Accent of Women

In recent years right-wing populists/extremists and right-wing Catholic as well as conservative actors have been building new alliances in several European countries around the notion of ‘gender-theory’ or ‘gender-ideology’.  These groups construct ‘gender’ as a totalitarian ideology, which aims to create a new, ‘gender-less’ human, thereby attacking the institution of the family and European societies as a whole. This reading of ‘gender’, which has been developed by the Vatican from the 1990s onwards, is instrumental to forming coalitions across the right-wing political spectrum.  Edma Ajonavic, Stefanie Mayer, and Birgit Sauer deliver a speech called, ‘Gender’ as Symbolic Glue for Right-Wing Actors in Europe’ at the 2nd International Marxist Feminist Conference in Vienna in 2016.

There are two significant anniversaries in the Middle Eastern/West Asian region of the world worth commemorating on Accent of Women. Two years on September 16, Jina Mahsa Amini was killed by the Morality Police in Iran, sparking the Woman Life Freedom movement there. A year earlier, in August 2021, the Taliban was ushered back into power as the whole world looked on, when the United States eventually withdrew its troops.So today’s guests are Frieda Afary, Iranian American feminist activist, and Sahar Saba, from the Revolutionary Association of the women of Afghanistan.

Prominent union leader, Chhim Sithar, who led a high-profile strike at a Phnom Penh hotel and casino called Naga World, was released from prison on Monday 19 September. She has promised to continue leading workers who are demanding better wages and working conditions. The dispute at the NagaWorld Hotel and Entertainment Complex, one of the world’s most profitable gambling centers, began in 2021 when the company laid off more than 1,300 employees, about half of them union members.The strike has drawn a violent crackdown from police and continues to this day. Cambodian authorities have claimed that the strike is illegal and the product of alleged foreign donations. But of course, the workers disagree.My guest today is Chhim Sithar, the President of the Khmer Employees of NagaWorld.

The JVP has just been elected in Sri Lanka, supposedly signalling a new Marxist era in Sri Lankan politics. But the JVP has a mixed history and politics – particularly its policies on minorities. On today’s program, we speak with academic, Samanthi Gunawardana to try to understand these developments in Sri Lankan politics.

On today’s Accent of Women, we look at the campaign to close Unit 18, a child detention wing inside the maximum-security Casuarina Prison near Perth in Western Australia. The campaign escalated in the wake of the tragic death of Yamatji child Cleveland Dodd in 2023 after he self-harmed while incarcerated in the facility. Earlier this month, it was revealed that another child detained at the Banksia Hill Detention Centre, also near Perth, had died by suicide. 3CR’s Priya Kunjan interviews Roxy Moore, Noongar lawyer, community organiser, activist and campaigner, and Stephanie McGuire, Ballardong and Whadjuk Noongar community organiser and activist. For listeners, I want to issue a CONTENT WARNING for today’s show. Today’s show mentions SUICIDE, SELF HARM, DISCUSSION OF ABORIGINAL DEATHS IN CUSTODY.

The Israeli government continues to impose strict restrictions on the movement of aid into Gaza. The complex bureaucratic process and changing Standard Operating Procedures result in food and medical supplies nearing expiration before entry. Meat and vegetables are frequently denied at key crossings. Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world for an aid worker – almost 300 have been killed since October 7, with many claiming some of these deaths occurred as a result of direct targeting.Hampering the provision of aid is a part of the genocidal campaign of Israel against not just Gaza but all Palestinians. And despite this, aid workers continue to fight to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians.My guest today is Bushra Khalidi, the Occupied Territory Lead for Oxfam International, based in Ramallah.

Revolutionary Palestinian, Leila Khaled. Special thanks to Peoples Dispatch for that audio.

Mass protests broke out in Bangladesh in early July over a controversial quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in the 1971 war. But the issue over which people protested quickly expanded to include broader demands around freedom of speech and democracy. As the protests expanded, so too did the repression and in about 5 weeks of protests, as of August 2, there were about 215 deaths and more than 20,000 others injured, accompanied by more than 11,000 arrests in various parts of the country. My guest today is Taslima Akhter, President of Bangladesh Garment Workers Solidarity, and a participant and activists in this protest movement.

A wave of protests is sweeping through Kenya, since June 18. Triggered by controversial proposed tax hikes, the movement has evolved into a wider campaign for more accountable governance in the country. Some demand the entire government’s resignation. While the protesters have overwhelmingly been peaceful, they have been met with fierce police repression and brutality, including the deployment of tear gas, mass arrests of activists, and an inordinate number of disappearances, plus, over 50 people dead, My guest today is Nita Okoko, Kenyan socialist and feminist activist.

Asylum seekers and refugee boat arrivals that entered Australian waters before 1 January 2014 were subject to a different set of visa processing rules that limited their ability to seek a more permanent visa status. This group of about 30,000 people is known as the Legacy Caseload.A blanket ban was applied to individuals in this group, preventing them from having a refugee protection visa application processed unless the Immigration Minister exercised personal discretion to override the ban (known as "lifting the bar"). But in December 2022, Andrew Giles declared that 19,000 permanent residencies would be granted, leaving approximately 12,000 refugees in limbo.A group of these refugees has set up a permanent tent embassy firstly outside of Clare O'Neil's electoral office, and now, outside of the office of Home Affairs in Melbourne. I spoke with three of these Temporary Protection Visa holders, Narges, Aida and Afifa.