Migrant women rally

By Sue Bull

CANBERRA -- “We've learned to speak. We've learned to stand and walk. Don't cut off our legs.” These words adorned placards held by 100 women who rallied outside Parliament House on June 17 to oppose cuts to the Association of Non-English Speaking Background Women of Australia (ANESBWA).

Women from Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra condemned the cut of $40,000 from operational funding, saying it will devastate services.

ANESBWA, established 12 years ago, is the only national policy, advocacy, research and information organisation for migrant women. It has been central in raising issues like domestic violence, employment and unemployment, training and education, serial bride sponsorship, immigration laws, access to government services and representation of migrant women in government structures.

National coordinator Larissa Andelman told the rally: “There are more than 1 million migrant women from non-English speaking backgrounds in Australia, and cuts to the only national migrant women's organisation will be seen as a complete dismissal of migrant women and the barriers limiting their full participation in Australian society”.

Sarah Khalidi, secretary of ANESBWA, summed up the feeling of betrayal when she said: “By de-funding ANESBWA, the government is dropping migrant women's issues off the agenda, and we are back where we started 12 years ago. But this time around we are living in a more hostile and unsafe society, where racism and discrimination are on the rise.”

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