On May 1, the bitter debate in the Victorian Parliament over whether same-sex relationships should have the enjoyed by heterosexuals finally concluded with an overwhelming “yes” vote. Thanks to enormous community pressure, homosexual couples are now equal in a range of matters — from medical decision making to property and state taxes such as stamp… Read more »
Radical Women
In and Out of Port: Workers’ power in action!
April 7, 1998. A date which is burnt into the memories of countless activists from all around the world. The day that Patrick Stevedores, at Webb Dock Port Melbourne, locked out its entire unionised workforce. The naked anti-union aggression was breathtaking. Security guards wearing balaclavas and with dogs, charged in to clear the docks. The… Read more »
Art to Resist the Execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal: “What does it mean?”
What does it mean to me, A Chinese American woman. To have Mumia sitting on Death Row For over 17 years? What does it mean to me, A retired worker, a poet To have “The Voice of the Voiceless” writing us from his prison cell? What does it mean to you and me, Working people,… Read more »
Compañera Philippa Sandford: a rebel woman who will be deeply missed
On February 15, Philippa Sandford died of cancer. At 46, she was a rebel seasoned by her lifelong instinct and passion for justice. Radical Women knew Philippa in her last years. She defied her cancer as hard as she fought for a better world. She was an optimist, a socialist, a feminist, an internationalist, a… Read more »
We CAN organise the unorganised! Radical Women Organisers’ win shows the importance of militancy
There’s nothing like a union victory to make my day, and March 16 was one of them. When I received the news from Radical Women (RW) in Portland Oregon that RW Organiser Jordana Sardo won her job back, I was ecstatic! Like me, Sardo works in the community (social service) sector, notoriously exploitative of its… Read more »
Anti-abortion Terror re-emerges in Melbourne
Right To Life, your Name’s A Lie, goes a well-used chant against the fetus worshippers organised by a tiny band of Catholic fanatics centred on Margaret Tighe. It continues: “you don’t care if women die!” Nor ordinary workers going about their job. When, on July 16, a man of unknown identity shot and killed a… Read more »
Step Up the Fight for Reproductive Rights in Australia: Bring on the Abortion Pill!
On September 28, American women scored a great victory when the United States Food and Drug Administration approved the use of mifepristone (RU486). Their French and other European sisters had already been safely using the “abortion pill” for almost a decade. Women in Australia are still waiting. What’s the holdup! For ten years, anti-abortionists in… Read more »
Surma Hamid: an organiser for Iraqi women’s rights speaks out!
On November 3, the Committee in Defence of Iraqi Women’s Rights (CDIWR) put out a call to protest the mass killings of Iraqi women accused of prostitution. On orders from Saddam Hussein, women and girls are being hunted down and publicly beheaded. Accused of “dishonouring the country,” they are Saddam’s scapegoats in a ruthless campaign… Read more »
Pakistani Campaign to End Violence Against Women Strengthens the Workers’ Movement
Pakistan is another war zone for women. The country is ruled by Islamic military dictator General Pervez Musharraf. For so many women, it’s literally a death trap. From November 25 to December 10 last year, the Working Women Organisation of Pakistan (WWO) led the nationwide Campaign Against Gender Violence. Formed in 1987 out of struggles… Read more »
The aged care scandal: Demand justice for seniors!
Late last year, the plight of 88 year old Alice Croser, found confused and distressed at Sydney’s Central railway station, shocked the nation. Alice had been put on the train by her granddaughter in Adelaide to live in Sydney with her 59 year old son. But David didn’t want her, either: his mother, partially blind… Read more »
