Cecilia Hofmann and Melvi Gelacio are two Filipino feminists who toured Australia last September for the Women Cannot Be Bought National Tour. Alison Thorne spoke with them on the Melbourne leg of the tour.
women & feminism
Wik is Women’s Business National Feminist Conference Rejects Big Business Land Grab
The panels at the Women & Labour Conference reinforced Wik as a feminist issue. They showed how non-Indigenous rural people are hurting badly from a crisis-ridden system, which is becoming increasingly brutal. The profiteers are attempting to use small farmers to incite mass panic in Australia – a panic fuelled by misinformation.
Government Guts Equal Opportunity Law
Moira Rayner, Commissioner for Equal Opportunity in Victoria, thought her job was to let oppressed groups know about the Commission and encourage them to make complaints when they face discrimination…. Read more »
Being an Aboriginal woman
I am a 31-year-old Aboriginal woman of Ugarapul and Bundjalung tribal roots, who is strong in my culture, but contends with the aftermath of European invasion of this my sacred land, Australia.
THROUGH BLACK EYES: A Unique Approach to Family Violence
Aboriginal women have developed a unique approach to combating domestic violence. Through Black Eyes is a landmark document that, in its approach to combating violence in the home, places the focus on community-inspired, rather than state-driven, solutions.
Real Rape Law Campaign Gathers Momentum
Rape is a largely unreported crime. And, given the myriad obstacles which a rape victim must endure, it is hardly surprising that many women decide not to notify the police. As a starting point, the law needs to be changed to mitigate the rape victim’s trauma from simply reporting the crime.
Book Review – Ann Curthoys, For And Against Feminism: A Personal Journey into Feminist Theory and History
For and Against Feminism is not simply a history. It is also a present and a future. The final section of the book, Coming to Terms With Our Colonial Past, in many ways points to directions for future theoretical work.
Andrea Dworkin, Intercourse, New York, Free Press (1988). 326 pages.
Dworkin offers no hope for women. She identifies “contextual reforms” and political programs, only to dismiss them as off-base and futile. So, she indiscriminately lumps together demands for economic equity or rape laws that work with calls for electing women to political office and athletic excellence, condemning them all for failing to “address the question of whether intercourse itself can be an expression of sexual equality.”
Defending Reproductive Freedom: An International Struggle for Women’s Rights
Abortion is about the right of women to biological and sexual self determination. It is about our right to be economically independent. Because abortion is such a fundamental issue it is one of the first targets picked out by the right wing for their agenda to shore up the institution of the nuclear family through compulsory pregnancy for able-bodied white women but forced celibacy or sterilisation or DepoProvera for Aboriginal women, disabled women and women in institutions.
First International Indigenous Women’s Conference Report Back
The conference allowed the women a platform to express their frustration and anger, but most of all, their survival. Never have I been a part of such a large group of strong, strong women. It was an absolutely inspirational event to be a part of.
