HALIFAX, Nova Scotia - Canadian activist Muriel Duckworth, a passionate pacifist who for decades was an advocate for women’s rights and social justice, died Saturday in palliative care in a hospital in Magog, Quebec, according to the Halifax Chronicle Herald. She was 100.
Born on Oct. 31, 1908, Ms. Duckworth grew up in a village in Quebec and graduated from McGill University in Montreal in 1929. She and her late husband, Jack, moved to Halifax in the 1940s.
Ms. Duckworth vigorously protested wars dating back to World War II, and was still attending peace rallies during the US-led war in Iraq.
But it was not always easy for her, especially in Halifax.
“Halifax is very much a military town, and I’ve always had crank letters and phone calls,’’ she said in 2004.
“People wouldn’t speak to me on the street.’’
At times, she performed as a member of the Raging Grannies - a hat-wearing and shawl-sporting troupe of women who sing protest songs.
In a statement, Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter extended his condolences to Ms. Duckworth’s family.
“Muriel will be forever remembered as an ambassador of peace, defender of women’s rights, and champion of educational development,’’ Dexter said.