International Women’s Day: Liberating religion from Australia to West Papua

To mark International Women’s Day, the ABC’s Soul Search hears from two remarkable women – worlds apart – on their experiences of liberating religion and women from within their religious and cultural contexts.

Jessica Bellamy’s new play, A is For Apple, will be on at the Griffin Theatre Company in Sydney from 29 March to 9 April 2022. Jessica Bellamy is a Melbourne-based playwright.

Her latest offering, A is for Apple, introduces audiences to 12-year-old Shoshana on the eve of her Bat Mitzvah – but she has one lingering question: what even is a Jewish woman?

Rode Wanimbo is the chairperson of the Women’s Department of Evangelical Church of Indonesia and is devoted to the liberation of West Papua and restoring God’s image in humanity.

Among many other achievements in this role, she started a small women’s group that is committed to decolonising the Bible – reconstructing the interpretation of biblical texts to champion women in the Pacific.