BY KIM BULLIMORE
SYDNEY — Banging on drums, blowing whistles and shouting anti-war and anti-violence chants, one thousand women participated in this year's Reclaim the Night march.
The march began with a rally early in the evening of October 26 at Town Hall, where the protesters heard an Aboriginal woman speaker, Greens NSW Senate candidate Kerry Nettle and a written message from the Afghan Women's Association. Nettle described the event as "a night of celebration", but condemned the ongoing US-led violence in Afghanistan. At Hyde Park, a platform of music, comedy and speakers, including Tanya Plibersek, the Labor candidate for the Sydney electorate, continued well into the night. The Socialist Alliance was formally refused a speaker for the night.
Gail Lord also reports from Sydney that a spirited march of 250-300 women wound their way through the streets of Bankstown in the suburb's first Reclaim the Night march on October 25. Led by Aboriginal women, the march was organised in response to recent rapes in the area.
From Brisbane, Robyn Marshall reports that 300 women marched in drizzling rain on October 26 shouting some old slogans, as well as new ones for Reclaim the Night. The marchers sat down on Victoria Bridge for a minute's silence to honour those women who had been violated in war.
The march ended at St Andrew's Hall where entertainment was provided by Zig Zag Young Women's Choir, Last House on the Left, Orange Slam percussion group and Kristy Apps as well as BJCat and the Vulcana Women's Circus performers.
Monica Taylor, one of the organisers, told Green Left Weekly: "In spite of the rain, Brisbane women showed overwhelming support for the 2001 RTN march. This year's theme was: "Women of the world demand 'Stop sexual violence everywhere'". The theme is pertinent given present global events. Gender violence is a systematically orchestrated component of warfare."
One hundred and fifty women gathered outside the Victoria State Library in the centre of Melbourne on October 27 for the Reclaim the Night march, reports Vivian Messimeris. There were no demands, and there were few political speakers at the women-only rally. Various speakers told of their own experiences of sexual abuse. The only political contribution came from Surma Hamid from the Committee in Defence of Iraqi Women's Rights. She spoke about the killing of women in Iraq and the Middle East, and of the horrific US war on Afghanistan. Hamid argued that "women need to be part of the anti-war movement, that we need to be part of the progressive movement against the system".
The organisers of the rally refused to allow any women from socialist organisations to speak and they also refused to announce an upcoming anti-war demonstration because it clashed with their own meeting.
Bronwyn Jennings reports that 40 women and men rallied in Geelong on October 26 to demand an end to violence against women. The rally heard from Liz Murphy, a former Geelong Rape Crisis Centre worker, who condemned the justice system's treatment of victims of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence. She also spoke out against the "war on terrorism", stating that it could only bring further misery to the lives of women everywhere.
From Darwin, Jo Ellis reports that chanting "No war, no rape!", the October 26 Reclaim the Night protest marched along streets crowded with locals and US marines. Attended by around 100 women and men, the protest was addressed by local artist Terese Ritchie, who spoke in tribute to the women who had established the local Ruby Gaea rape crisis centre. Emma King from the Network Opposing War and Racism (NOWAR) and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom spoke about the link between different sorts of violence and asked: "How can we create a culture of peace?" She opposed the US bombing of Afghanistan as something that will "escalate the whole cycle of violence across the world". ALP Senator Trish Crossin argued that "the more women that get into parliament, the more they can make changes for us".
In Canberra, Kerryn Williams reports, 200 people gathered in Garema Place on October 26 for the annual Reclaim the Night march. Speakers and performers highlighted the continuing violence faced by women here and around the world, including the current attacks on women in Afghanistan. Indigenous dance and anti-war songs were performed.
Erin Killion reports that more than 200 women marched down the main street of the Newcastle suburb of Hamilton.
Ninety women marched and rallied for Reclaim the Night in the NSW north coast town of Ballina on October 26, reports Kath O'Driscoll. Bundjalung elder Aunty Bertha welcomed the women and Edda Lampis, Socialist Alliance candidate for Page, highlighted the need for women and men to campaign against the war on Afghanistan. Other speakers described the local services available on the NSW north coast for women leaving domestic violence situations.
From Wollongong, Marg Perrott reports that 130 women gathered on October 25 for a march and concert demanding an end to violence against women.
Terrica Strudwick reports from Rockhampton that 200 people attended this year's Reclaim the Night rally and march, despite rain and a late change of venue. Among the speakers were local indigenous women's rights activist Jenette Yow Yeh and Erin Cameron, representing the Democratic Socialist Party. There was a great feeling of support and solidarity throughout the night's event, which concluded with young women performing a survival fire dance.
Two hundred women gathered at Victoria Square in Adelaide for this year's Reclaim the Night march, Kathy Newnam reports. They heard speakers including Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, Liberal MP Trish Draper and Labor MP Jane Lomax-Smith. With a "feel-good" focus on the gains women have made in fighting sexual violence, the organisers sought to keep the focus of the rally solely on Australian issues. Although Stott Despoja sought to raise the plight of refugees, neither she nor any other speaker mentioned the war being waged against women in Afghanistan.
A small anti-war contingent met with hostility from the event's organisers, one of whom, Edith Pringle, told GLW, "War is not the issue". Although the Network Opposing War and Racism had been promised a speaker at Rymill Park, after the march, this did not eventuate.