International Women’s day is always a time to reflect on the courage, endurance and love needed to transform our culture from one of inequality and gender violence to one of true equality. And with women bearing the brunt of violence in our homes, places of work and education and of course in the immigration detention regime that is now infamous for its cruelty, women are rising to the challenge. And this month’s wonderful evening, From Melancholia to Imagination, was an example of just that; courage, endurance and love.

The House of Welcome, Josephite Justice Network and the Justice and Peace Office worked together to host an evening of listening to the lived experience of four women (left to right in photo):

• Noor Azizah – Co-founder and Director, Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network and NSW Young Woman of the Year 2024

• Dr. Paula Sanchez – Senior Lecturer at Western Sydney University, School of Nursing and Midwifery

• Khatereh Nazari – Poet and Writer, Nauru Island Survivor

• Dr. Rimple Mehta – Senior Lecturer at Western Sydney University, School of Social Sciences

Dr Julie Macken was moderator.

The panellists were generous in sharing their own stories of torture at the hands of the Chilean dictatorship of Pinochet, of fleeing the genocide of the Rohingya people by the Burma junta, surviving the predations of life on Nauru at the behest of the Australian government; and recording the lives and loves of women incarcerated for crossing borders.

The fact that the evening sold-out in the first week is testament to the desire to hear the truth told and answer the call to imagine a new Australia. One capable of creating a sustainable, legal and humane immigration policy. We are still a long way from that goal, but after last week’s evening, it is clear we will all be travelling in very fine company as we struggle to achieve that goal.