Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Thursday, 10pm and Saturday, 10.30pm. Ph 9565 5522.
Access News — Melbourne community TV, Channel 31, has excellent coverage of industrial, environmental and community actions throughout Victoria. Access News broadcasts every Monday at 8pm. Phone 9633 6976 to contact the producers or make a donation.
A Healthy Baby Girl — Film-maker Judith Helfand's investigation of the "miracle drug" that caused her to contract a rare cancer. In 1990, Helfand was researching a documentary about diethylstibestrol (DES), a drug prescribed to women to prevent miscarriage from the 1940s to the 1970s, despite the pharmaceutical companies' apparent awareness of its dangers. Helfand's mother, Florence, was one of these unfortunate women. Today, there are 10 million DES mothers and children. SBS, Sunday, June 27, 10.30am.
A Memory and Peeping through the Louvres — In A Memory, as Auntie Grace Lenoy from the Birriburra nation walks on the beach of the Fantome Island settlement, she recalls what happened 65 years ago as if it occurred yesterday. She remembers being taken away to the island when she was a small girl, and how she thought that the boat was going to bring the rest of her family — but they never came. Grace spent her childhood living under the so-called care of the Queensland government and the Aboriginal Protection Act.
In Peeping Through the Louvres, Phyllis, a 60-year-old Kimberley woman who was taken from her family and birthright, traces her mother's burial site in Derby 56 years later. She makes a joyful pilgrimage to meet her family in the Yiyli community and even visits the birthplace from which she was taken, aged three, to be placed in a church orphanage in Broome. SBS, Sunday, June 27, 8pm.
Sisters in Islam — Family law in Malaysia is based on Islamic law. Women face many injustices in terms of divorce, polygamy, maintenance and custody. This program presents the views of a range of Malaysians on the conflict between Islamic law and women's rights. ABC-TV, Sunday, June 27, 10.20pm.
Strike — Acclaimed British director Ken Loach tells of the passion and bitterness generated by the Liverpool dock workers' strike. In September 1995, more than 400 workers were sacked and replaced by non-union labour. SBS, Sunday, June 27, midnight.
Kashmir: the Unfinished War — Award-winning correspondent Phil Rees travelled to the frontier that divides India and Pakistan. Kashmir is suffering more intense shelling than at any time since the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971. India is fighting a revolt in the part of Kashmir it controls and insists that the whole of Kashmir is an integral part of India. In the past decade, at least 30,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict. Pakistan also claims the predominantly Muslim region. The Kashmiris want to be allowed to decide for themselves. SBS, Tuesday, June 29, 8.30pm.
The Iceberg Cometh — Icebergs are a powerful barometer of environmental change. This program explores how global warming may result in a increase in the incidence of icebergs. ABC-TV, Thursday, July 1, midnight.