Accent of Women

Budour Hassan is Palestinian socialist feminist and journalist and a legal researcher for the Jerusalem Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights. She talks about the latest Israeli assault on Palestinians, the role of women in the Palestinian resistance, the feminist movement against gender violence, solidarity with women prisoners, Abolitionist Feminism, and the needed regional and global socialist feminist solidarity. She is interviewed by Accent of Women supporter, Frieda Afray.

Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Wiradjuri man Raymond Noel Lindsay Thomas died during a police pursuit on June 25, 2017. The inquest into his death commenced on Monday 5 July – 4 years later.Joining me on today’s show to talk about the inquest, and Aboriginal deaths in custody, is Aboriginal activist and co-founder of the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance, Dtarneen Onus Williams.  Dtarneen starts here by introducing themselves.

Derek Chauvin, the police officer that murdered George Flloyd sparking a global uprising, was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment for second degree murder. Neither Chauvin’s conviction nor his sentencing propelled the Black Lives Matter movement forward. Black men and women across the United States continue to experience police brutality including murder – so where to for the movement? On today’s program we Robin Wonsley, a unionist and Black Lives Matter activist in Minneapolis.

It’s been about 18 months since the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Most nation states have been left to resolve the health, and consequent economic crisis on their own. And some states have fared better than others.  In India, daily COVID transmissions exceed 400,000, and it is commonly held that this is a gross underestimation. Tragic scenes of rivers filled with dead bodies have flooded the international media. And as always, the poor and destitute are hit the hardest. On today’s program, we speak with social justice movement activist, Sujata, about the unfolding catastrophe in India.

There are currently Presidential elections on foot in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Though these elections may make absolutely no difference to the lives of Iranian women, it still provides an opportunity to look at this part of the world. Today’s interview was conducted by Dr Elham Naeej, an academic in Iranian studies at UNSW. She interviews Dr Claudia Yaghoobi about women’s oppression in Iran.

The current Israeli offensive against Palestine in 2021 began on 10 May, making it the deadliest offensive since The Gaza war of 2014, named Operation Protective Edge. Since that date, Palestine’s death toll exceeds 200, mostly women and children, while Israel’s is currently around 10 – also including women and children. There have been mass solidarity protests across the world, and on today’s program we will bring you some highlights from the Melbourne Rally. We are going to start here with Janine Haroum, a Palestinian woman at the Melbourne rally, and then later in the program, an interview with Palestinian woman, socialist and educator, Reem Yunis

2021 is the 30 year anniversary of the delivery of the findings of the Royal Commissioner into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Since March this year 5 number of Aboriginal people have died in custody across the country. Ending Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, reducing the over representation of Aboriginal people in custody, is still a demand for social movements in Australia. With all this in the background, the coronial inquiry into the death of Aboriginal man, Wayne Fella Morrison, is currently underway in Adelaide. The inquest has exposed, yet again, the abhorrent and racist treatment of Aboriginal people in custody, and the deplorable lack of regard for their health and wellbeing. Latoyo Rule is the sister of Wayne Morrison, she is a party in the coronial inquest, and she is an anti-carceral activist. She is the edition's guest on Accent of Women

The brutality of the military dictatorships in Myanmar and Thailand have continued with further arrests, use of water cannon and live ammunition in the streets. Last week’s show reported on the international solidarity campaign that has started against the militarisation of these two countries, with activists from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Finland and Germany. That International Solidarity campaign hosted a Public Meeting with speakers from right across the region to talk about what is happening in Thailand and Myanmar, and on today’s program of Accent of Women, we bring you a further two of those speeches.

The brutality of the military dictatorships in Myanmar and Thailand have continued with further arrests, use of water cannon and live ammunition in the streets. An international solidarity campaign has started against the militarisation of these two countries, with activists from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Finland and Germany. That International Solidarity campaign hosted a Public Meeting with speakers from right across the region to talk about what is happening in Thailand and Myanmar, and on today’s program of Accent of Women, we bring you two of those speeches.

Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian writer, feminist, activist, doctor, psychiatrist, died on 21 March 2021, at age 89. This week’s edition of Accent of Women is a dedication to the legacy of Nawal El Saadawi – not perfect, but changed life for hundreds of thousands of women and girls in Egypt.