There is nothing more political than a political woman! In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when women engaged in the struggle for the vote, women recognized that politics is personal: women engaged individually and collectively in public life, to make women's concerns a part of the recognised political agenda. In the 1960s the Women's Movement recognised 'the personal is political'.
At the centre lies the demand for women's voices to be heard. In May 1889, the first anniversary of the publication of the Dawn, Louisa Lawson observed that over the year, 'scores of women' with similar aims and hopes came forward to support the journal. Almost one hundred years later, Pat Eatock, a Koori activist dividing her time between New South Wales and Canberra, noted the strong role Aboriginal women play in the fight against racism and for recognition: 'The Land Rights Movement would not have survived had it not been for the role of Aboriginal women...'
Taking a Stand looks, through women's eyes, at the many ways in which women individually and as members of organisations stand up for the rights of women, and of themselves.
Contributors include Jean Arnot, Melanie Eagle, Sabina Erika, Marlene Goldsmith, Peg Hewett, Donna Jackson, Judy Jackson, Sheila Jeffreys, Eva Johnson, Rhondda Johnson, Barbara Lewis, Edith McNeill, Annie Ngyina Milgin, Chris Momot, Carmelle Pavan, Nancy Rehfeldt, Lee Rhiannon, Misha Schubert, Daisy Serong, Moira Shannon, Joan Taggart, Jo Vallentine, Dawn Wilson
Taking A Stand: Women in Politics and Society Jocelynne A Scutt Paperback GD
