On 7 September 2001, Heather Osland’s five-year battle against a 14-year sentence for killing her violent husband came to an abrupt halt. After the High Court upheld her conviction in 1998, Osland tried her last legal channel: a Petition of Mercy to the Victorian government. The panel of Queens Councils decided to stick to the… Read more »
Radical Women
Refugee Women: Desperate but Defiant!
Five hundred and eighty-two refugee children, some of them alone, some of them orphaned, are incarcerated in concentration camps. Their only offence is to seek a new life, free from war, or State persecution, or poverty. Some have been tortured by their guards, others sexually abused. All are desperately traumatised by their disgraceful treatment. And… Read more »
“The solution is to stop wars that make people refugees.”
A 2002 interview with Carmen Guzman, who fled El Salvador for Australia, brings home the life experiences that still drive displacement today.
Angela Acosta, El Salvador: “Working class Australians will not tolerate injustice in their name.”
“I was born on September 19, 1972 into a politically active family in El Salvador. I grew up with my mother and part of my mother’s family. Because our lives were in danger, we were forced to escape to Costa Rica. There were thousands of women and children from El Salvador with little formal education… Read more »
Dissidents with disabilities: Overcoming capitalism’s obstacles
Sharaz Kayani’s self-immolation outside Parliament House in Canberra last year was a wake-up call — not only about the plight of refugees in this country but also the treatment of people with disabilities. An asylum seeker from Pakistan, Kayani had tried since 1996 to bring his family to Australia. His applications were rejected, because his… Read more »
Victory for same-sex domestic partnerships: Queers now need economic independence NOT equal dependency
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 »
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 »
