Muriel Duckworth

Muriel Duckworth
CM ONS
Portrait commissioned in honour of Duckworth's 100th birthday
Born
Muriel Helen Ball

(1908-10-31)October 31, 1908
Austin, Quebec, Canada
DiedAugust 22, 2009(2009-08-22) (aged 100)
Magog, Quebec, Canada
Alma mater
OccupationSocial activist
Years active1925–2009
Spouse
Jack Duckworth
​
​
(m. 1929; died 1975)​
Children3, including Martin and Eleanor

Muriel Helen Duckworth CM ONS (née Ball; October 31, 1908 – August 22, 2009) was a Canadian pacifist, feminist, and social and community activist.[1] She was a practising Quaker, a religious denomination committed to non-violence.[2] Duckworth maintained that war, with its systematic violence against women and children, is a major obstacle to social justice. She argued that money spent on armaments perpetuates poverty while reinforcing the power of privileged elites.[3] She believed that "war is stupid" and she steadfastly refused to accept popular distinctions between "good" and "bad" wars.[4]

Duckworth was a founding member of the Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace, a provincial branch of the national peace organization called the Voice of Women (VOW).[5] From 1967 to 1971, she served as president of VOW leading protests against the Canadian government's quiet support for the US-led war in Vietnam.[6]

Duckworth was the first woman in Halifax to run for a seat in the Nova Scotia legislature.[7] She also led community organizing efforts seeking improvements in education, housing, social assistance and municipal planning.[8] In her later years, Duckworth performed with the Halifax chapter of the Raging Grannies, a group that composes and sings satirical ballads promoting social justice.[9]

Duckworth received many honours and awards including the 1981 Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case and the Order of Canada in 1983.[10] In 1991, she received the Pearson Medal of Peace.[11] She was also granted 10 honorary university degrees.[12]

  1. ^ Kerans, Marion Douglas. (1996) Muriel Duckworth: A Very Active Pacifist. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, p. 13.
  2. ^ Kerans, p. 232.
  3. ^ Kerans, pp. 182, 194 & 202.
  4. ^ Moore, Oliver. Obituary: Muriel Duckworth, 100 Globe and Mail August 22, 2009.
  5. ^ Kerans, p. 90.
  6. ^ Kerans, pp. 97 & 110.
  7. ^ Kerans, p. 170.
  8. ^ Kerans, p. 162.
  9. ^ Lightstone, Michael. "Peace activist dies". The Chronicle Herald, August 23, 2009.
  10. ^ "Order of Canada". Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on August 29, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
  11. ^ Kerans, p. 226.
  12. ^ Kerans, pp. 226 & 228.