Mr. Speaker, today in Ottawa we are welcoming three courageous women: Malala Yousafzai, from Pakistan, and Leymah Gbowee, from Liberia, both recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as Yanar Mohammed, from Iraq, a prominent human rights advocate.
This is an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate the role of women in promoting peace and security, which can only be achieved with full respect for human rights.
It is also an occasion to remind ourselves of the need to ensure we walk the talk on feminism and increase funding to implement the women, peace, and security agenda.
We should also increase our support to women at the grassroots level, which right now stands at only 0.03% of Canada's aid budget.
If we really want to support women like Malala, Leymah, and Yanar, we must also fund their work.