Accent of Women

The siege on Gaza continues, and so too does Accent of Women’s campaign for a Free Palestine. More than 5,000 people are now reported to have been killed across the Gaza Strip, , since Israel began its bombardment in response to Hamas’ defensive attack on 7 October, in which at least 1,400 people were killed and 222 taken hostage. Israel has also cut off electricity and most water and stopped impo...

In the wake of Hamas’s attacks on 7 October, which involved atrocities against civilians, Israel has declared war on Gaza. The country’s military—one of the most powerful in the world—is attacking hospitals, schools, mosques, markets, infrastructure and residential areas. Civilians are being slaughtered and a total siege has been imposed, preventing vital supplies and aid from entering the besiege...

October 11 is International Day of the Girl and last week, Plan International released its annual report, State of the World’s Girls, which is research on girl’s rights. This year’s report looks at the experiences of girls and young women in activist – the barriers and significant challenges they face as campaigners. On Today’s show, I am joined by a panel of young women activists of colour who pa...

We have been sharing with you the monthly meetings hosted by the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine, which, every month focuses on a different region of the world, to discuss what solidarity activists are doing to support Ukraine in its resistance to Russian aggression and the current war. The June meeting, held on 22 June, focused on solidarity from Middle Eastern countries, and the two...

Arundhati Roy accepted the 45th European Essay Award on September 12, 2023.In her acceptance speech, Arundhati Roy calls out the fascism of the Modi Government, and provides gruelling examples both corporate and communal. Arundhati Roy's conclusion though, is that "However grim the situation is, please know that there is a tremendous fight back".

This conversation between activist scholars Sarah Haley and Romarilyn Ralston takes as a point of departure the firefighting labor of people imprisoned in California’s women’s prisons. The discussion considers the specific contradictions of that forced labor and meanders to cover the carceral state’s relationship to disappearance, precarity, interiority, intimacy, possibility, performance, and vio...

This conversation between activist scholars Sarah Haley and Romarilyn Ralston takes as a point of departure the firefighting labor of people imprisoned in California’s women’s prisons. The discussion considers the specific contradictions of that forced labor and meanders to cover the carceral state’s relationship to disappearance, precarity, interiority, intimacy, possibility, performance, and vio...

This conversation between activist scholars Sarah Haley and Romarilyn Ralston takes as a point of departure the firefighting labor of people imprisoned in California’s women’s prisons. The discussion considers the specific contradictions of that forced labor and meanders to cover the carceral state’s relationship to disappearance, precarity, interiority, intimacy, possibility, performance, and vio...

A joint session of Thailand’s parliament on Tuesday 22 August, selected the Pheu Thai Party candidate Srettha Thavisin to become the next prime minister—a decision that was endorsed by the King of Thailand. This comes after 3 months of deadlock, after the progressive and union-supported Move Forward Party was prevented from forming government. On the same day that Thavisin was elected Prime Minist...

Lidia Thorpe is a Djab Wurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman and Independent Senator. She is the former Greens’ First Nations spokesperson prior to her leaving the Greens in 2023.She spoke about Sovereignty, Treaty and justice at this forum organised by Green Left in Naarm/Melbourne earlier this year.

On today's show we conclude our coverage of Woman, Life, Freedom – the ideas that inspired the Rojava revolution and the popular uprising in Iran. Nilüfer Koç, Executive Council member and spokesperson for the Commission on Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) will share some of the new ideas inspiring the Kurdish-led feminist and green revolutionary movement that has liberat...

Woman, Life, Freedom – the ideas that inspired the Rojava revolution and the popular uprising in Iran. That’s the topic of this week’s show and next week’s. Nilüfer Koç, Executive Council member and spokesperson for the Commission on Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) will share some of the new ideas inspiring the Kurdish-led feminist and green revolutionary movement that h...

Climate change poses an extreme threat to natural environments and people around the world. The world needs a rapid transition away from fossil fuels to prevent dangerous climate change. However this is just half the story of climate justice. The other half is about creating a just future and centering stories of communities and Indigenous peoples. One organisation that does that is Sapna South As...

We have been sharing with you the monthly meetings hosted by the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine, which, every month focuses on a different region of the world, to discuss what solidarity activists are doing to support Ukraine in its resistance to Russian aggression and the current war. The June meeting, held on 22 June, focused on solidarity from Middle Eastern countries, and the two...

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 presentatio...

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 so...

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 th...

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,...

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 o...

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 wi...

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 unio...

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, w...

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...