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Women were denied certain rights that men enjoyed, including the right to vote. In law, we were economically dependant on father or spouse. If we inherited property, our husbands owned it. If the husband died, the widow could be left penniless, to raise children in poverty. We were excluded from many careers, including politics, the law, or medicine. However, there was one woman doctor practicing in Ontario, without a licence. Thus Nellie Mooney was born …

…of masculinity. Nellie, moved by suffering, challenged all people not to tolerate or accept the masculine values which allowed such slaughters to happen. She showed us what to do. To focus on the excesses; to focus on the suffering. To assert feminine values which celebrate life. To act to improve the quality of life for all. Nellie McClung said it best: Never retreat; never explain; never apologize; get the thing done and let them howl.