Dr Jacquelin Perry, pioneer of Gait, who aided polio survivors

30/11/2006 0 Comments read Disability, Gender, Health & Science, Poliomyelitis

By Neena Bhandari

St Louis (Missouri, USA): For the growing number of polio survivors facing new challenges with the onset of post polio syndrome, world renowned polio specialist Dr. Jacquelin Perry says, “Listen to your body. Feel the aches and pains. Don’t Push. Control your destiny”.

Infantile paralysis or polio epidemics struck America from the 1920s to late 1950s afflicting 1.8 million children. The disease killed some and disabled others.

“The effects were like spatter paint. If you had a lot of paint, you had a lot of damage, while others were just touched lightly. Polio is a nerve disease that damages or kills anterior horn cells. The survivors were left with a damaged neuro-muscular system”, explains Dr Perry.

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Faith Bandler: The Gentle Activist

25/06/2006 0 Comments read Gender, Indigenous

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 25.06.2006 (Women’s Feature Service): Faith Bandler (born 1918) showed the many qualities that blossomed in her later life. The abuse and exclusion she experienced as an indigenous schoolgirl in white Australia left a lasting impression on her, but she still exudes a serenity that belies her extraordinary energy for the cause of justice for indigenous peoples, for women, and for the peace movement.

Faith is best known for her leading role in the long campaign to win full citizenship rights for Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia. She has spent a lifetime campaigning for racial equality and women’s rights. Her work for abolition of war and elimination of poverty has been of national and international significance – the Order of Australia in 1984; an honorary doctorate from Macquarie University in 1994; the Human Rights Medal presented by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission in 1997; an award presented by Nelson Mandela on behalf of the Sydney Peace Foundation in 2000.

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New Generation Sisterhood

09/04/2006 0 Comments read Gender

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 09.04.2006 (WFS): “I may feel like a little Black girl who can run fast, but I’m also a woman who followed her heart and achieved her childhood dream,” writes Cathy Freeman on becoming the first indigenous Aboriginal Australian athlete to take home an Olympic gold medal in the women’s 400-metre race at Sydney 2000.

Her sentiment reflects a feeling of power that many women in their 30s and 40s are experiencing. Born in Mackay in northern Queensland (Australia) in 1973, Freeman discovered her passion for running at the age of five and went on to win an Olympic gold medal.

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