Women on the Line
by Cleis Hart, Kannagi Bhatt, Phuong Tran & Scheherazade Bloul.
A national feminist current affairs program for community radio. A gender analysis of contemporary issues, as well as in-depth analysis by a range of women and gender diverse people around Australia and internationally. Distributed nationally on the Community Radio Network (CRN).
Episodes
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From the Archives: Women for Survival and anti-militarist campaigning in the 1980s
This week we wander through the Women on the Line archives, revisiting our show's coverage of the Women for Survival movement that emerged from the historic Pine Gap Women's Peace Camp in 1983.Through archival recordings from 1986 and 1987, we hear women on the airwaves document the feminist,...
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Reimagining Mortgages for Victim Survivors of Family Violence
Dacia Abela is a lawyer and economic abuse specialist from Naarm who has a decade of experience working in the not-for-profit community legal centre space. Dacia is on the show this week to tell us how housing insecurity is linked to family violence, reducing the financial impact on victim...
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Pine gap protests from 1983 to 2026
In July 2026, we joined the many people travelling to Mparntwe/Alice Springs (Arrernte Country) for the Close Pine Gap Convergence.In this episode, we play excerpts from anti-war and anti-nuclear campaigners and women who first protested at the base's gates more than forty years ago, at the 1983...
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Making surrogacy more ethical and feminist
Sarah Jefford OAM is a family creation lawyer, who helps families across Australia with surrogacy, donor conception and co-parenting arrangements. Sarah is an IVF mum, an egg donor and a surrogate, and has written the only guide to surrogacy in Australia.Sarah joins us on this episode of Women on...
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Laban Migrante!
For this week’s episode of Women on the Line, we speak to Sunday, Chairperson of Anakbayan Melbourne and member of Migrante Australia about the exploitation of Filipino migrant workers in so-called Australia. In response to workers’ testimonies of wage theft, unpaid mandatory superannuation,...
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AI: Fighting for Data Sovereignty, and the Future of Journalism
For this week’s episode we look at Artificial Intelligence in two domains.Firstly, we hear from Associate Professor of Social Work at ACU, Jessica Russ-Smith, a sovereign Wiradyuri Wambuul woman, from the Smith and McGuinness Wiradyuri matriarchy. Jess’ work focuses on the embodiment of First...
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40 Years of Women on the Line: an Interview with WOTL's First Producer Deb Welch
The first episode of Women on the Line was broadcast on July 16, 1986.This week on the program we mark 40 years of Women on the Line with an interview with WOTL’s first producer, Deb Welch.We’ll also hear some archival excerpts from the first episode of the show.
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Sinews of War and Trade in the Gulf
In this episode, we interview Laleh Khalili, a professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula, to discuss the longer lineages of imperialism and capitalism currently exemplified through the…
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Prajwala vs. Union of India: distinguishing between sex worker autonomy and human trafficking victims
Professor Prabha Kotiswaran is a Professor of Law and Social Justice. Her main areas of research include criminal law, transnational criminal law, feminist legal studies and sociology of law. She has edited and co-authored a number of influential books on sex work, trafficking, feminism and the...
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Creating culturally safe classrooms for neurodiverse students
On this episode of Women on the Line, we hear from Emily Stephenson, an educator and social-emotional learning specialist based in Thailand working at the intersection of education and mental health.Emily talks to us about creating safe, inclusive spaces for students, challenging systems that...
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No Kanak liberation without women's liberation!
This week on the program we hear from four women from Kanaky, so-called New Caledonia, who were recently in so-called Australia for a speaking tour, organised by Free Kanaky Solidarity Naarm. Fara Caillard, Sonia Togna, Doriane Nonmoira, and Marie-Claire Kaïchou reflect on the Indigenous feminist...
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Banning menstrual products as a political weapon in Myanmar
Thinzar Shunlei Yi is an award winning Myanmar Democracy Activist, well-known for her public advocacy against Military supremacism and oppressive systems for ethnic and religious minorities. Shunlei is the director of Sisters 2 Sisters (S2S), a women’s rights and feminist resistance collective in...
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40 Years Since Nurses' Strike
For this week’s episode of Women on the Line we go back into the archives, and revisit the historic 50-day Victorian nurses’ and midwives’ strike in 1986. As 3CR Community radio celebrates its 50th anniversary and this program, Women on the Line, celebrates its 40th anniversary, we are dedicating...
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Palestinian and Levantine ensemble, Dabke & Tatreez
This week, we take you to the National Folk Festival in Canberra, where we chat with three women from Dabke & Tatreez, a music and dance ensemble. Dabke & Tatreez formed in Sydney (Gadigal land) with musicians and dancers from, and with roots, in Palestine, Lebanon, Turkiye, Cyprus and Indonesia....
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Capitalism is Femicidal: Women Resisters Speak Out
This week on the program we hear excerpts from “Capitalism is Femicidal: Women resisters speak out” held by Radical Women at Thorne Harbour Health in narrm Melbourne on Sunday 15 March to honour International Women’s Day.We’ll hear parts of speeches by:Natalie Feliks, co-founder of Trans Action...
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Age Verification and Access to Adult Content
On this week’s program we look into Australia's new online safety codes requiring age verification for R-rated games and websites and the ramifications that this will have on our privacy. These new requirements, aimed to prevent children from being exposed to age-inappropriate content, raise...
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Bollywood's soft power and the far-right government
In this episode of Women on the Line, we hear from Dr Anubha Sarkar, Lecturer of Global Creative Industries at City St George’s, University of London and Deputy Programme Director for the Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communication, about Bollywood’s soft power and the rise of right wing Hindu...
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Part 2: Critical Minerals = Militarisation x Mining Boom 2.0
In this second part of our conversation on critical minerals with researcher and activist Mercedes Zanker (Renegade Activists), we examine the global supply chains that shape how these resources are controlled, processed, and distributed. As Australia and the rest of the Anglosphere amp up their...
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Radical feminists and religious groups restricting reproductive freedoms
Maya Linstrum-Newman, Programme Lead for Human Trafficking and Forced Labour at the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW), on a recent alliance between radical feminists and religious groups to restrict reproductive freedoms and its impact on sex work, surrogacy, gender ideology and...
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Energy and Community: CoPower 2.0
This week on the program we are looking at energy democracy in action - specially Cooperative Power, a not-for-profit cooperative which is member owned and member run.Recently, CoPower’s energy partner Energy Locals was bought out by major retailer Origin Energy.We speak with Claire Harvey,...
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Live: protesting isaac herzog in Naarm Melbourne
In this special live-recorded episode of Women on the Line, we broadcast from the streets of Naarm/Melbourne during the mass protest against the visit of Israeli president Isaac Herzog. This episode captures the voices of protesters, organisers, and community members who situate Herzog’s visit...
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Stop the policing of First Nations and other marginalised communities
On this episode of Women on the Line, we first hear from Gemma Cafarella, barrister and president of Liberty Victoria, about new research exposing the discriminatory and ineffective use of Victoria Police’s ‘designated area’ powers - a regime that allows police to stop and search people without...
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Behind the ‘Postcard’: The Ongoing Impacts of Nuclear Testing and Countering Colonial Narratives
On this week's episode we speak to Titaua Porcher, Associate Professor in French and Francophone Pacific literatures at the University of French Polynesia, about how writers, poets and playwrights in Te Ao Maohi/French Polynesia have grappled with the impacts of France's nuclear weapons testing…
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Critical Minerals = Militarisation x Mining Boom 2.0
In this episode, we sit with researcher Mercedes Zanker to discuss the military supply chain of critical minerals, from the colonisation and expropriation of sovereign Aboriginal lands to raining bombs on people implicated in US terror wars. Mercedes has extensively written and researched…
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The Racial Profiling Data Project
On this episode of Women on the Line we listen to snippets from a panel discussion about the new research released by the Racial Profiling Data Monitoring Project. We hear from:Dr Tamar Hopkins, a Researcher on Racial ProfilingSabrina Adem, a Community organiserLauren Caufield, Advocacy…
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A Tribute to Alice Wong
On this episode of Women on the Line, we’re honoring the late disabled writer and activist, Alice Wong, who passed away on the 14 November 2025 at the age of 51. We’re listening to her presentation titled ‘The Last Disabled Oracle’ from 2020, where she speaks from the future of 2029. The...
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Performances of Posterity: Theatre, Archives and Cultural Regulation in Modern India
On this episode of Women on the Line we speak with Sharvari, a theatre historian from India currently teaching at University of Chicago, about her first book project, Performances of Posterity: Theater, Archives and Cultural Regulation in Modern India. Sharvari talks to us about her research, the...
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The Sahrawi Struggle beyond UN Resolutions
This week, we turn to Western Sahara, often referred to as the last colony in Africa and one of the most overlooked frontlines of imperial power. In the wake of the UN Security Council’s 31 October resolution, which lends weight to Morocco’s autonomy plan and extends the MINURSO mandate (which…
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QLD bans gender affirming care for young people - again
This week on the program we examine the distressing news that Queensland’s LNP State Government has doubled down on their ban on young people seeking access to gender affirming care.The ban on accessing puberty blockers and hormone treatment for new adolescent patients in the public health system...
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Union Solidarity with Treaty
On this episode of Women on the Line we covering the latest update on Treaty in Victoria. We hear from Sue-Ann, Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman, who is the Deputy Chair And Commissioner of the Yoorrook Justice Commission. She delivered a speech at the Women’s Rights at Work Conference...
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Cry for Truth and Justice
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that the following program contains references to colonial violence. If you need to speak to someone about the issues covered in the show, you can contact:13 YARN on 13 92 76 - a dedicated 24/7 national crisis support line for Aboriginal...
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A Tribute to Gaza
We are dedicating this special episode to the Shuhada, the martyrs of Gaza. On 7 October 2025, the Palestinian community in Victoria gathered to mourn and honour those killed by Israel, and to speak truth against silence and erasure. We take you to that vigil, the commemoration in honour of Gaza...
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Campaigning for Vietnamese Bilingual Education
On this episode of Women on the Line we chat with Huong Truong and Lily Vu about their upcoming workshop for ViệtSpeak as well as the importance of Vietnamese language, bilingual education, language diversity and community organising tactics. Huong Truong is a grassroots organiser and former…
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Black Thoughts Matter - Professor Chelsea Watego
On this week's episde we speak to Munanjahli and South Sea Islander woman, Professor Chelsea Watego, about her new book, Black Thoughts Matter: Essays on Black Love, Black Power and Black Joy. Providing critical context to some of the groundbreaking essays published across a range of digital...
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UNWOMAN (the protest)
On this episode of Women on the Line we hear from Emma Valente, one of the co-artistic directors of the RABBLE. Emma talks to us about their new Fringe Festival show, UNWOMAN (the protest), a durational artwork celebrating the multitude of experiences around birth, fertility and pregnancy. If you...
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Early colonisation of Palestine: Arab-Jewish solidarities and their meaning for anti-genocide organising now
This week, we hear from researcher and activist Dr. Sadia Agsous-Bienstein, recorded at a teach-in hosted at the Institute of Postcolonial Studies in Naarm/Melbourne.Sadia speaks on the erased histories of Arab–Jewish solidarities and their meaning in the current moment of genocide in Gaza,...
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Radiance in Pain and Resilience: Dr Samah Jabr
Today we hear from Dr Samah Jabr, a Palestinian psychiatrist living in Jerusalem who recently visited Australia for the first time to tour her new book, Radiance in Pain and Resilience: The Global Reverberation of Palestinian Historical Trauma.We spoke with Dr Jabr shortly ahead of a lecture and...
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44 Flats United against Public Housing Demolition
On this episode of Women on the Line we chat with 44 Flats United (44FU) are a group of residents, former residents and supporters of public housing, organising against the Victorian State Government's decision to demolish the 44 high-rise commission flats and a growing number of walkups across...
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The Struggle Against Technocracy
On this week’s episode we look into big tech companies - their complicity in war, their pervasive use of surveillance and data, and the impacts this is having on us as individuals, as artists, and as communities. Our first conversation is with Cher Tan, an essayist and critic whose written work…
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Converge on Canberra - Sanction Israel Now!
Today we hear speeches from the Convergence on Canberra which took place from 20-22 July.More than a thousand people from across so-called Australia gathered outside Parliament House to demand that the Federal Government impose sanctions on Israel in response to the state’s ongoing genocide of...
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Wholistik Permaculture - learning to live sustainably
On this episode of Women on the Line we hear from Thaan, founder of Wholistik Permaculture, a social enterprise based in Chiang Mai, Thailand that aims to connect people with nature and create an alternative to living within capitalism. Thaan talks to us about the importance of permaculture,...
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Australian profiteering from genocide // a journey to Om Sleiman farm (West Bank) and sovereignty
In the first half of the show, we bring you speeches from the “Future Fund Invests in Genocide” rally held on June 26 in Naarm/Melbourne. We hear from Jaimie Jeffrey, who is a member of the No Aukus Vic and Elbit Out of Vic campaigns, as well as Romina Beitseen, an Iranian unionist and peace...
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Transforming Gender in Academia and the Archives
On this episode of Women on the Line we chat with scholar Carolyn D’Cruz and librarian and archivist Clare O’Hanlon, who are speaking at the Researching Our Culture talk as part of Q-Lit, Victoria's premier LGBTQIA+ literature festival. We chat about gender in academia and the archives as well as...
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Our Story with Maxine Chi
On this episode of Women on the Line we chat with Maxine Chi (Chai) who is a contributor to the Our Story: Aboriginal – Chinese people in Australia, an exhibition that has been curated by Zhou Xiaoping and held at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra until 27 January 2026. Maxine is a…
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Motherhood in the Colony
On this week’s program we speak to Genevieve Grieves and Wejdan Shamala about their project, Motherhood in the Colony. Genevieve is a proud Worimi woman and respected artist, educator, field builder, film director and oral historian. She is also the co-Creator and Creative Director of GARUWA,...
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The Story of Rice
On this episode of Women on the Line, we speak to Burmese artist Yim about her book The Story of Rice, a colouring book that preserves traditional Burmese farming methods. We also speak with Lisa, Yim's friend, translator and founder and owner of Free Bird Cafe in Chiang Mai, Thailand, about her...
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End the Raids! Full Decriminalisation of Sex Work Now!
On this week’s program, we hear from Bee and Rory about the targeting of Asian-migrant sex workers, increased raids committed by Australian Border Force through Operation Inglenook, and the ongoing violence and surveillance of street-based sex workers. First, we’ll hear a conversation with Bee on...
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Rebuilding Myanmar through a feminist revolution
On this episode of Women on the Line, we speak with Thinzar Shunlei Yi, an award winning Myanmar Democracy Activist well-known for her public advocacy against Military supremacism and oppressive systems for ethnic and religious minorities. Shunlei tells us about military rule in Myanmar, the...
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Resisting US militarism in South Korea
In this episode, we speak with Jeju-based peace activist Sung-Hee Choi, who has spent more than 15 years resisting U.S. militarism, weapons manufacturing, and the construction of a naval base on Jeju Island, South Korea.Sung-Hee is a board member of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear...
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Trans Day of Visibility with Aisya Zaharin
On today’s show we are marking Trans Day of Visibility (31st of March). We will be hearing snippets of a rich conversation between 3CR’s Sally Goldner and Aisya Zaharin. Aisya is a trans advocate from Meanjin Brisbane and is currently in Narrm as a special guest for the Women’s Iftar hosted by...
About this show
A national feminist current affairs program for community radio. A gender analysis of contemporary issues, as well as in-depth analysis by a range of women and gender diverse people around Australia and internationally. Distributed nationally on the Community Radio Network (CRN).
Hosted by
Cleis Hart, Kannagi Bhatt, Phuong Tran & Scheherazade Bloul.