“In 1993 I was hospitalised. I had been having depression on and off. After being misdiagnosed a few times, I finally found a doctor who diagnosed Multi Personality Disorder, which can be managed through medication and counselling. Compared to many kinds of physical disability, mental disability isn’t so obvious. It can be made worse by… Read more »
Radical Women
Fight to overturn sexist laws: Free Heather Osland!
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 »
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.
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 »
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 »
