Accent of Women

Every month the Global Network in Solidarity with Ukraine meets to exchange information about the activities of left-wing solidarity groups, and create a space to discuss what progressive solidarity with Ukraine looks like in different regions of the world.  In May, they hosted a discussion focusing on the Asia Pacific Region, and on today’s Accent of Women, I will bring you two of the presentations at this meeting. On today’s program we will hear from Jeonom kim from the People's solidarity for social progress in South Korea and Arora from New Bloom and Taiwan Stands With Ukraine.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded and occupied parts of Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which had begun in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides, and instigated Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.The war has divided Leftists – there’s no real, united movement against the war. Most of us are calling for a peace of sorts. But some of us are calling for a ceasefire, while others of us are calling for the right of Ukrainians to defend themselves with arms – nuclear if necessary. Others still say that this is a NATO and US proxy war against Russia, and Russia has a right to defend itself against the encroachment of NATO.Today’s program will bring you one thread of these arguments about the war in Russia Ukraine. An organisation, Ukraine Solidarity Network, organised a public panel meeting on the 1 year anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The panel was facilitated by Ramah Kudaimi, who introduces the whole panel and the format of the d

The Move Forward party unexpectedly won the Thailand general election on Sunday 14 May, and seems likely to form the first non-military backed government since the 2014 coup. Move Forward will form government with another opposition party, Pheu Thai, which is led by a member of the Shinawatra family and had been the predicted winner. Move Forward are widely seen as the most progressive party in this election as they have been willing to engage with unions and even place union leaders high on their ticket. There is still a long road ahead for the Move Forward party to form government, and the balance of forces may not necessarily mean that they will be able to reform some of the most repressive laws in that country, namely, the Lese Majeste Law. There’s also the ever looming threat of yet another military coup.On today’s program, I speak with Thai activist, Junya Lek Yimprasert, who still remains in exile in Finland, but, possibly, things might be looking up for Lek.

Today’s Accent of Women is a repeat of a program that I produced in 2019 to mark the 10 year anniversary of the Tamil Genocide which is the 18 May.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.

Today on Accent of Women, I am in conversation with Madelaine Imber and Tandiwe Aebi-Moyo about Butch and Butch Identity. Butch is not a dirty word is a publication, originating in Melbourne, Australia, and the brain child of Butch activist, Esther Godoy.

It’s been 12 years since the Arab Spring erupted in North Africa and spread to West Asia – and the current state of the Middle East could have you thinking that no such mass uprising took place, that was on the cusp of anti-capitalist revolution. Though many have engaged in deep analysis of how the Arab Spring was betrayed, how the United States and CIA intervened to hijack the revolution and so on, on today’s program I want to broadcast a speech of one of my favourite writers and activists, Nawal El Sadawi who died in March 2021.On today’s program,I will broadcast a speech by Nawal El Saadawi, delievered in Germany almost 10 years ago today, two years after the start of the Egyptian uprisings and the overthrow of Hosni Mobarak. This speech is about feminism and the intersections of economics, poverty and revolution.

On 24 April 2013 the eight-story Rana Plaza building in Dhaka Bangladesh collapsed. The owners of a number of garment factories in the building had ignored the most basic safety regulations, and forced workers to keep working when it was clear the walls were cracking. In Bangladesh, workers are paid monthly, at the end of the month. The collapse happened on the 24th, and workers were threatened with non payment of wages, if they didn’t enter the clearly unstable building. The confirmed death toll was 1,130. Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued. Rana Plaza shows how little the fashion brands care about the lives of the workers that produce the clothes that make them insane profits.  My guests today are Rupali Akter and Taslima Akter. Rupali is a survivor of the Rana Plazar collapse. She was in the building on the day, and she was buried under the rubble for 17 hours before being rescued. Taslima Akter is a photo journalist and activist. She was onsite in the immediate aftermath, documenting and bear

In Cambodia, 11 union leaders and activists are on trial for organising a strike at NagaWorld – one of the countries largest corporations that owns gaming venues, restaurants, hotels and casinos. Teh charges are incitement to commit a felony.The case is the latest against the NagaWorld union members and part of a larger crackdown by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party on unions ahead of a general election slated for July 23.My guest today is Taphalin Ou, the President of the Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation in Cambodia.

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.

On today’s show, we bring you the final part of our coverage of the Kurdish attack in Paris on 23 December. As you’ll recall, a man open fired on a Kurdish precinct, killing three people. They happened to be well known activists, and this appears to be an intentional, terrorist attack on the Kurdish people living in Paris. This attack was not isolated – not in France and not in the world – rather, it sits in a global context of rising fascism.Concluding the discussion today is my guest, Sarah Marcha, a spokesperson for the Kurdish Women’s Association based in Paris, the group of people who were directly targeted by this attack.

On today’s show, we bring you Part 2 of our coverage of the Kurdish attack in Paris on 23 December. As you’ll recall, a man open fired on a Kurdish precinct, killing three people. They happened to be well known activists, and this appears to be an intentional, terrorist attack on the Kurdish people living in Paris. There is a lot unknown about the killer, William M., even though these attacks are very closely related to similar attacks 10 years ago on the 11 January 2013.Continuing the discussion from last week is Sarah Marcha, spokesperson for the Kurdish Women’s Association based in Paris, the group of people who were directly targeted by this attack.