For 30 years, Marjolaine Péloquin was involved in militant political action in several women's groups in
Montréal,
Québec,
Canada, and the
Saint-Laurent region. Péloquin is a masters student in education at
UQAR, who was recently (
2000) awarded a $5000
scholarship by the university teachers' union. She has a
BA in
history from the
Université de Montréal.
She participated in starting the Front de Libération des Femmes du Québec (The Quebec Women's Liberation Front) in 1969 in Montréal and in the Centre de Recherche sur la Femme (The Centre of Research on Women) in 1971 also in Montréal.
In March of 1971, she also was in a radical action group with the aim of getting women the right to sit on juries for jury duty. She, along with six other women went into the courtroom, and stood up, crying out "discrimination!", and went to sit in the jury bench -- which women could not then legally do. On April 28, 1971 then minister of justice, Jérôme Choquette proposed to the National Assembly to amend the law on juries, and on the April 29, 1971, the courts accepted women as jurors.
In 1972, she lobbied to create the first women-centred history course at UQAM.
In 1974, she was involved in the development of a committee on women's studies in the teacher's union in the college at Sept-Îles.
In 1980, she organized the first 8th of March Festival at Mont-Joli.
In 1984, she was the creator, and first director of a group called Ficelles, which was a gathering place for women to seek and share employment in Rimouski.
Upon receipt of her bursary, she expressed pride at being part of a university community which recognizes and encourages social and militant engagement. Further she stated that the bursary served to crown 30 years of militant activity in the women's movement and also reflects the patient and invisible work of the vast network of militants in which she is modestly but a part.