Saturday marks International Women’s Day and women across Saskatchewan are working to create women-only spaces to meet new people in places where they feel safe.
Elizabeth Michalski started She Runs at Night, a Regina-based group that gathers in the evening to run together.
“The response has been really good from people,” said Michalski.
“I think it’s important when there’s safety in numbers, for sure. I know from my own personal experience running at night — it made me feel scared, that’s for sure.”
Michalski said she wants women to feel safe to run at any time of the day and that the group helps women feel more comfortable while also creating new friendships.
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“I’m honestly just so happy,” said Michalski.
In Saskatoon, two university students started a group called Girls Who Like to Do Stuff, hosting events and gatherings to help connect women in the city.
“It’s just important to have girl spaces for nothing in specific that people can feel kind of comfortable,” said Maria Wagner, one of the organizers.
“We didn’t expect it to blow up the way that it did,” she added.
After a TikTok the pair posted went viral, so many people signed up they had to close the waitlist.
They started the group because they found that the pandemic had made it challenging to make new friends.
“For me personally, I found it harder to meet girls in Saskatoon,” said Wagner.
They said local businesses have reached out and offered their locations for upcoming events, hoping to help them create safe spaces for women.
“We were incredibly lucky,” said Wagner.
Both groups say they offer open and welcoming groups that they hope to continue to grow.
For more information or to sign up, you can visit their pages on Instagram @sherunsatnight and @girlswholiketodostuff.