Is it women who need to change, or the society and the institutions we live with? That’s our question as the world marks International Women’s Day this week.
We are joined by an icon of the feminist movement, Eva Cox. A founding member of the Women’s Electoral Lobby, a university teacher, policy advisor, activist and change maker, Eva has been celebrated on a postage stamp and made an officer of the Order of Australia.
When it comes to changing society and mending the world – there is also a Jewish strand to Eva’s story. She was born to Jewish parents, in Vienna in 1938 – less than a fortnight before the Nazis marched in.
In an extensive interview Eva talks about how that background has shaped her life and activism, and how saving the world, or at least, trying to mend it, has defined her public life as a feminist change maker and social commentator. While many prominent feminists have been Jewish – like Rosa Luxemburg, Emma Goldman, Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan – it was German Jewish scholar Hannah Arendt who had a major impact on Eva’s life. For Eva Cox, Arendt’s insights were especially sharp on questions of human nature.
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