The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with several revelations about racial injustice around the world. It’s become clear: systemic racism is still thriving. With vaccinations now underway, people are finally reflecting on the hardships people of colour (POC) faced in health and finance during this tumultuous year. Staying at home wasn’t an option While much of the…
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Brazilian Carnivale Addresses Political Issues The Brazilian festival ‘Carnivale’ has taken a turn for the political this year, with the raucous celebration usually turning a blind eye to current and international events. Organisers of the festival and revelers alike tackled big topics of sexism, homophobia, Donald Trump and the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff. Some…
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Sitting from where we are now, looking back over the year that was maybe more a study in crippling remorse than anything else, and the news doesn’t appear to be getting brighter for women or other sexual, racial or social minorities. 2016 has seen a rise of female-identifying young people taking to the streets to…
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On 8 November 2016 I found myself watching the Clinton—Trump showdown from a remote town on the Pacific Coast. In its aftermath I joined the masses in experiencing a carnival of emotions, namely, the overwhelming sensation that I had been sucker-punched. I’m now sitting in a sandy cafe listening to a blonde with a drawling accent…
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Rohingya. When you hear this word, does it spark any thought in your mind? Does it spark any segment on the news you’ve seen recently? Anything you learned in class? Does it sound familiar… at all? When I asked some of my friends if they’ve heard the word “Rohingya”, the answer was “no”. And this…
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Dear Mr. Trump, I’d like to start by saying this letter does not come from a strongly political place. These days, I find myself heavily disillusioned with politics in my own country, let alone yours. I have no interest in taking sides and my decision to write this letter was not politically motivated. I felt…
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When Natasha Stott-Despoja was appointed Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls in December 2013, she said: ‘I continue to be proud of Australia’s efforts to work with and for the world’s women, and I’m honoured to have been given a chance to contribute to this work.’ In October 2016, when the United Nations appointed Wonder…
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Ira Trivedi is the bestselling author of What Would You Do to Save the World?, The Great Indian Love Story and There Is No Love on Wall Street. Her latest book and first work of non-fiction is India in Love: Marriage and Sexuality in the 21st century, a landmark book on India’s new social revolution…
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It is unfortunate that archaic traditions still proliferate in many parts of the world despite how much more socially progressive and politically conscious its inhabitants have become. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a procedure often performed to ‘prepare’ girls for adulthood and marriage. You may ask: what exactly are the health benefits of such a…
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There’s a scene in the movie The Addams Family Values when Christine Baranski, as camp counselor, reads the names of the camp attendees effortlessly but pauses at the name Jamal. ‘I’m not sure how to pronounce this name,’ she says with a frown. ‘Ja..Jay mal?’ Cue eye rolls from Jamal, who is probably used to…
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It has been said that in a clash between rhetoric and aggression, the pen is mightier than the sword. But in today’s society, there are very few among us who have not traded in the Stabilo for a Samsung or the Artline for an Apple. We have entered into an age where the thumb is…
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Since the time of Julius Caesar, politics has had the profound ability to polarise the members of a community. Even in our relatively peaceful contemporary era, allegiant political supporters have their back-stabbing daggers at the ready – and for much less than the subjugation of the Roman Republic. In the months leading up to the…
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Government appoints women to the ABC board The Turnbull government has appointed two new women to the ABC board. The two businesswomen, Dr Kirsten Ferguson and Donny Walford, bring the total of women on the board to four, who sit alongside five men. They will assist in making the decision on a successor to current…
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Associate editor for The Australian, Chris Kenny, has become the first foreign news reporter in 18 months to be granted a visa by the Nauruan government to visit the island. Since January 2014, any foreign journalist who has wished to visit Nauru must lodge an application and pay a fee of $8,000, which is non-refundable…
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