Women have always been involved in struggles against racism. Aboriginal women have fought against the theft of their people's land and the forced removal of their children. Migrant women have fought for the same pay and conditions as their counterparts from non-migrant backgrounds. Many Anglo-Australian women have joined the movements and campaigns for equality and justice for peoples of colour in Australia and overseas. Today, as the racist attacks in Australia against indigenous people and new migrants multiply, it is urgent that women from all backgrounds join the campaign against racism.

The Howard Coalition government has escalated the attacks begun by the previous Keating Labor government: cutting basic public services; extending the user-pays system in education, health-care and child-care; undermining wages and conditions in the workplace; and attempting to reduce Aborigines' land rights. In short, it is dismantling all the progressive reforms that were won by the feminist and anti-racist movements in the 1960s and '70s. These attacks have been accompanied by a campaign of overt racism by Pauline Hanson and other right-wing figures looking for scapegoats for Australia's economic and social problems. As the poorest and most exploited people, indigenous women and non-English speaking background women have borne the brunt of this onslaught. Take just two examples:

• The cuts to Abstudy mean that students engaged in "away from base'' studies will no longer receive financial support. "Away from base'' studies are courses that involve students travelling away from educational institutions. Batchelor College, 100 kilometres south of Darwin, has 1900 Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander students, more indigenous students than any other higher education facility. As its study guide points out, "away from base'' study allows "students to keep strong links with their communities and culture''. Of the 85% of Batchelor College students completing part of their studies in their community, 70% are women. Aboriginal women often cannot leave their communities for long periods of time due to family and cultural commitments. Being able to do at least part of their studies away from base therefore makes it easier for them to access higher education. The Abstudy changes will wipe out this possibility for many Aboriginal women.

• The particular discrimination suffered by non-Anglo migrant women was revealed in the 1995 incident in which 25 migrant women workers at a Katies Fashion warehouse in Sydney were sacked when the company decided to relocate. Employed as shelf packers and stock sorters, the women had been excluded from the "heavier'' work of clothes bagging which was reserved for men. While all the women lost their jobs in the relocation, the male clothes baggers were re-employed after it. The women sued the company under anti-discrimination laws, but even their victory in the case last year resulted in only six women receiving a meagre pay-out under "loss of income'' provisions. Yet most of the sacked women, whose English language skills were minimal, have been unable to find a job since and are consequently suffering extreme hardship. Feminists cannot ignore the issue of racism if they aim to liberate all women. The feminist movement can only be strong and effective if it acknowledges and campaigns around the different needs of different women. That means that when particular groups of women come under special attack, it is crucial that all feminists unite and fight to defend and extend their rights to equality and justice. Justine Kamprad - Canberra