to be done. It's not easy for all women. I am happy today to say that this legacy, everything that she left us, is something that we as women support. I personally feel involved.
With members of her family, we established the Institut national pour l'équité, l'égalité et l'inclusion des personnes en situation de handicap, or INEEI-PSH, to continue her work, to combat violence of all kinds, to promote equity, to achieve de facto equality—her obsession—between women and men, and among all women too, with a view to achieving inclusiveness.
What she did for disabled women was incredible, particularly for Quebec and Canadian society. No one will be able to say that they have never heard of Maria Barile, or what she did.
I would also argue emphatically that this is also true for postsecondary education. She worked hard to make education accessible tor persons with disabilities, particularly girls and boys and young women and men, so that they could go farther in life.