Accent of Women

Two million people took to the streets in Hong Kong last week and they were joined by the organsied labour movement days later, in a general strike on Monday 19 June, in massive protests opposing a proposed extradition bill. These are the biggest protests in Hong Kong with approximately 2 thirds of the entire city participating.But what is the extradition bill, and why has this proposal brought so many people to the streets? What do these demonstrations say about Hong Kong’s relationship to China?To answer these questions, I am joined on today’s program by Carol Ng, the elected women’s officer of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions.

Rai Ismail and Abuk Nyandeng discuss Sudan's uprising & Bhakthi Puvanenthiran, the managing editor at Crikey, looks at last week's AFP raids and their implications for press freedom

Yemen is being described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, but hardly anyone knows or understands what’s going on. The Houthi movement, an Islamic religious-political-armed movement that emerged from Sa'dah in northern Yemen in the 1990s, took the capital, Sana’a in 2014. But who are they are? Is the war about them? To discuss this issue and the complexity of the Yemen war and catastrophic humanitarian crisis, I am joined by Kamillia el-Eriani. Kamillia is originally from Yemen and is currently teaching in sociology and politics at Melbourne University and RMIT.

This week we bring you some interesting conversations about healing, self-compassion, and healthy egos.These conversations were part of the Siblings of the Yam workshops organized by Aisha Tramabas and Inez Tramabas of Negro Speaks of Books.The workshops are part of a month-long series called Black Tourmaline.

May 18 is the anniversary of the Tamil genocide and the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. This year, 2019, marks 10 years. On today’s program, we look at the situation for Tamils in Sri Lanka.On today's program, Nilanthi Kanapathipillai, a Tamil activist based here in Melbourne Victoria. and Shivani Jegarajah, human rights activist and barrister in Sri Lanka.

Samsung is a vehemently anti-union company. It has avoided all attempts to be held to account for the occupational deaths in its factory, a direct result of the chemicals used in the production of microchips that go into its electronic products.A compensation claim that is currently before the courts accidentally revealed that Samsung has been running surveillance on unionists and activists as a part of their union-busting campaign.To talk about all of this, on today’s program I am joined by SHARPS volunteer doctor, Dr Jong-ok Kong.

International Workers Day – May Day, is both celebrated used as a day of continuing struggle right across the world. In some parts of the world, taking to the streets is, in itself, an act of dissent and of resistance, and workers risk their lives just doing that. Iran is one such country where workers’ organising is heavily and brutally repressed. Hana is a labour movement activist, originally from Iran and now based in melbourne, victoria. She has recently returned from Iran and on today’s show, reports on the protests during May Day there, with some comparison to International Women’s Day.

This week we listen to a panel discussion hosted by Allies Decolonising.The event, Sovereignty, Treaty and Constitutional Recognition brought together Aboriginal community members to discuss the treaty process and Aboriginal sovereignty. PanelistsLidia Thorpe is a Gunnai-Gunditjmara woman, living on Wurundjeri country in Melbourne’s north. She is a community worker, mother and grandmother. Lidia has spent decades fighting for Aboriginal rights and the environment, including fighting to successfully save a million-year-old gorge in Nowa Nowa, East Gippsland and becoming the first Aboriginal woman to serve in the Victorian Parliament.Crystal McKinnon is a Yamatji woman who lives and works on Kulin country. She has worked at many universities and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, and she is currently working at RMIT as a Vice Chancellor’s Indigenous Research Fellow. In one of her projects at RMIT, Crystal is working with a team on an Australian Research Council Discovery Indigenous Project named: Indigenous Leaders: Lawful Relations from Encounter to Treaty. Her work has looked at concepts of Indigenous sovereignty, Indigenous social movements and protest, and Indigenous resistance through the use of the creative arts, including music and literature.Paola Balla is a Wemba-Wemba & Gunditjmara woman living on Kulin Country. She’s worked in Koorie community arts as an artist & curator & in education at Moondani Balluk Indigenous Academic Centre at Vic Uni & the Indigenous Arts and Cultural Program at Footscray Community Arts Centre. Her work focuses on self-determination & sovereignty within the arts & is a member of the Blak Brow Collective who edited Blak Brow for the Lifted Brow. Her PhD research focuses on Indigenous women’s disruptions & resistance through art. Her work is based on sovereignty, matriarchy & First Nations ways.Event ModeratorClare Land is a historian at Moondani Balluk at Vic Uni, and author of the book Decolonizing Solidarity which outlines how people like her might emerge towards being less racist, and how she can better use privileges she has access to in support of Aboriginal struggles. Her knowledge and politics have been shaped in particular by Gary Foley, Dr Uncle Wayne Atkinson, and by the Thorpe family.

March 31st is Trans Day of Visibility, so today on Accent of Women, we are going to hand over to Sally Goldner, and her show Out of The Pan. On Sunday 31 March, Out of The Pan held a special, Trans Voices of Colour, and that’s what we bring you today.

Women of Color Speak Out is a collective of five climate justice, racial justice, gender justice and intersectional movement activists that came together in 2015 in Seattle during the ShellNo campaign. Those women formed Women of Colour Speak Out, out of a desire to create a space for women of color in the climate movement which, according to them, is dominated by white, cis men. In December 2015, they spoke at a public meeting.On today’s show, we feature the speeches of Sarra Tekola, scientist, activist and policy changer. She works tirelessly on intersecting movements from Black Lives Matter and ending juvenile incarceration to fossil fuel divestment and just carbon policies. And Afrin Sopariwara