In this episode of Women on the Line, we hear from Violet - a non-binary, queer activist from Myanmar currently based in Thailand. Violet tells us about their experience as a queer activist in Myanmar, the circumstances that forced them to relocate to Thailand, how the civil war has impacted the already marginalised queer community in Myanmar, and …

On this week’s episode, we speak to Nina from Flat Out and the Formerly Incarcerated Justice Advocates (FIGJAM) Collective as well as Monique Hurley from the Human Rights Law Centre. We speak about their report, Ending state-perpetrated sexual violence in prisons, a Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Justice Responses to Sexual Vi…

On this episode of Women on the Line we hear from sex worker artists Rogelio Ruckus, Kayla Tange, and Daphne Nguyen speak to the erotic labour of art, family and futurity. This panel was held as part of ‘The Whore Gaze’– an exhibition curated by Elizabeth Dayton and Kim Ye at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. The exhibition showcased film, …

Trish Hepworth, Deputy CEO for the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Dr Sarah Mokrzycki, academic in children's literature and creative writing at Victoria University, speak to Frances about the Cumberland city council’s ban of same-sex parenting books in May this year, its reversal, and the importance of free access to info…

On this week’s episode, we speak to Sanne de Swart, Coordinator of the Nuclear Free Collective at Friends of the Earth Melbourne, and has been part of the anti-nuclear struggle since 2011 when she joined the ‘Walk Away from Uranium Mining’ event in solidarity with Aboriginal people to push for a ban on uranium mining in Western Australia. With the …

On this episode of Women on the Line, we head to the Pride In Protest conference ‘Provocations’, which was held on Gadigal Land earlier this month. On International Whore’s Day, June 2nd, Asian migrant sex workers, Damien, Bee and NaMon spoke at the ‘Asian Migrants Sex Workers against the Border Force, racism and deportation!’ panel. Today we hear …

According to a 2021 report by the Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing, women on temporary visas experiencing family and domestic violence have been recognised as a particularly marginalised and at-risk cohort. On this episode of Women on the Line we speak with Peggy Kerdo, an experienced human rights lawyer practising mainly in immigration and …

On this week’s episode, we speak to Emily Duyên Đặng about her photovoice gallery project, Overcoming this Grief: Stories from Vietnamese women surviving family violence in Australia. Through photos and text presented in Vietnamese and English, these women share their experiences of migration, family violence and finding safety. In this conversatio…

On this episode of Women on the Line we speak with Cher Tan, who is an essayist, critic and editor based in Narrm. She previously lived in Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide and Singapore, where she was born and raised. Cher Tan recently published her first book titled ‘Peripathetic: Notes on (un)belonging’ through UNSW Press. She chats about (un)belonging, the…

This week we head to Istanbul to speak with Tan Safi, a member of the Media Team for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is an international grassroots solidarity movement which is aiming to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza and deliver 5,500 tonnes of vital humanitarian aid by sea. Tan provides an update on what is h…

On this week’s episode we speak with human rights activist Khadija Gbla. Khadija was born in Sierra Leone and spent their youth in Gambia before coming to Australia. We talk about their experiences living at the intersections of disability, neurodivergence, queerness and Blackness, their activism in these spaces, and their hopes for young people li…

On this episode of Women on the Line we continue our conversation with Yeoreum and Udie from Scarlet ChaCha– a sex worker-led organisation in South Korea. On 2 January 2023, the Mayor of Paju announced that he would demolish Paju’s red light district ‘Yongjugol’ within a year. In November last year the demolition commenced, and Scarlet ChaCha has b…

On this episode of Women on the Line we hear from Yeoreum and Udie from Scarlet ChaCha – a sex worker-led organisation in South Korea. On 2 January 2023, the Mayor of Paju announced that he would demolish Paju’s red light district ‘Yongjugol’ within a year. In November last year the demolition commenced, and Scarlet ChaCha has been actively showing…

This week on the program we speak with Danielle from Save Public Housing Collective about the Victorian State Government plan to 'retire and transform' 44 public housing towers in narrm Melbourne.While the state government is selling the scheme as an opportunity for improvement and renewal, those against the plan describe a poorly thought through s…

On this week’s episode we hear from Dacia Abela, lawyer and program manager at Naarm-based Community Legal Centre WEstjustice, about economic abuse in the context of family violence. Dacia takes us through what this looks like on a practical level, the intersections of culture and gender, how CLCs are working to help victim-survivors and raise awar…

On this week’s episode we bring you an excerpt from the Teachers for Palestine Forum called ‘Why There’s No ‘Neutrality’ on Genocide’ that took place in Naarm earlier this year on January 22nd 2024. We play a speech delivered by Samah Sabawi, who is a Palestinian award-winning author, playwright and poet. This forum was organised by Teachers and Sc…

On this episode of Women on the Line we pay tribute to Cecilia Gentili. She was a mother and sister to many transwomen, migrant women, sex workers and the wider LGBTIQA+ community in New York City and globally. On 6 February 2024, she passed away leaving a burning legacy of love and sisterhood amongst the trans and queer community. We hear snippets…

This week on the program we take a deep dive into Victoria’s parole system.First we hear an interview by 3CR Broadcaster Priya Kunjan with Karen Fletcher, Executive Officer of Flat Out about the impact of compounding and increasing barriers to parole on incarcerated people in Victoria.Then we hear Marisa from 3CR’s Doin Time show speaking with Sara…

On this week’s episode we talk about birth trauma, why so many women and birthing people in so-called Australia are experiencing it, and how it can be avoided. We revisit a conversation with Naarm-based birth educator Vanessa Shribman from August 2023, a few months after New South Wales began its inquiry into birth trauma, which received over 4000 …

Larrakia, Kungarakan, Gurindji and French writer and performer Laniyuk joins us to discuss the campaign to return Lee Point to Larrakia Care, as well as the history of the Australian and US defence forces' militarised occupation of Larrakia Country. Interspersed through this conversation, you’ll also hear from several Larrakia women - Jamilah Mills…

On this episode of Women on the Line we speak with Ryan and Sangwon from Bae Collective 배 컬렉티브. This collective aims to connect and build a community of Korean queer and trans folks who are living, working or studying in Naarm (Melbourne, so-called Australia). We chat about the dreams of Bae Collective and also this lunar new year of the Wood Drago…

This week on the program we hear from two of the speakers at the narrm Melbourne Invasion Day rally held on January 26.First we hear from Gunditjmara, Girai Wurrung and Djab Wurrung woman Sissy Austin.Then we hear the first part of a speech by Gunggari woman Dr Raelene Nixon, speaking about the death of her son Steven Lee Nixon-McKellar in police c…

On this week’s episode we hear from Jaya Keaney, author of Making Gaybies: Queer Reproduction and Multiracial Feeling, published with Duke University Press. Jaya is a lecturer in Gender Studies at the University of Melbourne, where she researches and teaches in the areas of feminist science studies, queer studies, and queer of colour theory. We spe…

On this week’s episode we look into the prison industrial complex in so-called Australia and how private companies profit from the prison system. In particular, we focus on the high cost of phone calls and how this is impacting families and communities. Across the country, calls are free via payphones but in Victoria’s prisons they cost $7 and are …

On this episode of Women on the Line we speak with Lena Chen, a Chinese-American artist and scholar currently pursuing PhD in performance studies at UC Berkeley and her creative practice and academic work looks at Asian womanhood in the diaspora. Today we chat about her draft paper, ‘Performing Power: Asian American Resistance through BDSM’ and the…

This week on the program we head to Far North Queensland to hear about a grassroots First Nations response supporting remote communities impacted by ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper.We speak with Butchulla and Woppaburra woman Samala Thakialee Cronin in Gimuy Cairns about the work she and others undertook in collaboration with Meanjin Brisbane based, fem…

On this week’s episode, we continue with our coverage of the ongoing genocide in Palestine.Firstly, we hear from Sofia Sabbagh, Palestinian-Irish artist, who speaks to us about the recent action at ABC HQ in Naarm/Melbourne where 40 creators produced portraits of Palestinian journalists who had been murdered by the Israeli Occupation Forces. These …

On this week's episode we bring you a conversation I had with Nisha Thapliyal, an academic at the University of Newcastle who is researching social justice activism in the contemporary Indian diaspora, and Saba Zaidi Abdi, a Muslim journalist, creative director and actor from India who has lived in Australia for over 30 years, on the Hindu national…

On this episode of Women on the Line we are diving into current issues in Disability Justice. As we head into holiday season and peak covid period, we listen to Iris Lee’s (3CR Broadcaster) interview with Farida about their experience with long-covid and the failure of the Australian healthcare system. We then hear Priya Kunjan’s 3CR Thursday Break…

This week on the program we bring you part of an online teach-in from the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network called “How to talk about Gaza right now.”The teach-in took place on Friday December 1st following the end of the brief cease fire in Gaza and features Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, Dr Lana Tatour and writer Samah Sabawi with Associate Professor …

Ruby Hamad on the historic dehumanisation of Arabs and Muslims in the west, how that has impacted Israel's ongoing occupation and genocide in Palestine, and gaslighting as a tool for upholding Western power structures. Ruby Hamad is a Syrian-Lebanese author and academic with a journalism background. She is in the second half of a PhD in media studi…

For this week’s episode, we hear from Yassmin Abdel-Magied on the war in Sudan and later in the show, we hear from Francesca Albanese on the ongoing genocide in Palestine.Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese-born author, broadcaster and award-winning social advocate. She runs the website eyesonsudan.net, amplifying the voices of resistance movements …

For this week’s episode, we speak with Rosa Campbell who is an historian and writer. She holds a PhD in history from the University of Cambridge and is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Edinburgh. She works on the global history of feminism. She writes often for a public audience recently at Overland, Meanjin, The White Review and Public B…

On this episode of Women on the Line we speak with Fijian Australian-born artist Yasbelle Kerkow (iTaukei Fijian vasu Batiki, Lomaiviti), who is one of the lead artists for Kal Angam-Kal: Stories from West Papua. Kal Angam Kal illuminates the little-known history of exiled West Papuan Elders residing in Narrm through the unique lens of the communit…

This week on the program we bring you the voices of speakers from two Free Palestine rallies held in Narrm, Melbourne.We hear speeches from the rally at the State Library on Sunday 15th October, including rally MCs Noura and Hajar, Palestinian playwright, poet and author Samah Sabawi and Mai Saif, member of Free Palestine Melbourne and the Palestin…

On this episode of Women on the Line we hear snippets from Shiralee Hood and Leah House who recently presented on the panel ‘Sovereignty in the time of the Voice’ held in Narrm on the 28 September. Alongside Shiralee and Leah, the panel also included Robbie Thorpe and Keiran Stewart-Assheton. Shiralee and Leah touch on themes of Aboriginal Sovereig…

On this episode of Women on the Line we hear about current issues faced by migrant and refugee women in both the workplace and more broadly in society in ‘so-called-Australia’. Phương Tran from 3CR Tues Breakfast chats with Dr Ellen Cho, Lecturer at Monash University, about her co-authored report detailing the experiences of women from migrant and …

On this episode of Women on the Line we speak with Iranian-born, Narrm based, visual artist and fine art photographer, Ramak Bamzar, about her show Pro Femina. Pro Femina is currently being exhibited as part of the Ballarat International Photo Biennale at the Art Gallery of Ballarat until 22 October this year. Her show features new works which comm…

On this episode of Women on the Line we hear from Alejandra Munoz, project officer at Dutch peace organisation PAX. She is currently leading the Don't Bank on the Bomb research, a joint project by PAX and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Alejandra spoke about PAX/ICAN's latest report, 'Moving Away from Mass Destruction'…

This week on Women on the Line, Dr. Shih Joo (Siru) Tan and Professor Marie Segrave discuss their study into migrant and refugee women's experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace. And later in the show, we play a poem by freelance writer Karen Wyld for this year's Red Room Poetry.By Ayan Shirwa and Dr. Shih Joo Tan and Professor Marie Segrave

On this episode of Women on the Line we are looking at ‘Reproductive Justice among migrants and refugees in so-called-Australia. Earlier in May, the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health held a webinar looking at advancing gender equality in reproductive justice. We hear highlights from two presentations. Syahir (they/them) who is an abortion car…

This week on Women on the Line, we hear a presentation by Nilüfer Koç, from the Kurdish National Congress, who spoke at the Ecosocialism 2023 conference. Her talk Women, Life and Freedom discussed the history of the Kurdish Women’s Freedom Movement and the new challenges facing the revolution.By Ayan Shirwa and Nilüfer Koç

This week we speak with Noura Mansour, who is the Community Organising and Advocacy Lead at the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN). In this discussion, Noura speaks to us about Palestinian resistance and sumud in its many forms; the responsibility of the media when reporting on the Israeli occupation of Palestine; and actions that the wide…

Nerita Waight looks at Victoria’s broken bail laws, and Mariam Issa shares her journey from trauma to empowerment.Nerita Waight is the CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service.Mariam is a storyteller, life coach and author.By Ayan Shirwa and Nerita Waight and Nerita Waight

This week on Women on the Line we are covering the recent abrupt cancellation of The Asian American Literature Festival in Washington DC on Turtle Island. We spoke with Liminal Founder and Editor, Leah Jing McIntosh as well as writer Hasib Hourani, who are currently over on Turtle Island and who were expected to attend the festival alongside 8 Asia…

This week on the program we speak with Tasneem Roc and Chue, campaign managers for the Myanmar Campaign Network, a national coalition of aid organisations, unions, human rights groups, faith based groups and Myanmar diaspora organisations under the auspices of Union Aid Abroad APHEDA.Tasneem and Chue speak about what has been happening in Myanmar, …

This week we discuss self-disclosure, a behaviour that on the surface sounds harmless but when done excessively can be overwhelming for the listener and pretty awkward for the sharer. Clinical psychologist and Professor Kim Felmingham helps us understand this common albeit embarrassing habit.And later in the program, Kristin O'Connell and Priya Kun…

On this week’s episode, we chat with Daisy: a Narrm based family violence lawyer and queer parent of a newborn who has recently had to navigate the medical maternity system. Daisy joins us on the show to share with us her observations on the lack of continuity of care for birthing people; the learning and unlearning that was required to avoid a tra…

This week on the show, Marjorie Anderson, the National Manager at 13YARN, discusses cultural safety, and later in the program, we hear an interview that Women on the Line programmer Emma Hart did with Tuffy Morwitzer from the Goongerah Environment Centre.By Ayan Shirwa, Emma Hart, Marjorie Anderson and Tuffy Morwitzer

On this episode of Women on the Line we are covering International Whore’s Day, which was on Friday 2 June. This year’s theme was ‘Access to Justice’. Scarlett Alliance, held a webinar featuring national and international speakers addressing issues faced by migrant workers and calling for improved immigration policies in ‘so-called-Australia’ and g…