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Rights activists protest Status of Women cutsProtesters say they don’t feel equal after 12 of 16 Status of Women offices closedBy The Canadian Press

Dozens of people banged pots, chanted and waved mock gravestones Friday to protest Ottawa’s decision to slash funding from the Status of Women budget.

The protesters gathered outside the regional office of the Status of Women on Quinpool Road on its last day of operation to urge the federal government to reinstate $5 million it cut from the agency’s budget.

"We really want Status of Women to be an equality seeking organization," Jen Crawford, a women’s rights activist, said on a blustery day as passing trucks blared their horns in support.

"We don’t feel very equal and we’re not ready to settle for what’s being given to us by the Conservative government and we’ll protest until things change."

The government also is changing the rules for funding private-sector women’s groups, saying it will no longer contribute to what it calls political advocacy or lobbying activities.

New Democrat MP Alexa McDonough said the decision to remove the word equality from the Status of Women’s mandate is regressive and makes the office a farce.

"What a fraud it is to have a government in power that has a supposed commitment to advancing the status of women that actually rips equality right out of the mandate," she said at the protest.

LINK: Chronicle Herald