Yolande Geadah
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Yolande Geadah which occurred Thursday August 22, 2023.
Her trajectory left an indelible mark on many people around her. A committed essayist and feminist, she left her mark on the Quebec public arena and in the hearts of those who loved her. She left in peace, serene, surrounded by her loved ones.
She is survived by her husband, Rachad Antonius, her children Marc and Gabriel, her brother Waguih (Renée Ricard), her sisters Simone (Pierre Gibeault) and Marie-Louise (André Tsimanary), their children and grandchildren, as well as her sister-in-law Wedad, her nieces Anne and Ariane Lazaridès and Geneviève Antonius-Boileau and all their relatives.
Born in Cairo in 1950, she immigrated to Quebec at the age of 16 with her family, and married Rachad Antonius in 1976. She completed her undergraduate studies in Finance, followed by a Master's degree in industrial relations, which led her to work with trade unions on women's rights issues.
She gradually became involved in associative work, first at the cultural level with the Arab Culture Circle, then in international development with CEAD (Center for Arab Development Studies), the result of solidarity work within SUCO (Canadian University Service Overseas) this trajectory led her to work women’s conditions in the Arab world, then in the Global South more generally, and finally in Quebec.
In the years that followed, she managed the "women and development" file within AQOCI (Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale) she then became increasingly involved in feminist issues, taking a stand on sensitive questions, and joined UQAM's Institut de recherches et d'études féministes.
She has published three essays on women's issues, as well as several opinions for the Conseil du Statut de la femme. Her first essay, "Femmes voilées, intégrismes démasqués", was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award in 1997. She took part in public debates and was a frequent guest on major television networks, taking a firm stance for public institutions’ religious neutrality. In 2007, she received the Condorcet prize from the Mouvement laïque Québécois.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, August 31, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the Urgel Bourgie Funeral Home, 1255 Beaumont Avenue, Mont-Royal (QC), H3P 3J1.
Please do not send any flowers. If you would like to honor her memory, please make an online donation in her name to one of the following organizations:
• Pascal T Lafontaine Sarcoma Research Fund (www.fondspascaltlafontaineforsarcoma.ca)
This fund finances the research Yolande has benefited from, which focuses on specific cancers.
• Un toit pour elles (https://www.untoitpourellesquebec.org/)
This organization offers shelter to women who wish to escape prostitution.
• Mouvement laïque québécois (www.mlq.qc.ca , specifying: Donation to ILCC, the Institute for Freedom of Conscience in Canada). This organization works to promote freedom of conscience and secularism, a cause that has been central to Yolande's involvement.
Her trajectory left an indelible mark on many people around her. A committed essayist and feminist, she left her mark on the Quebec public arena and in the hearts of those who loved her. She left in peace, serene, surrounded by her loved ones.
She is survived by her husband, Rachad Antonius, her children Marc and Gabriel, her brother Waguih (Renée Ricard), her sisters Simone (Pierre Gibeault) and Marie-Louise (André Tsimanary), their children and grandchildren, as well as her sister-in-law Wedad, her nieces Anne and Ariane Lazaridès and Geneviève Antonius-Boileau and all their relatives.
Born in Cairo in 1950, she immigrated to Quebec at the age of 16 with her family, and married Rachad Antonius in 1976. She completed her undergraduate studies in Finance, followed by a Master's degree in industrial relations, which led her to work with trade unions on women's rights issues.
She gradually became involved in associative work, first at the cultural level with the Arab Culture Circle, then in international development with CEAD (Center for Arab Development Studies), the result of solidarity work within SUCO (Canadian University Service Overseas) this trajectory led her to work women’s conditions in the Arab world, then in the Global South more generally, and finally in Quebec.
In the years that followed, she managed the "women and development" file within AQOCI (Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale) she then became increasingly involved in feminist issues, taking a stand on sensitive questions, and joined UQAM's Institut de recherches et d'études féministes.
She has published three essays on women's issues, as well as several opinions for the Conseil du Statut de la femme. Her first essay, "Femmes voilées, intégrismes démasqués", was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award in 1997. She took part in public debates and was a frequent guest on major television networks, taking a firm stance for public institutions’ religious neutrality. In 2007, she received the Condorcet prize from the Mouvement laïque Québécois.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, August 31, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the Urgel Bourgie Funeral Home, 1255 Beaumont Avenue, Mont-Royal (QC), H3P 3J1.
Please do not send any flowers. If you would like to honor her memory, please make an online donation in her name to one of the following organizations:
• Pascal T Lafontaine Sarcoma Research Fund (www.fondspascaltlafontaineforsarcoma.ca)
This fund finances the research Yolande has benefited from, which focuses on specific cancers.
• Un toit pour elles (https://www.untoitpourellesquebec.org/)
This organization offers shelter to women who wish to escape prostitution.
• Mouvement laïque québécois (www.mlq.qc.ca , specifying: Donation to ILCC, the Institute for Freedom of Conscience in Canada). This organization works to promote freedom of conscience and secularism, a cause that has been central to Yolande's involvement.