Maria Consuelo Ledesma as she is today hardly fits notions of a devoutly religious woman.

For starters, the Philippine-born ex-nun, who is married to a former Catholic priest, is the spokesperson of the underground women’s movement in the Philippines. Ledesma, now based in the Netherlands, is also a member of the peace-negotiation panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. The front represents 17 revolutionary groups, including the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed guerrilla wing, the New People’s Army, which operates on more than 100 fronts in the country.

Ledesma is coming to town to speak at a couple of forums in connection with this year’s commemoration of International Women’s Day.

Put together by the Vancouver-based Red Sparks Union and partner organizations, the events will be held on March 6 (Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 12666 72nd Avenue, Surrey) and March 7 (SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver). Both start at 7 p.m.

According to Martha Roberts, a Red Sparks Union organizer and member of the Strathcona Midwifery Collective, women in Canada may want to hear from those engaged in revolutionary struggles in other countries.

“They’re making the deeper connections of male violence against women to systemic violence against women,” Roberts told the Straight in a phone interview. “And I think that we could learn from that also in Canada when we look at the over 500 missing and murdered women, when we look at…the dangerous situation of male violence and really connect that overall with economic and social justice.”

Joining Ledesma at the forums are Carleton University sociology professor Nahla Abdo and U.S. human-rights activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.

Leila Khaled, who hijacked international airliners four decades ago as a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is sending a video message.

The Red Sparks Union will hold an International Women’s Day march on Saturday (March 8), starting at 1 p.m. outside the Vancouver Art Gallery.