Documentary examines life as a 21st century girl

LEAF Sudbury will celebrate Persons Day Oct. 9 with the screening of the documentary "I am a Girl."

The film presentation starts at 7 p.m. at Sudbury Secondary School's Sheridan Auditorium.

"I am a Girl,” directed by Rebecca Barry, is a feature-length documentary that paints a clear picture of the reality of what it means to be a girl in the 21st century.

Feminism may have promised equality and sought a better and fairer world for women, but the reality is that girls make up almost a quarter of the world’s population yet still face the greatest discrimination of any group in the world.

Yet in spite of many obstacles, girls have found extraordinary ways to persevere and in this documentary we hear their stories of strength, hope, courage and a refusal to be second best.

Persons Day is an annual celebration in Canada, officially marked Oct. 18 each year.

The day commemorates The Persons Case, a famous Canadian constitutional case decided Oct. 18, 1929, that declared women to be persons, and therefore eligible to sit in the Canadian Senate.

LEAF Sudbury is the local branch of the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund, which works to ensure Canadian courts do, in fact, provide the equality rights guaranteed to women and girls by Section 15 of the Canadian Charter.

Tickets, which cost $25, are available at The Apollo restaurant, Gloria’s, Laurentian University Bookstore and at the door.