Accent of Women

What do these Israeli protests mean, especially the general strike by workers? Is there any chance for working class solidarity between Israeli's and Palestinians? The history of Israeli apartheid against Palestinians probably means no, but to share her analysis, I am joined by Palestinian socialist and educator, Reem Yunis.

Well if we thought things couldn’t get any worse, tensions further intensify in Palestine with Israel’s latest progrom against the Palestinians. From endorsing a settler rampage in the areas of Huwara and Nablus, to this week denying the existence of Palestinians. The escalations are not unsurprising, while the question of Palestinian sovereignty remains unanswered. This week on Accent of women, we revisit a lecture delivered by Noura Erakat, Palestinian-American human rights attorney and Assistant Professor at George Mason University. Erakat delivered the annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture in July 2018, and her visit to Australia was hosted by APAN. The speech is called Palestine in the Age of Trump. Though this speech was delivered 5 years ago, you’ll notice that not much has changed.

On March 4, 2023, Lila Pilipina—an organization of Filipino comfort women —held a protest action in Manila to call on the Japanese government to finally address the calls for justice of Filipino “Comfort Women”, who were victims of Japanese wartime military sex slavery. Japan recently presented its official human rights report to the United Nations Human Rights Council but has continued to ignore the pleas of the Filipino women victims who have been fighting for decades to achieve justice. Similarly, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. refused to take up the matter with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his most recent state visit to JapanOn today’s show, Sharon Cabusao- Silva, Executive Director of Lila Pilipina, on the issue of Filipina comfort women to Japanese military men during the occupation in World War 2

At the Socialism 2022 conference, held in September 2022, in Chicago, Dr Liat Ben-Moshe gave a talk, titled Disability, Madness, Liberation: Deinstitutionalisation and Prison Abolition.Prison abolition and massive decarceration are often portrayed as utopian ideals, but few have grappled with the fact that it has happened already. The history of the deinstitutionalization movement from psychiatric hospitals and residential institutions shows the limits of rights and legal discourses as well as hope for abolition of carcerality in our time. Today’s episode of Accent of Women is the second and final part of Dr Liat Ben-Moshe’s keynote address on the intersections of disability justice and prison abolition.

At the Socialism 2022 conference, held in September 2022, in Chicago, Dr Liat Ben-Moshe gave a talk, titled Disability, Madness, Liberation: Deinstitutionalisation and Prison Abolition.Prison abolition and massive decarceration are often portrayed as utopian ideals, but few have grappled with the fact that it has happened already. The history of the deinstitutionalization movement from psychiatric hospitals and residential institutions shows the limits of rights and legal discourses as well as hope for abolition of carcerality in our time. Today’s episode of Accent of Women, and continuing next week, Dr Liat Ben-Moshe’s keynote address on the intersections of disability justice and prison abolition.

Today’s Accent of women brings you a special solidarity event organised by the Canadian Union of Public Servants, held on Wednesday 8 February. The public meeting was called, Solidarity with the Workers’ Movement and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” Uprising in Iran.The first speaker up is  Niloofar Golkar, CUPE Executive Committee member and PhD candidate in Politics at York University, focusing on the environment and the labour movement. She is a feminist activist and sits on the editorial committee of Upping the Anti: Journal of Theory and Action.The second speaker is Shiva Amelirad, a trade union activist and feminist with a focus on intersectional oppression. She is a member of CUPE local 2497. Before migrating to Canada, she was a teacher in Kurdistan and was a member of the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations.

On today’s program, we look at economic restructuring in the Ukraine, and the impact of the war. PhD Yuliya Yurchenko is the author of 'Ukraine and the Empire of Capital: From Marketization to Armed Conflict'. She is a Senior Lecturer in in Political Economy at the University of Greenwich, UK. She gave a speech titled Debt, war, and (macro)economic restructuring: lessons from Ukraine in September of last year, and we are going to hear that speech today.But first up on the program today, NETFA Leadership Program participant, Lara Cristina Cruz, interviews Dr. Veena Barsiwal, a doctor and counsellor, about the importance of bodily autonomy, bodily integrity, and its relevance to the practice of FGM/C. NETFA stands for the National Education Toolkit for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Awareness. https://netfa.com.au/

The 1 February 2023 marks the 2nd year anniversary of the coup in Myanmar. Last week, the Junta announced an extension to the State of Emergency, which was supposed to come to an end on the 31 January. They also announced that the supposed democratic elections would be put off for another year. Joining me on today’s program to discuss the ongoing civil war in Myanmar is Debbie Stothard, founding member of the Alternative ASEAN on Burma.

Marching under the banner, Treaty Not Voice, tens of thousands of people across Australia protested on the 26th January – Invasion Day. Rally organisers said that the 26th January is not a day to celebrate. It is an annual reminder of invasion, occupation, genocide and the ongoing impacts of colonisation that continues to destroy the land and waters of First Nations People. Today’s show features range of speeches at the Melbourne Invasion Day rally, MCed by Veronica Gorrie.

Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s fascistic former president Jair Bolsonaro invaded and occupied for more than three hours the headquarters of the three branches of government in Brasilia, the country’s capital, on Sunday 8 January. The protesters demanded a military coup to depose and imprison recently inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers Party (PT). Although the situation was brought under control, and the fascist occupation of the buildings ended, there remains a looming threat of a military coup with fascist-sympathetic leaders.To discuss the rising threat of fascism in Brazil is Brazilian eco-feminist and socialist, Fernanda Santos.