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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 the pleas of the Filipino women victims who have been fighting for decades to achieve justice. Similarly, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. refused to take up the matter with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his most recent state visit to JapanOn today’s show, Sharon Cabusao- Silva, Executive Director of Lila Pilipina, on the issue of Filipina comfort women to Japanese military men during the occupation in World War 2

At the Socialism 2022 conference, held in September 2022, in Chicago, Dr Liat Ben-Moshe gave a talk, titled Disability, Madness, Liberation: Deinstitutionalisation and Prison Abolition.Prison abolition and massive decarceration are often portrayed as utopian ideals, but few have grappled with the fact that it has happened already. The history of the deinstitutionalization movement from psychiatric hospitals and residential institutions shows the limits of rights and legal discourses as well as hope for abolition of carcerality in our time. Today’s episode of Accent of Women is the second and final part of Dr Liat Ben-Moshe’s keynote address on the intersections of disability justice and prison abolition.

At the Socialism 2022 conference, held in September 2022, in Chicago, Dr Liat Ben-Moshe gave a talk, titled Disability, Madness, Liberation: Deinstitutionalisation and Prison Abolition.Prison abolition and massive decarceration are often portrayed as utopian ideals, but few have grappled with the fact that it has happened already. The history of the deinstitutionalization movement from psychiatric hospitals and residential institutions shows the limits of rights and legal discourses as well as hope for abolition of carcerality in our time. Today’s episode of Accent of Women, and continuing next week, Dr Liat Ben-Moshe’s keynote address on the intersections of disability justice and prison abolition.

Today’s Accent of women brings you a special solidarity event organised by the Canadian Union of Public Servants, held on Wednesday 8 February. The public meeting was called, Solidarity with the Workers’ Movement and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” Uprising in Iran.The first speaker up is  Niloofar Golkar, CUPE Executive Committee member and PhD candidate in Politics at York University, focusing on the environment and the labour movement. She is a feminist activist and sits on the editorial committee of Upping the Anti: Journal of Theory and Action.The second speaker is Shiva Amelirad, a trade union activist and feminist with a focus on intersectional oppression. She is a member of CUPE local 2497. Before migrating to Canada, she was a teacher in Kurdistan and was a member of the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations.

On today’s program, we look at economic restructuring in the Ukraine, and the impact of the war. PhD Yuliya Yurchenko is the author of 'Ukraine and the Empire of Capital: From Marketization to Armed Conflict'. She is a Senior Lecturer in in Political Economy at the University of Greenwich, UK. She gave a speech titled Debt, war, and (macro)economic restructuring: lessons from Ukraine in September of last year, and we are going to hear that speech today.But first up on the program today, NETFA Leadership Program participant, Lara Cristina Cruz, interviews Dr. Veena Barsiwal, a doctor and counsellor, about the importance of bodily autonomy, bodily integrity, and its relevance to the practice of FGM/C. NETFA stands for the National Education Toolkit for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Awareness. https://netfa.com.au/

The 1 February 2023 marks the 2nd year anniversary of the coup in Myanmar. Last week, the Junta announced an extension to the State of Emergency, which was supposed to come to an end on the 31 January. They also announced that the supposed democratic elections would be put off for another year. Joining me on today’s program to discuss the ongoing civil war in Myanmar is Debbie Stothard, founding member of the Alternative ASEAN on Burma.

Marching under the banner, Treaty Not Voice, tens of thousands of people across Australia protested on the 26th January – Invasion Day. Rally organisers said that the 26th January is not a day to celebrate. It is an annual reminder of invasion, occupation, genocide and the ongoing impacts of colonisation that continues to destroy the land and waters of First Nations People. Today’s show features range of speeches at the Melbourne Invasion Day rally, MCed by Veronica Gorrie.

Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s fascistic former president Jair Bolsonaro invaded and occupied for more than three hours the headquarters of the three branches of government in Brasilia, the country’s capital, on Sunday 8 January. The protesters demanded a military coup to depose and imprison recently inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers Party (PT). Although the situation was brought under control, and the fascist occupation of the buildings ended, there remains a looming threat of a military coup with fascist-sympathetic leaders.To discuss the rising threat of fascism in Brazil is Brazilian eco-feminist and socialist, Fernanda Santos.

On today’s show, we bring you the final part of our coverage of the Kurdish attack in Paris on 23 December. As you’ll recall, a man open fired on a Kurdish precinct, killing three people. They happened to be well known activists, and this appears to be an intentional, terrorist attack on the Kurdish people living in Paris. This attack was not isolated – not in France and not in the world – rather, it sits in a global context of rising fascism.Concluding the discussion today is my guest, Sarah Marcha, a spokesperson for the Kurdish Women’s Association based in Paris, the group of people who were directly targeted by this attack.

On today’s show, we bring you Part 2 of our coverage of the Kurdish attack in Paris on 23 December. As you’ll recall, a man open fired on a Kurdish precinct, killing three people. They happened to be well known activists, and this appears to be an intentional, terrorist attack on the Kurdish people living in Paris. There is a lot unknown about the killer, William M., even though these attacks are very closely related to similar attacks 10 years ago on the 11 January 2013.Continuing the discussion from last week is Sarah Marcha, spokesperson for the Kurdish Women’s Association based in Paris, the group of people who were directly targeted by this attack.

The new year has started much the same way as the previous one ended – mass poverty, war, discrimination, racism and global fascism on the rise.  A significant event occurred in Paris on the 23 of December – a man open fired on a Kurdish precinct, killing three people. They happened to be well known activists, and this appears to be an intentional, terrorist attack on the Kurdish people living in Paris.Over the next three weeks on Accent of Women, we’re going to tell this story. My guest is Sarah Marcha, a spokesperson for the Kurdish Women’s Association based in Paris, the group of people who were directly targeted by this attack.

Well this is the final show of Accent of Women for 2022, and we will conclude the year with a discussion about the extraordinary uprising in Iran in response to the murda of Mahsa Amini by the Morality Police. This is the second part of an extended interview with Frieda Afary, about the Iranian revolution. Frieda is an Iranian socialist feminist based in Los Angeles.

Well there are only two more shows of Accent of Women for 2022, and I thought it would only be fitting to conclude the year with a discussion about the extraordinary uprising in Iran in response to the Morality Police. Here is an extended interview with Frieda Afary, over the next two weeks, about the Iranian revolution. Frieda is an Iranian socialist feminist based in Los Angeles.

The Indonesian parliament passed a new criminal code on December 6, 2022, containing provisions that seriously violate international human rights law and standards. Articles in the new code violate the rights of women, religious minorities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and undermine rights to freedom of speech and association.On today’s program to discuss the details and implications of the new criminal code, is Dian Trisnanti, from the Indonesian Federation of United Trade Unions and Radio Marsinah.

The San Francisco Public Library hosted a conference on the future of libraries, which was held on the 18th of October. On today’s show we’ll hear from one of the keynote speakers at that conference. Today we hear from Wonda Powell, Professor Emerita of History, Los Angeles Southwest College and her talk is called From Critical Thinking to Critical Race Theory: Unearthing History

The San Francisco Public Library hosted a conference on the future of libraries, which was held on the 18th of October. On today’s show we’ll hear from one of the keynote speakers at that conference. Today we hear from Wonda Powell, Professor Emerita of History, Los Angeles Southwest College and her talk is called From Critical Thinking to Critical Race Theory: Unearthing History

The San Francisco Public Library hosted a conference on the future of libraries, which was held on the 18th of October. On today’s show we’ll hear from one of the keynote speakers at that conference. Today we hear from Frieda Afary, Ret. Librarian from the Los Angeles Public Library, Frieda is a socialist, feminist and librarian. Her talk is called, Confronting Disinformation and Book Bans by Cultivating Critical Thinking and Empathy.

The Santa Cruz massacre (also known as the Dili massacre) was the murder of at least 250 East Timorese pro-independence demonstrators in the Santa Cruz cemetery in the capital, Dili, on 12 November 1991, during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor and is part of the East Timor genocide.On today’s program we speak to two East Timorese trade unionists, one based in East Timor, the other based in Melbourne Australia – both continuing the struggle for workers’ rights and a free, independent East Timor - Elizabeth Araujo based in East Timor and Carla Chung in Australia.

On 10 October, two trade unionists in the Philippines were arrested on trumped up charges. The two unionists were Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU – May First Movement Labor Center) International Officer Kara Taggaoa, and PASODA-PISTON President Larry Valbuena – transport workers union. The fabricated charge of assault, as well as a second charge of robbery for which they served their arraignment immediately before the arrest, actually date back to a rally against the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2020. They were denied their right to due process as they were not given a chance to be heard in a preliminary investigation on the complaint against them.In the first 100 days of Marcos Jr presidency, 10 people were extrajudicially killed, 4 people were abducted and are still missing and 37 were arrested based on trumped up charges. Today’s guest is one of the arrestees, Kara Taggaoa – the international officer of the Kilusang Mayo Uno.

Sri Lanka is experiencing one of its greatest political and economic crises of its existence with massive riots sparked by an absolute collapse in the country’s economy. Some economists predict that Sri Lanka will be bankrupt by the end of next year.  The crisis has deposed at least one President with new calls for a regime change.On today’s program, Accent of Women its coverage of the background and causes of the current situation in Sri Lanka with Samanthi Gunawardana.