Accent of Women

On 10 October, two trade unionists in the Philippines were arrested on trumped up charges. The two unionists were Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU – May First Movement Labor Center) International Officer Kara Taggaoa, and PASODA-PISTON President Larry Valbuena – transport workers union. The fabricated charge of assault, as well as a second charge of robbery for which they served their arraignment immediately before the arrest, actually date back to a rally against the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2020. They were denied their right to due process as they were not given a chance to be heard in a preliminary investigation on the complaint against them.In the first 100 days of Marcos Jr presidency, 10 people were extrajudicially killed, 4 people were abducted and are still missing and 37 were arrested based on trumped up charges. Today’s guest is one of the arrestees, Kara Taggaoa – the international officer of the Kilusang Mayo Uno.

Sri Lanka is experiencing one of its greatest political and economic crises of its existence with massive riots sparked by an absolute collapse in the country’s economy. Some economists predict that Sri Lanka will be bankrupt by the end of next year.  The crisis has deposed at least one President with new calls for a regime change.On today’s program, Accent of Women its coverage of the background and causes of the current situation in Sri Lanka with Samanthi Gunawardana.

Sri Lanka is experiencing one of its greatest political and economic crises of its existence with massive riots sparked by an absolute collapse in the country’s economy. Some economists predict that Sri Lanka will be bankrupt by the end of next year.  The crisis has deposed at least one President with new calls for a regime change.On today’s program and continuing next week, Accent of Women seeks to understand the background and causes of the current situation in Sri Lanka with Samanthi Gunawardana.

A public holiday was declared in Australia on 22 September to mark a day of mourning for the passing of the Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. And it was indeed a day of mourning for many First Nations Australians – but a day of mourning for Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, a day of mourning for loss of land, the attempted loss of culture, the removal of children and the continued and ongoing dispossession of Aboriginal people.Across the country, the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance organised rallies calling for the Abolition of the Monarchy, a return of land, and an end to Aboriginal deaths in custody.On today’s program, I will bring you some of the speeches from the Melbourne rally.  And later on the program, one speech from the 50 yr anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, as another marker of Aboriginal people’s resistance to the Monarchy and to colonisation.With the voices of Donna Kerr and Meriki Onus, the family of Josh Kerr who died in custody 6 weeks ago; Lidia Thorpe, Australian Senator; and Dtarneen Onus, reading out a statement of Uncle Percy Nelson who was the partner of Veronica Nelson who died in custody.

An Iranian woman was beaten to death by the morality police on Friday 15 September, for allegedly failing to wear her hijab properly. It has sparked major protests right across Iran and on social media, attracting the participation of many celebrities. The murder of this woman has shone a light on Iran’s violation of women and gender minorities’ rights and the use of the morality police to brutalise a population.  On today’s program, Dr Elham Naeej discusses Iran’s morality police and the recent murder. She is an expert in Iran gender studies and gender relations.

Following a two year hiatus because of COVID-19, Martin Luther King Commemoration events have commenced once again in the United States, this time in the month of August. Traditionally held in January, Martin Luther Kind remembrance day commemorates and recognises the history of the black power movement. On today’s accent of women, we conclude the broadcast of a speech delivered by world-renowned political activist, academic, and author Angela Davis.  This event took place on January 23, 2020 at the University of New England as part of its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration  it was one of the last MLK events before lockdown. Also important context that this event took place before the capital riots in 2021 and of course, before the overturning of Roe V Wade in 2022.

Following a two year hiatus because of COVID-19, Martin Luther King Commemoration events have commenced once again in the United States, this time in the month of August. Traditionally held in January, Martin Luther Kind remembrance day commemorates and recognises the history of the black power movement. On today’s accent of women, and continuing next week, we revisit a speech delivered by world-renowned political activist, academic, and author Angela Davis.  This event took place on January 23, 2020 at the University of New England as part of its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration  it was one of the last MLK events before lockdown. Also important context that this event took place before the capital riots in 2021 and of course, before the overturning of Roe V Wade in 2022.

Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day was held on August 25 marking 5 years since the Myanmar military began mass pre-meditated attacks against the stateless Rohingya population in Rakhine State. In the weeks following, around 700,000 fled to Bangladesh. The refugee camp at Cox’s Bazar is now the largest in the world, with almost a million people. Many want to go home, but they are demanding that Myanmar grant them citizenship rights. Today’s guests are Tasneem Roc from the APHEDA-Union Aid Abroad and the Myanmar Campaign Network, and Sujeda Bahadurmia, spokesperson for the Australian Rohingya Women’s Development Organisation.

On Aug. 6, 2022, Israel launched three days of attacks on Gaza. The operation, offensively called “The Truthful Dawn” killed at least 47 people—including 16 children. Israel claims that both the name and the bombardment campaign is about focusing on eliminating the Islamic Jihad movement. My guest today is Reem Yunis – Palestinian socialist and activist

77 years ago, on the 6th and 9th of August, the USA military dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings killed around 175,000 people with another 90,000 dying by the end of the year due to radiation injuries.Some 5 years after these bombings, a global anti-nuclear armaments campaign emerged and in 2007, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was founded. In 2017, they won the Nobel Prize for peace, for their work towards global nuclear disarmament. One of the people that accepted the award was a woman named Setsuko Thurlow – a survivor of the bombing in Hiroshima. In 2019 she gave a speech at Harvard Law School.