The Vancouver International Film Festival does not have the red carpet glamour or stalked Hollywood stars like that of our eastern rival, Toronto. But what the VIFF lacks in glitz, it makes up for in spades by screening some of the finest films from around the world and right here at home.

The VIFF gives eager Vancouverites the chance to see films that do not receive the massive studio release in the form of the often ultra-polished and formulaic Hollywood Blockbuster. This is particularly true in the documentary film category, where viewers were given a taste of the best the world has to offer.

Stephen Harper's government has not seen fit to comment on the case of Malalai Joya, the suspended Afghan parliamentarian who has become known around the world because of her courage in denouncing the warlords and war criminals who have been empowered by NATO and foreign interests in Afghanistan. While Ottawa has thus far kept silent on the issue, we have the story covered.

This week we saw the first episode of the new CBC series The Greatest Canadian and, after sitting through the two-hour program, I was irritated that the closest a woman came to being the “Greatest Canadian” was giving birth to one. There are no women in the top 10, which is made up of Tommy Douglas, Wayne Gretzky, Don Cherry, John A. Macdonald, Terry Fox, Dr. Frederick Banting, Lester Pearson, Alexander Graham Bell, David Suzuki and Pierre Trudeau.

Being a feminist in this era of Girls Gone Wild and cell phone porn downloading can be seriously disheartening at times.

To make matters worse, there is the spectre of Stephen Harper lusting after a majority government, with the help of his closest female advisers, R.E.A.L. Women, a right-wing anti-women think tank, who are proud of their motto: “women's rights, but not at the expense of human rights.”

This bizarre group erroneously argues that women are, despite being 52 per cent of the population, a special interest lobbying to suppress men's rights.

Malalai Joya, the most outspoken of the 68 women currently elected in the parliament of Afghanistan, has been suspended from parliament. A relentless critic of the warlords and assorted war criminals in the Karzai government, the legislators kicked Joya out after viewing a television interview in which she likened the parliament to a “zoo.”

Ordinary Canadians can be forgiven if they have yet to hear of Malalai Joya.

In the Throne Speech, Stephen Harper included a promise to give honourary Canadian citizenship to Aung San Suu Kyi, a move that was whole-heartedly endorsed by all parties. Who could argue, after all, against highlighting the courageous efforts of a woman who has come to symbolize the struggle for democracy against a repressive regime?

Gordon Campbell and the B.C. Liberal government campaigned on the slogan that a “new era” was necessary for British Columbia — an era, they argued, where the excesses of the social democratic governments before it had to be brought under control.

In the early days of his neo-liberal government, Campbell proved that it clearly was a new era, one that unmistakably catered to the rich, one of his first acts being a 1.5 billion dollar tax cut.

Who knew that the Fox Network, home of Bill O'Reilly, the man who has been known to accuse the United Nations and the country of France of being terrorist organizations, would pass up the opportunity to sell retired football star O.J. Simpson's “hypothetical” account of the killing of his ex-wife and her friend.

“If I did it, here's how,” was the Juice's working title, a crass attempt to squeeze more money out of his infamy.

Sometimes the toughest fights are ones that we assume are already won. For instance, as a woman in her 20s, I know that one of the greatest victories of the women's movement in North America is a woman's right to choose. Our generation has, however, been able, for the most part, to take that victory for granted.

Last week's U.S. Supreme Court decision, which fundamentally limits women's access to abortions, even if her own life is in jeopardy, is a stark reminder that we need to be vigilant in defense of our right to control our own bodies.

Just last week, I was awakened in the middle of the night by a friend who needed to leave her house because she had just been beaten up by her male partner. She is a young and vibrant woman and she was surprised by this violence.

Unfortunately, however, in Canada violence against women is more prevalent than most of us are willing to believe, and few men are willing to take responsibility for their actions. Making headlines for the past weeks in B.C. has been a case in point: the disgraced Mayor of Port Coquitlam, Scott Young.