Run the World: Wom*n's Newsletter

RUN THE WORLD RUN THE WORLD WOM*N & COVID-19

contents.

1 Letter from the Editor || Janani Bala 2 From The Plague to Corona: The Modern Woman Taking a Turn? || Oviya Wadhwa 3 Why Front-line Work is a Feminist Issue || Faith Limantono 4 Company or Compassion? Advertising in a Pandemic || Jessica Wang 6 COVID-19 and its Reinforcement of Historical Gender Norms 8 Our Four Corners || Eni Xu 10 Weighted Down: Carrying the Mental Load of a Pandemic || Isabella Newton 11 Humanitas || Sandra Ang 12 Who run the world? Girls. || Isabelle Doan & Brianne Perera 14 The Pandemic in Prisons || Anna Ho 16 The Security of a Home During COVID-19: A Right or a Privilege? || Gopika Aryad 17 Domestic Violence in the Wake of COVID-19 || Ishani Gangopadhyay & Lulu Edwards 18 Indefinite Horror || Freya Osterberg 19 Spirituality in a Global Pandemic || Juwariya Malik 21 Isolation and Human Frailty: A Personal Perspective || Niki Nojoumian 22 A Body, A Mind || Maysam Najjar 24 Dopamine Detoxing || Freya Osterberg 25 Recommendations || Our Team 26 Endnotes || Our Team

acknowledgement of country.

Run the World respectfully acknowledges the Bedegal, Gadigal and the Ngunnawal Peoples as the custodians and protectors of the lands where each campus of UNSW is located.

disclaimer.

"The UNSW Law Society Inc. is proud to provide opportunities for students to be published.

However, the enclosed articles reflect the opinions of the contributors and do not reflect the views of the UNSW Law Society Inc. UNSW Law Society Inc. is not affiliated with any political party.�

Dear readers, At the end of the day, it’s humbling to remember I am very excited to present to you: “Wom*n and

that these are a range of luxuries that are available

COVID-19”. This is the very first edition of Run The

to me; I have the facilities and arrangements in

World, a UNSW newsletter dedicated to issues

place to study and work from home, my access to

concerning womxn and non-cis men.

staple food items and other necessities hasn’t been disrupted, and I can dedicate time to

In light of the whirlwind series of events that 2020

activities that better my mental and physical health

has subjected us to, we thought it would be highly

during a global pandemic.

relevant and appropriate to dissect the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is

In this issue, we will explore how the pandemic has

safe to say that for all of us, this has been a time of

impacted womxn and non-cis men. Our essays,

immense and unpredictable change. Never have I

poetry, short stories and articles consider topical

found myself in a situation to give into peer

issues of gender roles, leadership, mental health,

pressure of stockpiling toilet paper and non-

and domestic violence. We finish with some of our

perishable foods.

recommendations of media we have been watching, and activities we have picked up over

I am now carrying out the bulk of my academic

quarantine, to end on an optimistic note as we

studies from home, and, courtesy of my

tackle the rest of this year.

temperamental Wi-Fi connection, I have developed my reservations for online learning. A

I hope this issue gives you valuable insight into a

highlight of my time at home would be my many

range of social issues, as

successful (and a fair share of failed) baking

well as the personal

endeavours (the heartbreak of biting into a fresh

experiences of our

batch of box-mix cinnamon crumble muffins, only

writers. Stay safe, happy

to find that they aren’t cinnamony enough, is a

reading, and let’s make

pain that nobody should have to endure) and

the most of this year,

delving back into crafts such as knitting and

together.

embroidery.

Enjoy!

janani bala ~ editor-in-chief

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FROM THE PLAGUE TO CORONA FROM THE PLAGUE TO CORONA

The Modern Womxn Taking a Turn?

A biological weapon? A ‘plandemic’? An advertising campaign to launch 5G?

Since its inception, COVID-19 has met its fair share of conspiracy theories, uniting bloggers and theorists alike finding explanations to this worldwide issue.

As these theories trigger the paranoid and sow the seeds of alarmism, I can't help but wonder about the coincidental arrival of a pandemic every century.

The bubonic plague: allegedly beginning around 1320.1

The lesser-known, but also worldwide pandemic, ‘The Spanish Flu’: 1920s.2

2020: I think you can fill in the blanks for this one.

When it comes to womxn, there is always talk of a ‘glass ceiling’, however, there is little invisibility when one considers a plague’s impact upon gender inequality. The transcending patriarchal role of a ‘carer’ is reinforced in such times.

Casting our minds back to the 14th century, being a womxn in the Black Death was quite literally, ‘life-threatening’.

On one side, you would have the Parish from each town selecting a small group of womxn to work as nurses for the infected- a sacrifice – a testament to the fact that your life would be deemed less important. Just like throwing a lamb to the wolves…

On the other side, research, such as that by Daniel R Curtis has been conducted investigating the fact that it had a ‘sex-selective’ impact. Statistics show that 21% more womxn than men died of the black plague.3 This is commonly attributed to the fact that unlike their male counterparts, womxn assumed the role of carers and nurses in such turbulent times. The dominance of females in the nursing occupation was not the sole factor to the female death toll, but we surely can't ignore that when the going gets tough, womxn are sent straight out into the frontline.

However, some historians theorise that the end of the Great Plague did see a rise in jobs for womxn, whereby the drastic decrease in population vacated the labour market and vacant for womxn to assume.4 Leading up to the Industrial Revolution, womxn were able to access unskilled jobs such as hurries and factory workers, which, although low paid, were definitely a step in what is an overall never-ending marathon. A marathon for equality to smash this glass ceiling.

With womxn now forming about 40% of the workforce,5 indeed barriers have been broken down. But, some of the fundamental gender roles present in the plague have resurfaced in the time of “quarantine” and “#wfh”.

Womxn continue to hold the position of ‘carer’. This ‘double role’ that third wave feminist movements so critiqued has manifested. Now, womxn are working, albeit in higher positions, but still taking care of their children’s online activities simultaneously coupled with cooking and cleaning. Behold for expectations have now doubled. This is nothing more than domesticity masked in contemporary form; the remnants of inequality remain as they did before.

The double burden exists not just in this Western form, but also in Third World countries where womxn are the primary providers who travel to gather food and water. Just as nurses were placed in the frontline during the Black Plague, womxn continue to face added tasks of managing their stay at home family.

What’s more, the economic strain of this virus has caused the closure of various factories in these countries, where the textile industry was able to fund basic living standards to aid womxn in getting on their feet, but these jobs are now on hold.

These are more different issues faced as a result of technological difference between the times, where science has enabled us to take preventative measures such as social distancing and quarantine, deemed to be more ‘advanced’.

“Ring-a-ring o’ roses…we all fall down…” is a children’s rhyme, but actually originated in and is about the bubonic plague. If read with this context in mind, a rather melancholy and doomed message comes to mind. Just like today’s situation, but, though it still isn’t as ‘rosy’ for womxn in such times, some aspects have definitely changed for the better and even the worse.

Editor: Noor Chirenian

Oviya Wadhwa

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why front-line work is a feminist issue.

In March, earlier this year, individuals were forced to face dramatic change - offices learnt how to run from home, adults learnt how to compartmentalise home and work life and students of all ages moved online. Amongst all this, womxn emerged as our most essential workers.

We applauded these workers on social media and from our balconies for saving lives at the risk of theirs. However despite this recent and overwhelming recognition, workers in these industries are notoriously underpaid when you consider the long and hard hours.

Womxn dominate these underpaid front-line fields in occupations of nursing, medical support and aged care.

According to an ANZ report, womxn consist of nearly 80% of healthcare and social assistance workers and nearly 95% of aged-care workers.6 Isabelle Joyce is a 20 year old nursing student currently working at a COVID-19 testing clinic as one of these essential workers in the fight against the pandemic.

“When a person walks in, I’m the first person they see,” Miss Joyce stated. “They register with me, we go through their symptoms and I show them what the test will be like and how they’ll receive their results.”

Miss Joyce pointed out that same disadvantage. “A lot of the people in higher up positions are men and many studies have shown that men are more likely to be promoted quicker.”

Jules Lindsay, a nursing student currently working at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Kensington, shared Miss Joyce’s thoughts. “A lot of companies have been offering free coffees for nurses and they’re saying that they’ve been receiving so much free coffee, but they just want greater pay,” she stated.

The issue of underpayment in female-dominated fields is not the only issue concerning these workers that has emerged. Womxn in these fields have also had to face greater emotional labour, particularly as front-line work requires greater emotional labour due to the care that is required for patients. However, this is rarely recognised.

The report by the Royal College of Nursing stated that perceptions of nursing as a female occupation “devalues the emotional labour required in nursing, taking this for granted as a natural ability rather than one that should be rewarded”.10 But then the pandemic brought added emotional labour.

Miss Joyce thinks the recent support for frontline workers has been largely superficial. “It felt very hollow that this year was the ‘Year of the Nurse’ but we didn’t even get our 2.3% pay rise”.

In May, NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian announced a 12 month wage freeze for public servants. This wage freeze would affect the workers we had been applauding and ignore the persistent underpayment of womxn in female dominated fields.

This pay freeze ignored the persistent underpayment of womxn in female dominated fields. The Royal College of Nursing’s report, ‘Gender and Nursing as a Profession’, found a 17% wage gap between male and female nurses in the UK.7 Despite these occupations being a femaledominated field, they are paid less and are less likely to be promoted than their male counterparts. They are also more likely to be part-time or casual workers which means they receive less pay, less benefits and less paid leave.8 The report found that “historic perceptions that care is a naturally feminine skill or characteristic sit in direct opposition to the high level of skills and professionalisation required in contemporary nursing.”9

When lockdown hit, the emotional labour many mothers held in their families increased as they were forced to quickly adapt to simultaneously home-schooling and working from home. Female front-line workers with children had to negotiate this labour with more difficulty when shifts could often be up to 12-hours.

“Nurses didn’t have the option of having their kids at home because there was more work than there had ever been,” Miss Joyce pointed out.

“When every other kid stayed home from school, these female workers were faced with the decision of sending their child to school, knowing that they might be the only ones in class, or going to work. This sums up that womxn have had to make this choice for years, but it becomes more complex now.”

Public recognition for front-line work has not only neglected the underpayment faced by womxn, but also failed to appreciate their emotional labour. We’ve spent the last few months valuing the risk they’ve undertaken to save lives, it is now time that we give them the pay they deserve.

Faith Limantono Editor: Colleen Rose Gonzales

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Comp@ny or Comp@nion? @dvertising in @ p@ndemic If you’ve checked your inbox at any point in the past few months, you’ve likely been bombarded with them: emails, from any business you've made the mistake of giving your email address to at any point in the past few years. With their tastefully minimalist graphics and plaintive, ostensibly helpful and innocuous statements, they inform you that you have Starbucks' full support during these 'strange and unprecedented times'. That now, more than ever, your Big Four Bank will do whatever it can to assist you in this 'scary and uncertain era'. And that even Bed Bath & Beyond is here for you, no matter the circumstances.

The pseudo-intimacy with which faceless corporations interact with us has only heightened in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The majority of us are stuck at home, unwillingly and indefinitely, with little to do for entertainment other than consume media on a repetitive cycle. This means we're coming into contact with a lot of advertising.

It's not surprising that a global pandemic impacting every sector of our lives has brought about numerous - to steal that overused term - truly unprecedented changes, one of the most prominent being the ways in which we engage in our favourite pastime: exchanging money for goods and services. In a capitalist society in which hyperconsumerism is the norm, bored citizens forcibly laid off and confined under a nearglobal stay-at-home order pretty much have nothing better to do. And, as womxn, there's

nothing we gals love more than online shopping, right?

In this new age of advertising, the marketers home in on a particular demographic. Evidently, they're not trying to cater to the frontline workers: retail employees, fast-food and other service workers who are too busy being forced to labour for meagre wages to think about what kind of heels they should buy for when the clubs reopen (and who, as ABS statistics show, are overwhelmingly womxn, and so are already shouldering much of the increased burden of domestic labour).11 As noted by Amanda Hess of the New York Times, corporations have seamlessly incorporated the devastation and unprecedented changes brought about by the pandemic into the twee, cheesy language of advertising.12 You're now a 'hero' for ordering a takeaway pad thai from your local restaurant.

Your consumption is transformed into a moving display of courage and support for our economy. This is something that has not gone unnoticed by the aforementioned and muchlauded essential workers, including Karleigh Brogan, a grocery store employee who wrote: “It's a pernicious label perpetuated by those who wish to gain something - money, goods, a clean conscience - from my jeopardization.”13 To put it simply, these workers are victims, not heroes, and it's a bastardisation of the term to imply that taking part in capitalist consumerism makes us heroes by association.

This bizarre intersection between company and companion, warped by the advent of the coronavirus, is exacerbated when it comes to gendered advertising (which is already a strangely intimate affair). For corporations the bottom line is always the priority - a fact that most of us are hopefully well aware of - but there's still something undeniably appealing, albeit uncanny, about a website calling you 'babes' that prompts all sorts of questions surrounding the

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complicated relationship between consumer and company in the social media age. Websites such as PrettyLittleThing and NastyGal, primarily known for selling womxn's clothing but occasionally branching out into related products such as makeup and skincare, are changing their tune to advocate the importance of 'self-care', pressuring stressedout consumers to purchase gimmicky candles, sheet masks and foot scrubs, trading comfort and convenience for cash. They wryly acknowledge the current reality with a tonguein-cheek message about buying flashy new outfits only to have nowhere to wear them to (every womxn's greatest struggle! The horror!) or with a small disclaimer regarding extended shipping times and delays, but apart from that their tone is as cheerful as always, somehow even more sales-focused than usual.

As of the time of writing, the Boohoo website's front page is a seizure-inducing flashing banner that screams “TREAT YOURSELF TREAT YOURSELF� before plugging their wares. As quarantine restrictions tightened, fashion retailers like Boohoo shifted their focus. They still offer the variety of fast fashion fare they always have, but there has been extra emphasis on the stylish and overpriced category of athleisure/ loungewear clothing. Boohoo's newlychristened 'Stay Home' category brings up pages and pages of gorgeously made-up models strutting their stuff in comfortable, formless sweatpants and fluffy bathrobes.

Clearly, these idle luxuries aren't being marketed towards bone-tired healthcare and service workers forced to put their lives on their line for a paycheck.

Black womxn are part of a demographic that many of these brands have previously pushed aside, and are impacted disproportionately by the coronavirus pandemic; they are overrepresented in the service industry, therefore much more likely to be forced into financial instability by a wave of

layoffs, and ultimately almost twice as likely to die from the pandemic.14 With the recent murder of George Floyd making international headlines and placing (needed) pressure on influencers and corporations alike to release statements, the notifications have come pouring in - from DollsKill, ASOS, Reformation, all, of course, carefully curated to match their brand aesthetic down to font size and background colour. Evidently, they're concerned about the financial impact of not appearing to support the Black Lives Matter movement, but not concerned enough to disregard their brand's image entirely.

Considering black people are also disproportionately affected by police brutality, the many black womxn now featuring prominently on glossy Instagram feeds is just a too-little too-late attempt to rectify the blindingly white aesthetic that dominated the advertising we consumed as little as a month ago.

The bottom line is that corporations will always care about their bottom line, about profits over people. Even the most wellintentioned pandemic post or black square on Instagram won't be able to change that. Still, as the lines between company and companion become increasingly shifted and blurred, with brands interacting personably with the masses on platforms such as Twitter and insisting that they have a personal relationship with us, it's something we'd do well to keep in mind. If they're going to pretend to be human, we need to hold them accountable the way that we do with humans, not let their vulturistic opportunism as a response to global tragedy slide. The nature of advertising has slowly, insidiously changed to make it as hidden and oblique as possible, and it is unequivocally gendered.

JESSICA WANG Editor: Aakriti Shoree || 5

dani lee.

COVID-19 and its Reinforcement of

HISTORICAL GENDER GENDER NORMS NORMS HISTORICAL

As recognised by the UN Secretary-General, it is a fact that womxn and girls, simply by the virtue of their gender, are facing exacerbated consequences from COVID-19.15 The pandemic has negatively impacted thousands of Australian womxn's jobs and increased their unpaid work exponentially, with the effect of the JobKeeper package scheme seeming disappointingly limited. Womxn's economic standing is being diminished at a disproportionately higher rate than that of men, as the demands of increased household duties force womxn to once again assume the outdated, sexist role of a mere domestic worker.

From working woman to housewife The pandemic has been causing, and will continue to cause, major financial loss to womxn.

The drop in employment rates following the outbreak of COVID-19 was concentrated in sectors predominantly occupied by womxn, namely, the services sector, which includes retail, hospitality and tourism.16 With students out of school, family members working from home and older persons needing more care than before, unpaid work has increased significantly.17 Despite our apparent progress in abandoning old-fashioned gender roles, the burden of this workload still falls mainly on womxn. For womxn with formal jobs, taking on greater domestic responsibilities means that they are at a disproportionately higher risk of having their jobs affected with cut offs and layoffs than their male co-workers.18 This is clearly brought to light by the Australian Bureau of Statistics' report that between March and April 2020, the number of jobs fell by 8.1% for womxn, compared to only 6.2% for men.19 The consequences of these changes do not simply end at the immense mental strain of losing one's job or being overloaded with work. It is projected that the global recession caused by COVID-19 will lead to a dip in womxn's income and labour force participation.20 This is already evident in the ABS's report that female labour force participation decreased by 2.9 points to 58.4% between April 2019 and April 2020, whereas male participation decreased by a relatively smaller amount of 1.9 points to 68.9%.21 These statistics demonstrate a worrying regression that is worsening the existing inequalities between working men and womxn. Additionally, as a result, womxn's ability to support themselves and their families financially will diminish considerably,22 and womxn who were already living in poverty will face even greater financial difficulties.23 Furthermore, depriving womxn of the opportunity to work now goes beyond causing mere shortterm financial losses. Reduced work ultimately means less superannuation, widening the financial gap that already exists between men and womxn nearing retirement age. For reference, in 2015-16, the average super balance for Australian womxn aged 50-54 years was $123,642, nearly half that of Australian men ($237,022).24

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What is the Government doing to help womxn?

The Australian Federal Government has attempted to combat COVID-19's expected impact on employment by launching the JobKeeper payment. Under the scheme, a wage subsidy at a flat rate of $750 per week is provided for eligible Australians whose normal earnings either match this rate or surpass it.25 Additionally, workers whose earnings are below this rate can qualify for JobKeeper if their employers top up their earnings to match the rate. This allowance is predicted to result in 80% of eligible part-time workers receiving an extra hundred or so dollars than their normal salary,26 which will likely assist those who are at greater risk of facing financial struggles during the pandemic. In total, the scheme will provide an income to more than 6 million eligible Australians at a cost of $130 billion,27 making it an impressive commitment by the government. However, is the scheme, which makes no special provisions for womxn, enough to halt further exacerbation of existing gender inequalities? Unfortunately, while many womxn classify as eligible part-time or full-time workers, a significant proportion of ineligible workers also consists of womxn. Casual workers who have been working for their employer for less than 12 months are barred from the JobKeeper package. Studies estimate that there will be approximately 950,000 ineligible casual workers, mainly from female dominated sectors such as hospitality, retail, health care and social assistance.28 These workers are instead eligible for the JobSeeker payment for wage replacements of $550 per week. This is unlikely to be sufficient. Many of these workers' earnings are estimated to surpass this rate, and thus these womxn would make a loss under the JobSeeker scheme.29 Conclusion Womxn are amongst the key groups who are taking the hardest hits from this pandemic. Even with the Australian Government's endeavours to support workers, COVID-19 disruptions have undermined the capacity of many working womxn to be financially independent, scaling back the progress towards gender equality we have fought so hard to gain over the past century. These consequences show that a general compensation scheme such as the JobKeeper scheme is not enough - governments must put womxn's needs at the centre of their efforts to recover from COVID-19, lest we fall back into historical inequalities.

Editor: Rene Shi

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Our FOUR Corners

// ENI XU It had arrived early in August, perhaps on a wintry day—the biting cold beckoning in the browbeating stranger. A stranger, at first, something distant, happening across the seas.

We were only privy to it through widened screens, our eyes widening as we ate our dinners, but only momentarily as everything flickered past and we went on to load the dishwasher.

I always did the groceries on my way home. My stiff heels would clack against metal escalators, into hardened skin, plastic biting the flesh of both palms. On one of the last times I went shopping the shelves were stacked rather sparsely. Yin had asked for mushrooms. There were a few small ones left. I scooped them into a bag.

The mushrooms shivered in the pan. Lihan was already sitting at the dining table, rolling something around between his fingers. A harsh light shot in through the window. Yin was home.

She came up behind me to give me a quick kiss before scooping up Tay—who was rolling around on the floor, in time to Lihan’s fingers—to join Lihan at the table. Before she sat down, she snatched away what Lihan was playing with.

Lihan’s face scrunched up. “Ma! Niang didn’t wash her hands!”

I turned around, a mock-reprimanding expression on my face, eyebrow raised. Yin laughed and held up her hands in surrender.

She brushed past me to get to the sink and slipped Lihan’s item into my apron pocket. “Why are you letting them play with this stuff.”

“Sorry, I didn’t notice.”

Her face softened. “Tired?”

“A bit.”

The mushrooms were darker now. I switched off the flame. Yin switched on the TV. Lihan and Tay swivelled around to watch the screen in the wall. “Niang, what’s happening?”

Yin frowned. “I don’t think we should leave the house too often anymore.”

“Why not?” “What about school?”

It had breached national borders, and the days were definitely not wintry. I remember my first panicked thought—neither of us could stay home to watch over the kids. That problem soon resolved itself.

The call came, perhaps a week later. They made it sound like a courtesy, calling me the night before I went to the office for the final time. I put down my phone and went back to loading the dishwasher.

“Ma, why are they glowing?”

The TV kept going, night after night after night. It showed us the streets that I hadn’t stepped onto for a while, where yells turned into screams, screams cut off by crashes. The crashes kept in time to the discordant ringing of dishes stacking against each other. And finally, the nightly string of numbers, each one a few digits longer than the numbers from the night before.

“Come on, time for—” Time for what? I don’t remember anymore. There was a stricter schedule we followed back then.

The week’s groceries had arrived, sitting on the verandah in a neat bundle, which I sprayed with disinfectant before bringing inside. “...four more people have been identified with a faint glow surrounding their body...total world-wide to one thousand and fortyseven...admitted to hospitals to undergo health checks...no apparent cause for the glow discovered as of yet...light that encases the patient from head to toe...pulsates when others approach. The state’s health minister has issued the following request...and...further testing…”

I took something from the bundle and poured it into the pot. The carton throbbed like a heartbeat. “...the WHO has re-issued the earliest date for a vaccine…”

A flash from outside bounced reflections off the steel countertop. “...there has been a growing level of skepticism towards WHO’s predictions…”

Yin walked in and headed straight for the shower. “...as riots continue to break out across the country, the prime minister has provided a...acknowledges the severity of discrimination in...but continues to urge people to avoid public gatherings...heard your demands...in the meantime, it is of paramount importance that we remain vigilant to the tendencies of the...”

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When Yin came back downstairs she was immediately tackled by Tay. “Niang! Why do they get to have the glowy thing? Can we get it too?” “...social media has dubbed the glow the ‘immunity aura’...none of the identified aura-bearing individuals have contracted the virus even after coming into frequent contact with confirmed...eighty-six of whom are health workers on the front lines…”

Yin dragged her Tay-clutched leg towards the dining table. “Your Niang is—” Lihan grabbed Tay and tore him away.

“Lihan! Don’t be so rough!”

“But...we won’t get the glowy thing if we don’t be good.”

“Well, you could’ve hurt Tay. Is that called being good?” “...no.”

I closed the lid on the pot. “What ‘being good’?”

Yin shrugged. “No idea, just getting them to behave.”

“You know, it’s funny. They always behave, right up until you walk in.”

“You have this whole housewife thing down pat! I have no control over them.”

But even Yin couldn’t keep her job for long. Twenty-two months. It was a good run. Many people had been laid off already. We spent the rest of the year, and the year after that, together indoors.

I continued teaching the kids, now with Yin sitting beside us, and beside her, a neat tower of books. Occasionally, from her corner, a page would flutter, delightfully crisp. At dinnertime, she would sweep into the dining room, approach me from behind, kiss me quickly, join the kids at the table.

Afterwards, she’d help me clear the table, and load the dishwasher. “...doctors have attempted to replicate the so-called ‘immunity aura’, but with little success...all admitted for health assessments…”

The plates looked silky in Yin’s firm grip. I shifted Tay into my lap. “...after admission, more than half of the ninety-five recently reported cases have since failed to display any symptoms of the aura, and instead begun to showcase symptoms of...”

“Yin, I might have something new for you to read.” “...tested positive for…”

She looked up at me with a palpable excitement, one difficult to forget. I felt the precise moment her thoughts began to glimmer, getting brighter, bigger, then divaricate endlessly, spinning out in electrifying ripples. Droplets of contagious exhilaration.

“It’s been too long.”

“It really has.” I set Tay down, stood up, and handed to Yin my manuscript.

“But Ma—.” Lihan’s words drag tenaciously.

“Nope.”

Yin laughs. “You’re not getting past Ma on this one.”

“Ma—.”

“Come on, quick. Finish your dinner so we can watch TV.” Tay’s head pops up from diligently slurping soup. “I don’t want to watch TV. I want to make dessert.”

“Sure, what do you want to make?”

Tay looks over at me.

“It’s your choice.” I lean back in my chair and feel the soft warmth gently beat in the centre of my chest and radiate outwards, just slightly beyond the surface of my skin, reaching its glowing tendrils to join with Tay’s, then Yin’s, then Lihan’s, tucking us snugly in as if we’re mushrooms lightly simmering.

Editor: Rene Shi

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weighted down‌ carrying the mental load of a pandemic.

It is the name given to the invisible burden womxn conceal throughout their lives. The endless list of housework to be done that occupies time and thought. The mental load, as they say, has been exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic. Womxn were required to balance working from home, managing a household and often care for their children, all whilst withstanding an ongoing pandemic. What was already burdensome has only become more so during lockdown.

The mental load or its variants (worry work, cognitive labour, the second shift) describes the amount of cognitive energy devoted to "anticipating needs, making decisions, and overseeing family logistics" in a household.30 It is not the physical act of carrying out household work but rather the continual thought-process of managing a household and family. French comic artist, Emma, in 2017, humorously likened this to the role of ‘project managers'; delegating tasks to spouses and children, having been socialised to take on the role by parents and culture.31 For example, decades long pressures of household maintenance and cleanliness has been the subject of scrutiny and judgement in female circles much more than their male counterparts; increasing the social pressure to keep homes clean.32 This creates an anxiety amongst womxn in relation to the state of their homes as determinants of fulfilling social demands of womxnhood. An onus of paranoia is carried by womxn, as the state of one's home is often judged as a reflection of the womxn's character. This gender disparity in labour is reflected in the Australian context, with the 2016 Census, establishing that womxn will perform between five to fourteen hours of domestic work in a week, with men averaging under five hours.33 Clearly, this disparity of mentalload and household labour would only be exacerbated under current conditions of the coronavirus.

As restrictions increased during the pandemic, so too did the housework. By the end of March, schools were closed across NSW, with workers being encouraged to work from home when feasible, in order to slow the spread. Working from home spiraled womxn into mental overload, where now they were required to balance their jobs, alongside managing a household and caring for children.34 Despite having their spouse home to assist, research has demonstrated that when womxn work from home, they spend three hours more caring for children whereas men devote this time to working additional hours. Working from home was infeasible for many womxn who suddenly had to balance running households, children and full-time work.

The mental load was further exacerbated through the cessation of schooling and childcare. Through closing schools to all but essential workers, womxn were required to care for and home-school children. The emotional pressures of the pandemic, with increased anxiety and stress have forced womxn to likewise take on a greater role in prioritising their children's wellbeing, whilst managing their own tasks. Dr Heejung Chung from the University of Kent has described the pandemic as a revival of the 1950's Housewife, with womxn being forced to forego employment to care for children and households, revitalizing an era of bygones.35 Whilst lockdown in Australia has minimised risk of infection, it has required many womxn to take on a greater mental load then they ever had before.

However, lockdown restrictions have also shone a light to what previously was invisible to the male eye, presenting the toll of household work weighing womxn down. Primarily the invisible work that womxn do in households, has become visible to their partners, as both have to work from home. This presents opportunities to incentivize a fair and equal division of work at home.36 Whilst the pandemic has increased burdens for womxn, it has also provided opportunities to pursue a more equal division of housework.

Coronavirus has presented an invisible threat, transforming our work and home lives. Even more critical, the pandemic has demonstrated how the household is still a place of inequality.

Lockdown exacerbated the mental load with womxn working from home, caring for children, and managing households. Coronavirus reminds us of the true scale of inequality for womxn; ultimately a threat more diďŹƒcult to overcome than a pandemic.

Isabella Newton Editor: Noor Chirenian

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Humanitas' Battle Humanitas' Battle “Go hard, go early�

Their words echo in the crisis To prioritise safety or the economy?

Which choice is more righteous?

Stereotypes that once protruded Are now broken down Names once unrecognised Now emerge with crowns It seems humility, resilience And kindness of all things Shine brighter than the passiveness That brings diamond rings

With morals or money deserted We'll build a world after paying After the pandemic blows over Who will have done more saving?

SANDRA ANG editor:Maysam

Najjar

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Who run the world? girls. girls. …challenging the media's portrayal of female leadership during the pandemic and other cures for misogyny…

The decade-defining COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly changed our realities and understandings of normality. Womxn in Asia have faced a number of normative, historical and cultural challenges in accessing leadership positions. However, the pandemic serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of championing diversity in politics, during which, the international political sphere has witnessed and applauded the success of multiple female leaders.Through examining the responses of Tsai Ing-wen and Jeong Eun-Kyeong, and analysing the public image of female leaders portrayed by the media, we will demonstrate how media coverage of the pandemic should spotlight female leadership.

Successful responses during the Pandemic The successful responses of womxn in power during the pandemic has invited a wave of admiration, but also intrigue, towards the effectiveness of female leadership. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen epitomises this notion, through her use of big data to track contact and travel history, aggressive screening of international arrivals, and close monitoring of market spikes in commodities to prevent mass-buying.37 Her immediate, considered and successful responses have garnered praise from both her supporters and her political opponents.38 Tsai has been described as consistently showing a "stolid, quiet composure”,39 whilst confronting the pandemic.

She notes that Taiwan's success is not coincidental and that it was "a combination of efforts by medical professionals, government, private sector and society at large…”.40 Similarly, South Korea's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Director, Jeong Eun-Kyeong has demonstrated effective leadership in transforming valuable lessons from

the 2015 MERS epidemic into readiness in implementing eearly prevention measures, as part of the country's robust response to the pandemic.

From the notable "test, trace, contain” model,41 to the introduction of “drive-through" testing clinics,42 Jeong has been deemed "a national hero,”43 whose unwavering commitment to protecting public health has allowed her country to lead by example.44 South Korea's success in "flattening the curve in only 20 days without [resorting to] a national lockdown”,45 is testimony to the truth that Jeong's effective leadership is undeniable.

In light of their achievements, journalists and academics have aimed to pinpoint conventional traits among female leaders that have supposedly led to their shared success during the pandemic. Recurring characteristics included: decisiveness, compassion, "humility to listen to outside voices of public health experts”,46 and an inclination towards a "participative" leadership style,47 that emphasises interpersonal relationships.

Additionally, their simultaneous exhibition of vulnerability and assertiveness in communication was also highlighted, as many noted that female leaders did not have to "face the same pressure to appear hypermasculine”,48 as their male counterparts.

However, this attempt to find a common thread in female leadership styles is futile. The truth is, no female politician is the same. While we celebrate the achievements of these female leaders, we must also resist such simple and digestible explanations that isolate their gender identity as a control factor of their effective leadership. Making such a generalisation poses too great a risk of confining the image of a successful female leader to particular qualities, inadvertently reducing the essence of their leadership as individuals. As a consequence, our future female leaders, who might not exhibit all these

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characteristics, may internalise a false idea that they are "unfit for leadership".49 Media portrayal of strong female leaders Media coverage, to a large extent, shapes broader public perceptions of womxn in politics.

According to Bligh et al, womxn, generally, do not receive as much media coverage as their male counterparts and are more often portrayed as "less viable candidates”.50 There is a clear distinction in the way male politicians and female politicians are covered in the media. Not only is there a desire to find a common method, but successful female leadership is shadowed by an unfortunate undertone of surprise.51 It is therefore important to maintain a critical eye when consuming media content as news contributes substantially to patriarchal understandings of gender roles.

While it is helpful to compare the traits and qualities of Tsai Ing-wen and Jeong Eun-Kyeong against other prominent figures during the pandemic, female leaders should not be seen as a ‘monolith'.52 Instead, COVID-19 should encourage the media to re-think their traditional perception, and recognise that the effectiveness of these two womxn "depends more on the individual with her specific behaviours than on gender-specific traits".53 The COVID-19 crisis serves as a powerful reminder that diversity in politics is key in strengthening political discourse in Asia and, more holistically, on the international stage.

Ultimately, it is the unique experiences of these womxn that have prepared them to successfully respond to the far-reaching impacts of the pandemic. Unlike COVID-19, effective female leadership is not a new phenomenon. The success of these Asian, female leaders signals the importance of diversity in politics, whereby womxn's participation in local politics "can have an immediate impact on outcomes for womxn and children".55 Pursuing diversity in the political arena not only strengthens the rigour of political discourse, but also strengthens the social and economic mobility of womxn. As we gradually approach a post-COVID-19 world, we must remember the lessons learned from the Asian sphere, in that the recognition of strong female leadership is a solution to the continuing global challenge of widening avenues for meaningful political participation by womxn.

Isabelle DOAN Brianne PERERA Editor: Anastasia Hatzisarantinos

A more productive, unique angle that some media outlets have taken when covering female leadership during the pandemic, involves championing the importance of diversity. Amanda Taub, writing for the New York Times, proposed that "having a female leader is one signal that people of diverse backgrounds - and thus, hopefully, diverse perspectives on how to combat crises - are able to win seats at that table”.54 Measurable in case numbers and mortality rates, female leadership during the pandemic has produced unparalleled, tangible results. The success of Tsai Ing-wen and Jeong Eun-Kyeong during such an anxious and unprecedented political era is a testament to the importance of promoting womxn's political participation in politics, particularly in Asia.

Conclusion

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THE PANDEMIC IN PRISONS: Anna Ho “The moment I toughen up and convince myself that everything will be OK, I’ll hear crying or fear coming through the walls from other rooms. I feel like we are being punished.”

These are the words of 44 year old April Harris, one of more than 100 prisoners at the Californian Institute for Women in Los Angeles who have tested positive for COVID-19. She was placed in self-isolation in a windowless cell which was less than 3 x 3m. In the same prison, guards refused to wear masks during the initial outbreak. Then inmates who were made to make face masks for the facility contracted COVID-19 themselves.56

This was the public health catastrophe which medical and legal experts had predicted from the pandemic’s outset.57 Yet, when they pushed for the release of (primarily non-violent) prisoners, they were often met with public outcry. “Prisoners need to do their time!” one Facebook user commented. “If they die, they die! Shouldn't have broken the law!”

I might appeal to this user’s instinct for universal compassion and exhort that all individuals deserve rudimentary and dignified healthcare. Windowless cells do not afford this at the best of times, let alone during a pandemic. I could point out that prisons have historically failed to “teach inmates a lesson” about their behaviour, since ex-prisoners are extremely likely to reoffend.58 Anyway, living in a state of hyper anxiety about your health probably eats up the mental space ideally allocated to experiencing ‘remorse’.

Castlemaine police station for public drunkenness and placed her in a cell to sober up. At some time during the night, she fell in her cell and hit her head. Despite protocol requiring police to regularly monitor people held in custody, CCTV footage indicated that Ms Day’s unconscious body was found hours later. She died in hospital 17 days later.59

Once again, the core issue is not about enforcing monitoring procedures for people held in police custody. It is about why sick or intoxicated individuals end up in hard walled rooms instead of first aid or medical care. It is about why we have public drunkenness laws which are continuously used disproportionately against First Nations people.60 The train conductor who reported Ms Day to the police admitted that he had found several people asleep due to inebriation but had never reported those individuals.61

But none of these responses really go to the heart of what is fundamentally wrong with our prison system. The core issue is not about making prison cells cushier, requiring guards to wear PPE, or mandating prisoners to queue 1.5m apart in a line for a regularly disinfected telephone booth. The overcrowded prison industrial complex, fuelled by mass incarceration, is systematically ill-equipped to deal with health crises. We must interrogate why inmates are there in the first place, and why we have defaulted to believe that prison is the best way to address crime.

On December 5 2017, Tanya Day, a 55 year old Yorta Yorta womxn, fell asleep on a train from Bendigo to Melbourne. The conductor who woke her up notified the ticket inspector, who called the police. They detained Ms Day at

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Tanya Day did not display any aggression to police, even though we believe that the purpose of prisons and police stations are to keep us away from dangerous law-breakers.

But one third of Australia’s prison population have not even been convicted for breaking the law - they are merely being held in remand, having been charged for an offense and awaiting their trial.62 During the COVID-19 pandemic, as criminal courts have had to reduce the number of cases being heard to maintain social distancing, it is likely that those on remand will need to stay in prison for even longer.63

That leaves us with two-thirds of our prison population who are dangerous law-breakers.

But the offence with the fastest numerical increase in prisoners are drug-related offences.64 It is strange that we have used the criminal law to grapple with a non-violent health crisis, just as we have fined homeless people (who may then be arrested for failing to pay up) for loitering, dumpster diving, or public urination, despite police repeatedly threatening to shut down volunteer street kitchens.65 Tanya Day was the second member of her family to die at the hands of police - her uncle, Harrison Day, died after being arrested for not paying a fine for public drunkenness.66

We will not keep Indigenous communities safe by keeping generations of their young men in prison, where they are denied rehabilitation, dignity, and employment. That will be achieved by granting long denied self-determination and protecting their environment from dirty fracking and mining. We will not keep communities safe from domestic violence by imprisoning and releasing their abusers. That will be accomplished by funding domestic violence shelters, and addressing underlying issues like substance abuse and poverty which are correlated with domestic abuse.

How will we strengthen Australia’s health beyond the pandemic? We need to address, not punish, poverty, addiction, and prejudice.

Editor: Colleen Rose Gonzales

Somehow, it has fallen onto the shoulders of prisons - institutions which isolate people from their communities and makes people “feel like [they] are being punished daily” - to operate as homeless shelter, mask-making facility, caretaker to intoxicated drinkers, rehabilitator for substance abusers, and the educator for people who grew up in underfunded public school systems and slipped through the cracks.

As Black Lives Matter protests have blossomed around the globe, and Australia has been forced in turn to grapple with our own ugly and racist policing, we have heard demands to defund and abolish police. Prison abolition does not mean the instant release of all serial killers, just like how demands for police abolition do not intend for murders to go unsolved. Rather, both movements demand an urgent reallocation of resources to communitybased programs which grapple with the root causes of crime, as well as the decriminalization of petty offences, like public drunkenness, which are inconsistently and prejudicially policed.

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the security of a home during COVID-19: A right right or a privilege? privilege?

COVID-19 has presented us with a highly divided world, and has been a wake-up call for both developed and developing countries. While one group of people had the privilege to sit at home and enjoy spending time with their families, many others struggled to meet their needs while living on the streets. The right to shelter is a basic necessity for all humans, but millions of people were stranded on the roads with the fear of a pandemic looming over them. This virus has exposed the deep divide between the rich and the poor that is prevalent in democratic capitalist countries, no matter what state of development they claim to have reached. This article will contrast India’s and Australia’s responses to COVID-19 to understand the impact the pandemic has had on vulnerable homeless populations worldwide.

Impact of COVID-19 on India’s homeless and the inadequate Government response Studies conducted by organisations such as the Indo Global Social Service Society indicate that the number of people without homes in India is as high as 1.77 million, in a country with a total population of approximately 1.38 billion.67 The World Bank has reported that 40 million migrants are affected by lockdown in India and 50,000- 60,000 of them have moved from urban areas to rural areas due to adverse impact of lockdown on their livelihood.68 Migrants are a demographic who migrate to urban areas from villages in search of jobs. As the majority of them are illiterate they enter the labour force in the cities and are underpaid.

It has been disheartening to see the plight of migrant workers who had to walk long distances to reach a safe place during a pandemic without proper food, water or rest points. As per the records of the SaveLife Foundation, 118 migrant workers died in accidents, illness and menstrual trauma during their journeys while the rest of the nation was under “lockdown”.69 Chilling scenes of a migrant family walking through the Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand, wherein the family nearly crossed paths with a leopard, was a reflection of the desperation faced by people in their attempts to reach a safe place they could call home.

All these migrant workers who come from villages to big cities usually live in unhygienic and poor sanitary conditions, which makes them more vulnerable to the virus. The government did not plan or implement any policies for this vulnerable demographic. No tests were conducted for them while they travelled from one state to another. No masks, hand sanitisers or personal protective equipment were provided to them. Even basic toilet facilities were not afforded to these people during their struggle for survival. Now, you may ask you why these people didn’t just stay where they were.

The answer is that no timely reassurance was given by the Central or State Government regarding these workers’ livelihoods or safety. Having no money or food, they were forced to walk back to their villages, where the notion of a ‘home’ was in many cases just a tent-like set-up. This further exposed them to being likely victims of the pandemic.

Response of the Australian Government In comparison with other nations around the world, Australia has been able to control the spread of COVID-19 with relative success. But during the months of March and early April, when there was a spike in Australia’s positive cases, one of the most difficult questions before the government was how to ensure that homeless people were provided with shelter to combat the spread of the virus.

The government took initiative with the aid of social organisations to move more than 7000 people in the cities of Australia off the streets and into temporary or permanent homes, where they were provided with all basic amenities.70 For this initiative, states utilised vacant hotels, motels and student accommodation. Funding packages for rehabilitating these people were announced and though there were some initial struggles in tracking people down, eventually it all fell into place. NSW’s Housing Minister has also stated the government plans to continue working with these people to ensure their overall development will be catered to, so providing a home is just the beginning.71 By giving people stable shelter and providing free COVID-19 testing facilities, monitoring of the virus has been possible. These timely actions have helped the country curb the spread of the virus. With ever-rising unemployment, it will be interesting to see how these programs will be maintained to prevent these people from ending up on the streets again.

Can the adoption of the Australian model solve the issue of homelessness in India?

There is no doubt that if the existing efficient primary health care systems in many Indian states can be implemented throughout the country, they can contribute to saving the lives of many homeless people. The issue for a diverse country like India is that there have been disparities between different states’ methods of tackling this issue. On one hand, there are initiatives by the governments of Kerala, Delhi and Odisha, where migrant workers were sent home by train without charge.72 On the other hand, in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, there are continuing reports of deaths of homeless people.73 Though it is hard to analyse the long term benefits of the initiatives of the Australian Government, the adoption of such a scheme prior to lockdown in India could have saved the lives of migrant workers. The responsibility of the Government to provide basic rights to the people, the very essence of the Indian Constitution, have remained mere platitudes during this pandemic. Through examining the issue of homelessness, it is evident that the most basic human right to housing, interpreted by the Indian Courts as a fundamental right under Article 21 of Editor: Aakriti Shoree the Indian Constitution,75 has turned out to be a privilege that can only be afforded to a certain faction of society.

Gopika Aryad

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domestic violence in the wake of COVID-19…

Ishani Gangopadhyay & Lulu Edwards

COVID-19 and the lockdown measures implemented in its wake have been linked to increased reports of interpersonal violence against womxn at home. The commentary on this issue speaks of a ‘spike’ in demand for support services, as well as increases in the number of reports received by authorities. The popular hypothesis is that COVID-19 is causing extraordinary financial stress and unprecedented levels of interaction between people who live together. This begs the question: to what extent is this an ‘exceptional’ issue versus an exceptional circumstance just making visible what would otherwise be swept under the rug?

On a ‘normal’ day, Australian police receive reports of domestic violence once every two minutes.75 According to Look Out, “research demonstrates that family violence increases after emergency and natural disaster situations such as bushfires, earthquakes and hurricanes, based on these experiences”.76 Therefore, it may be more accurate to think about the ‘spike’ as a uniform extension of the trendlines that define our picture of interpersonal and family violence in Australia.

It may also be more constructive if we used the attention COIVD-19 has generated for this issue as a means to get the community thinking about the constant social variable and basic power differentials which are causally related to Australia’s domestic violence crisis.

Reach Out draws attention to three factors that may explain why violence routinely increases in times of communal instability. Firstly, there is a documented “tendency for people to revert to strict gender norms during times of natural disaster and uncertainty, such as men being the protectors and decision makers and woman being the carers”.77 Secondly, there is also a documented tendency for experiences of violence “to be dismissed or excused more often during times of natural disaster or emergency with statements like, they’re just stressed”.78 Thirdly, events like recession and natural disaster increase “financial insecurity, employment and housing insecurity”. Due to rules that have been necessary to respond to the health crisis, COVID-19 has also necessarily “increased and sustained periods of time that families are together”.79 Article 1 of the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women says, “For the

purposes of the Declaration, the term ‘violence against women’ means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life”.80 According to White Ribbon, one-third of young people don’t think controlling someone is a form of violence. One-quarter of young people think it’s pretty normal for men to pressure women into sex, and one quarter of young people don’t think it is serious when men insult or verbally harass women in the street. These statistics speak to a knowledge gap between professionals and the wider community regarding forms of violence that do not converge in a physical altercation.

This violence that is exacerbated by COVID-19 disproportionately impacts people experiencing greater intersectional inequality, however; this does not necessarily reveal anything ‘exceptional’ about the COVID-19 ‘spike’. Rather, it shines light on a deeper truth that interpersonal and family violence has always disproportionately impacted communities experiencing greater intersectional inequality.

Intimate partner violence is a leading contributor to illness, disability and premature death for women aged 18-44.81 In 2017 the Australian Human Rights Commission cited research that “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women reported experiencing physical or threatened violence in the previous 12 months at 3.1 times the rate of non-Indigenous women.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are also 32 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of family violence-related assault than non-Indigenous women in Australia”.82 The commission also cited research showing that, “Women with disabilities are 40% more likely than women without disabilities to be the victims of domestic violence, and more than 70% of women with disabilities have been victims of violence sexual encounters at time in their lives”. 83 As we interpret the COVID-19 spike, we should keep in mind that the data sets are always an underrepresentation of the problem as it exists in real time.

Recognising an experience as one of interpersonal violence, being able to report that experience, and having that report believed and added to headline statistics, are three very different things.

Editor: Sarah-Rose McKenzie

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I N D E F I N I T E H O R R O R your head tonight is heavy… more so than it's ever been the decade-long lie of your heart now swirling between your ears

The restrictions

your eyes shut, craving sleep... freedom isn’t the only thing these days that feels just out of reach

the ritual howling of the kettle, hoping tea will calm your nerves, your own tensions are boiling over too

you spend every night asking (i don’t know if i’m okay) wondering (i can’t leave) staring (surely he didn’t do that) the way the outside does the way they all do the way he never will every night is a rehearsal bruises can be explained ice forgives puffy eyes limps are ‘new shoes’ blamed long showers drown cries you told yourself you’d go in March better 10 years late than not at all and that’s when it started when hell found a home in yours

FREYA OSTERBERG editor: Tilda Stafford

(stay inside) came in quickly the questions (from outside) ceased just as fast as if they’d never been asked at all.

your lips split on a cracked mug rim the taste of blood just blends in how much of this do you deserve? the days get shorter as winter settles down, the grip holding you inside gets tighter making you look how you feel: Small. leaving can’t be worse than this if you’re scared of dying either way the disease in your home is just as suffocating your head tonight is heavy but the pillow feels like glass the only support you have is cracking the day you get out you can finally scream back but you’ve stayed indoors and silent for so long your voice cracks too

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spirituality in a global pandemic Hard times, bad times or tough times, religion in all its forms and manifestations has persisted through time and history. Some faith systems have morphed, divided or adapted to modern times, others have remained rigid and resolute, while some have evaporated altogether. Regardless of their historical developments, the interactions of individuals with their faith have recently experienced the unprecedented occurrence of COVID-19, and some religions have taken it in stride. Faith based groups have utilised technology and other innovative methods to replicate and reinvigorate the physical and social elements of worship during this period, but are they sufficient to recreate the same sense of spirituality?

Live-streaming and conference calls have been the most effective innovation during the pandemic to replicate the congregational aspect of many organised religions. Web platforms such as Zoom, Skype and Facebook Live have become commonplace in the delivery of prayers, sermons and communal conversation between those who would otherwise have regular social gatherings at churches, mosques and other temples.

Innovations such as ‘Streamspot’ provided video streaming services, on-demand programming and live streaming for North American church groups, so individuals could access religious services at their convenience to reinvigorate their spirituality, particularly over the period of Lent and Easter services.84 The initiative ‘Ramadan360’ offered twice daily live-streaming services for sermons, post-Iftar conversation and bedtime stories for children from New York to a global audience for free. Over the month-long period of Ramadan, initiatives such as these, as well as ‘virtual iftars’ with friends and family were central in maintaining the social sense of community that is integral to the month.85 Many religious groups have responded to the changes by broadening the scope of their philanthropic initiatives, directing aid towards those most impacted by the pandemic. Christian groups in the United states have donated surgical masks and created free COVID-19 testing clinics in their parking lots to ensure that those in their community have safe access to essential facilities.86 Muslims have made the decision to pay their ‘Zakat’ - a compulsory annual wealth tax paid towards the less fortunate - during the pandemic instead of in their routine fashion, to bolster assistance and relief for those worst affected,87 as well as distributing “drive-through” or “drop-off” meals to the underprivileged in the United States and Australia, with some places in India distributing over 25,000 meals a day.88 Sikh charities in the United Kingdom have distributed food boxes under ‘Project Food Bag’ to community members, including front-line healthcare workers and assisting international students struggling with accommodation issues threatened with eviction notices.89 In consequence, this period of time has heightened for many their commitment towards ideals of social justice, ideals that are central to the spiritual experience of many.

However the question remains, are these innovative efforts as an adaptive response to the COVID-19 pandemic enough to replicate the same sense of community and spirituality experienced by members of these religious groups? Although many groups have embraced technology as the ideal method of replicating the shared sense of community, for some it can be difficult to replicate the in-person human connection desired when they are at their most vulnerable.90 Similarly, the rich celebration and enjoyment of occasions such as Easter, Eid and Pa s s o v e r w a s s i g n i fi c a n t l y dampened due to social distancing and gathering restrictions, due to the removal of the congregational aspect and sense of community characteristic of these occasions, resulting in some individuals feeling isolated and alone. Further, those without access to digital

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services, especially those in remote, regional areas, lower socioeconomic areas or third-world nations, are likely to have experienced a disproportionate loss in the sense of belonging, shared purpose and community that they otherwise would enjoy in the regular physical gatherings of their religious groups.

Globally, technology has been a strange yet welcome tool for religious groups to consistently adapt to the ever-changing way that individuals interact with, and understand religion, and the recent restrictions imposed by the pandemic are no exception. While for those who are able to access its services, this helped to maintain a sense of community and belonging, those without access would have been unable to foster the same sense of spirituality as they had prepandemic. It is assuring to say the least, that philanthropic initiatives by religious groups were maintained, if not increased over this period, ensuring that those in the community, particularly those who were vulnerable or otherwise fell through the cracks, were still able to access key services and assistance in housing, sustenance and financial aid to get through these trying times.

Juwariya MALIK Editor: Maysam Najjar

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|isolation| and human fatality a personal perspective When first hearing about the pathogenic coronavirus travelling through Wuhan, I didn’t think much of it. Naively, I mostly thought that it was a highly dramatised ploy for media articles to gain more attention from worried viewers. I never thought something so dystopian would ever affect me and my accustomed privileged lifestyle. However, as the virus began to travel throughout the world, I realised that the horrors of the coronavirus were no longer something I could watch on the news and think “oh how sad, those poor people in Wuhan”. I began to realise that I really needed to check my privilege, as never in my life had a world issue directly affected me.

Meanwhile, my home country of Iran was bearing the brunt of coronavirus entirely alone. As a country under continuous international sanctions, Iran lacked the medical resources to provide care for the multiplying cases of coronavirus. Photos began to float by in the realm of social media of countless bodies in plastic bags, piled up due to the hospital reaching overcapacity in Iran, Italy, Spain and China. My grandfather, a former High Court Judge, died due to the hospital’s inability to give him the proper care he required for his cardiac arrest. Whilst I did not lose my grandfather to COVID-19, he, like many others who haven't been counted in the virus death rates, passed away as a side effect of COVID-19. It all abruptly felt entirely real. I felt that all of a sudden, the countless media articles reporting the deaths and recent spread were unable to capture the deep sorrow and grief that this single world event was bringing to me.

Death is painful and hard to deal with at the best of times, but in a time where isolation and distancing from your community is a requisite for heroism, dealing with death is arguably worse. As humans, historically for our survival we have always relied on our community, our ability to share experiences and physically connect with others, particularly in times of immense uncertainty, such as war and famine. For me, the inability to travel, to say goodbye, to express my frustration and sadness was a difficult chapter to endure. Life continued somehow, but the continuous grief and sorrow trapped in my household remained.

When you can’t travel to say goodbye or communicate how isolation makes you feel, there is this kind of pent up frustration that lingers inside of you, and I suppose we have evolution to thank for that.

Along with the physical isolation from my friends, I felt a distinct internal isolation. It felt like someone was ripping a bandaid off, but really, really slowly. Scrolling on Instagram became unbearable; seeing the tagged push up challenges, photos of people baking fabulous cakes and trying yoga made me feel like everyone was coping with this whole COVID-19 thing much better than I was. Looking back, it’s clear that I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. Everyone, one way or another, was just trying to make the best of these turbulent times; some people had lost their jobs, others facing an escalation of anxiety due to a lack of control and uncertainty in their lives. The collective existential need for us as humans to connect to others, to feel safe and secure as autonomous individuals in one way or another had affected us all.

As a result of the highly contagious pathogen raging global fear and terror, I began to notice how every aspect of human interaction had transformed. Zoom funerals, countless memorials, calls and FaceTimes have become the new normal. Whilst my circumstance and perspective is unique, in times such as these, I don’t think I’ve yet to meet anyone who has actually lost someone as a result of COVID-19. I think if I had someone who was undergoing a similar experience to me, I wouldn’t have felt so alone, so confined to overseas Zoom calls. Death is the most expected and natural experience humanity collectively endures, and yet, it is the most painful, lonely and unexpected experience of them all. There is no one answer of how to grieve, how to mourn and how to move on with your life. I think it’s natural as humans that, amid chaos, we remain determined to find answers and meaning within our lives. If evolution shows anything, human connection is the single most important factor. So, whilst COVID-19 wasn’t a highly dramatised ploy and whilst cases eventually decrease in Australia, I urge you to reflect on your experience with this pandemic and appreciate the community that surrounds you. After all, we are alone, but together.

Niki Nojoumian Editor: Sarah-Rose McKenzie

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a body, a mind.

Lids that flicker open. It feels dreadful. Isn’t it too early to feel this dreadful?

Hands that reach for your phone.

Scroll, scroll, scroll.

Chest that feels tight.

Badum, badum, badum.

You shift slightly, as though that could do anything to loosen that piercing tightness.

The tightness, It’s like a glaring signpost, sending signals that get pushed away to the back of your mind.

You’ll deal with them later, you reason.

In the back of your mind, you know to get up. It gnaws at you, prodding persistently at some corner in the back of your mind.

It’s not enough to will you out of bed.

It’s enough though, to ensure that you remain cognisant of it. It’s enough to keep you mind-numbingly aware of that steady discomfort that crawls and twists beneath your skin.

It’s the one that has your nerves fizzing with agitation, but somehow, the one that simultaneously leaves every inch of your body feeling as though it had been drained, squeezed tight, Until the very last drop fell flat beneath you.

Eyes that follow you as you make your way to the kitchen for the first time, At midday.

It’s discomforting, isn’t it?

You adjust your shirt as though that would somehow conceal the fact that you had missed yet another morning.

It’s easier to avoid the eyes that scrutinise. The tongues that criticise...

What are you really avoiding?

Voices that make their way into your consciousness.

They aren’t necessarily loud; Or at least not yet.

But they unnerve you nonetheless.

You decide that it’s the tone. The way they carry with them an almost pervasive agitation, the way that they smother every space they enter with the kind of tension that seems to suffocate. It’s like the thick, black smoke that rises from a fire, reaching out it’s ugly fingers and wrapping them around your throat.

You wonder If there is a way to put it out.

Fingers that hover atop an unused keyboard. Tap, tap, tap.

Well, That’s a sound you want to hear.

You crave it, and your skin crawls with deep desire as if the sound would do anything to lessen the mounting discomfort in your stomach. || 22

But it's a taunting silence. You run A tongue across your drying lips.

And the taste of your ineptitude makes you sick.

It’s unclear whether time passes by in an instant, where a quick blink of the eyes brings the night upon you and you too quickly find yourself in a dark room, or if it proceeds excruciatingly slowly, and you watch it trickle away Paralysed by your own idleness.

You can’t be sure because time itself seems to elude you.

Or at least that’s what you convince yourself, Your body stretched out on your bed as you scroll, And scroll, And scroll...

What is it that you’re pursuing?

It is deep into the night, or perhaps early into the morning, When your lids finally flicker shut.

But in fact, you aren’t cognisant of it anymore.

You feel oddly disconnected from the body that sleeps.

The body that sleeps.

At some point later on in the day, you wake up.

It’s dreadful.

maysam najjar.

EDITOR: FREYA OSTERBERG

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dopamine detoxing What is it?

How do I detox?

Dopamine Detoxing involves taking an extended break (like a fast) from extremely stimulating, high-dopamine producing activities for a day to ‘reset’ the brain.

Find out what activities in your day are the most enjoyable and possibly addictive - here’s a fairly common list: • Phone & social media • Computers & gaming • Food and drink high in salt, sugar or caffeine • Talking to friends (in person or online) • Reading & journaling • Music • Exercise Plan to spend a day (usually a weekend) where you cut out at least half of this list. Remember to start slowly - if you try to cut the whole list in one day, you’re left with nothing to do but sleep or meditate, and that can be overwhelming at first!

Remember, this is more than your regular exam-season ‘social media break’ where you deactivate Facebook for 3 hours. Try really savouring what you do that day and use your time wisely - meditate or exercise more, clean your room, get stuck into a hobby you’ve been meaning to, or even commit to focusing entirely at work.

Why do it?

Our lives are so saturated with stimulation and tasks that demand our attention. Many of these activities make us feel good and result in consistent dopamine production in the brain. Dopamine acts like a reward signal, telling us that we should seek more of what we’re doing: positive reinforcement on a neurological level.

Dopamine helps us focus and keeps us motivated, but excessive amounts can be linked to addiction. Things as simple as scrolling through Twitter or online shopping are quick and easy ways to produce dopamine, and the brain gets accustomed to this feeling.

Minor addictions like these can make it hard to wind down and focus on important things, like studying, healthy eating, or going to work - especially if we don’t get the same dopamine hit we would from chatting with friends, eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, or (re)binging Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Not only will detoxing make it easier to focus on difficult, low-dopamine producing tasks, but it will mean that when you do indulge in something rewarding, you’ll find it even more enjoyable! One hour on Tik Tok will be more satisfying than two and you can finish assignments with shorter breaks. Healthy eating and exercise will feel more worthwhile because when you do get your cheat day, your break will be more satisfying than before.

FREYA Osterberg

Why is this important?

Being in lockdown has been a rollercoaster.

Some days we love doing nothing but playing Animal Crossing for 18 hours, and the next day is spent contemplating our existence.

If you are feeling burnt out and overwhelmed with the prospect of returning to ‘normal life’, this might be useful. Figuring out how to train our brain and rewire it makes us more self-aware, meaning it’s easier to savour what matters and be productive when it counts.

Quarantine and COVID-19 won’t last forever, but uni work and 9AM meetings (whether on Zoom or in the office) are inevitable. If you do have the time and the flexibility to try something new for a day, give dopamine detoxing a go. You might find that it makes these crazy days a little quieter.

Editor: Tilda Stafford || 24

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E EN ND DN NO O TT E E S. S. 1. History.com Editors, ‘Black Death’ History (Web Page, 17 September 2010) <https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death>.

2. History.com Editors, ‘Spanish Flu’ History (Web Page, 12 October 2010) <https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/1918-flu-pandemic>.

3. Daniel R Curtis, ‘The sex‐selective impact of the Black Death and recurring plagues in the Southern Netherlands, 1349–1450’ (2017) 164(2) American Journal of Physical Anthropology 7.

4. Rebecca Rideal, ‘Women of the plague’ (August 2017) History Extra.

5. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender Indicators, Australia, Sep 2018 (Report, 25 September 2018).

6. Georgia Wilkins, ‘Women are on the frontline in the war against coronavirus — and JobKeeper is failing them’, Smart Company (online, 23 April 2020) <https:// www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/economy/jobkeeper-failing-womenfrontline-pandemic/>.

7. Kate Clayon-Hathway et al, ‘Gender and Nursing as Profession: Valuing Nurses and Paying their Worth’ (Report Publication, Royal College of Nursing, January 2020).

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid, 5.

10. Ibid.

11. David Taylor, Women bear biggest job losses from coronavirus, latest ABS data shows (6 May 2020) ABC News <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-06/ fears-coronavirus-will-destroy-financial-independence-for-women/12217672>.

12. Amanda Hess, The Pandemic Ad Salutes You (28 May 2020) The New York Times <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/arts/pandemic-ads-saluteyou.html>.

13. Kayleigh Frisbie Brogan, Calling Me a Hero Only Makes You Feel Better (18 April 2020) The Atlantic <https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/i-workgrocery-store-dont-call-me-hero/610147/>.

14. Bridget Brennan, Research suggests black and minority patients are more likely to die from COVID-19. We need to know why (11 May 2020) ABC News <https:// www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-11/why-coronavirus-is-not-the-great-equaliser/ 12227720>.

15. Edith Lederer, ‘UN Chief warns COVID-19 is increasing inequality for women’, ABC News (online at 10 April 2020) <https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ chief-warns-covid-19-increasing-inequality-women-70073038>.

16. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, The Impact of COVID-19 on Women, Policy Brief (6 April 2020).

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. Michael Janda, ‘Almost a million of Australians out of work due to coronavirus; RBA tips economy to take 10pc hit’, ABC News (online at 5 May 2020) <https:// www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-05/almost-one-million-australians-lose-jobsdue-to-coronavirus/12215494>.

20. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (n 2).

21. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Commentary May 2020 (Catalogue No 6202.0, 18 June 2020).

22. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (n 2).

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23. Ibid.

24. Ross Clare, ‘Superannuation account balances by age and gender’ (Research Paper, ASFA Research and Resource Centre, October 2017).

25. Rebecca Cassells and Alan Duncan, ‘Jobkeepers and Jobseekers: How many workers will lose and how many will gain?’ (Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Research Brief COVID-19 No 3, Curtin University, 2020).

26. Ibid.

27. Ibid.

28. Ibid.

29. Ibid.

30. Allison Daminger, The Cognitive Dimension of Household Labour (2019) 84(4) American Sociological Review, 609, 610.

31. Emma, The gender wars of household chores: a feminist comic (26 May 2017) The Guardian <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/26/gender-warshousehold-chores-comic>.

32. Rhea Grover, Dirtiness is perceived by all, cleanliness is pursued by women (15 July 2019) Science in the News Blog <http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2019/ dirtiness-perceived-cleanliness-sustained-women-study-reveals/>.

33. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Typical Australians (15 August 2017) Australian Bureau of Statistics <https://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/home/ 2016+Census+National>.

34. Deutsche Welle, Germany: Flexible Working Conditions lead to overtime studies show (5 March 2019) Deutsche Welle <https://www.dw.com/en/germanyflexible-working-conditions-lead-to-overtime-study-shows/a-47771436>.

35. Heejung Chung, Return of the 1950’s Housewife? How to stop coronavirus lockdown reinforcing sexist gender roles (30 March 2020) The Conversation <https://theconversation.com/return-of-the-1950s-housewife-how-to-stopcoronavirus-lockdown-reinforcing-sexist-gender-roles-134851>.

36. Jane McNaughton, COVID-19 self-isolation a good time for couples to fix housework gender divide, experts say (23 March 2020) Australian Broadcasting Service <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-23/coronavirus-isolation-couldstrain-relationships-at-home/12068104>.

37. Beth Duff-Brown, ‘How Taiwan Used Big Data, Transparency and a Central Command to Protect Its People from Coronavirus’ (March 2020) Stanford FSI Newsroom 3.

38. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, ‘Taiwan Has Been Shut Out of Global Health Discussions. Its Participation Could Have Saved Lives’, (March 2020) Time Magazine.

39. Jessie Tu, ‘Taiwan’s first female president is delivering a stunning COVID-19 response’, Women’s Agenda (online at 4 April 2020) <https:// womensagenda.com.au/latest/taiwans-first-female-president-is-delivering-astunning-covid-19-response/>.

40. Tsai Ing-wen, ‘President of Taiwan: How My Country Prevented a Major Outbreak of COVID-19’ (April 2020) Time Magazine.

41. Justin McCurry, ‘Test, trace, contain: how South Korea flattened its coronavirus curve’, The Guardian (online at 23 April 2020) <https://www.theguardian.com/ world/2020/apr/23/test-trace-contain-how-south-korea-flattened-itscoronavirus-curve>.

42. Hyonhee Shin, ‘See the drive-thru clinics South Korea is using to test patients for coronavirus’ Business Insider (online at 13 March 2020) <https:// www.businessinsider.com/south-korea-launches-drive-thru-coronavirus-testingfacilities-as-demand-soars-2020-2?r=AU&IR=T>.

43. Sam Walker, ‘Thank God for Calm, Competent Deputies’, Wall Street Journal (online at 4 April 2020) <https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-the-coronavirus-crisisdeputies-are-the-leaders-we-turn-to-11585972802>.

44. Hina Aslam and Rohan Hussain, ‘Fighting COVID-19: Lessons from China, South Korea and Japan’ (Research Report, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, April 2020) 7.

45. UNDP Seoul Policy Centre for Knowledge Exchange through SDG Partnerships, ‘Flattening the curve on COVID-19: How Korea responded to a pandemic using ICT’ (Media Release, 11 May 2020) 4.

46. Stephanie Denning, ‘Why Have Women Leaders Excelled At Fighting The Coronavirus Crisis?’, Forbes (online at 26 April 2020) <https://www.forbes.com/ sites/stephaniedenning/2020/04/26/why-have-women-leaders-excelled-atfighting-the-coronavirus-crisis/#6d37a8a7543e>.

47. Mirella Visser, The Female Leadership Paradox : Power, Performance and Promotion (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2011) 24.

48. Anna North, ‘Are women leaders better at fighting coronavirus? It’s complicated.’ (May 2020) Vox. 49. Visser (n 47) 21.

50. Michelle Bligh et al, ‘Competent enough, But Would You Vote for Her? Gender Stereotypes and Media Influences on Perceptions of Women Politicians’ (2012) 43(3) Journal of Applied Social Psychology 560, 566.

51. Kim Elesser, ‘Are Female Leaders Statistically Better at Handling the Coronavirus Crisis?’ (April 2020) Forbes.

52. North (n 48).

53. Visser (n 47) 23.

54. Amanda Taub, ‘Why are Women-Led Nations Doing Better with Covid-19?’ (May 2020), The New York Times.

55. Jayalakshmi Goplan, ‘Women in Politics in South Asia’ (2012) (1) Prajnya Resource Centre in Women in Politics and Policy.

56. Sam Levin, ‘“People are sick all around me”: Inside the Coronavirus Catastrophe in California Prisons’, The Guardian, (online at 21 May 2020) <https:// www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/20/california-prisons-covid-19outbreak-deaths>.

57. ‘Calls for Some Prisoners to be Released from Australia’s Jails due to Coronavirus’, ABC News (online at 20 March 2020), <https://www.abc.net.au/ news/2020-03-20/calls-for-australian-prisoners-to-be-released-due-tocoronavirus/12074182>.

58. ‘Reoffending statistics for NSW’, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Web Page) <https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_pages/Reoffending.aspx>.

59. Elise Worthington and Sarah Curnow, ‘Tanya Day Got on a Train to Melbourne.

She Never Made It Home’, ABC News (online at 7 December 2018) <https:// www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-06/aboriginal-women-tanya-day-dies-afterinjury-in-police-custody/10581650?nw=0>.

60. Mary Gearin and Freya Michie, ‘Victoria Moves to Decriminalize Public Drunkenness on Eve of Tanya Day Inquest’, ABC News (online at 22 August 2019) <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-22/victoria-to-decriminalisepublic-drunkenness-tanya-day-inquest/11438836>.

61. ‘Two Coronial Inquests Make Findings About Unconscious Racism’, The Law Report (ABC Radio National, 26 May 2020).

62. Sophie Russell and Eileen Baldry, ‘In Charts: How Australia’s Prisoner Population is Booming’, ABC News (online at 14 June 2017) <https:// || 27

www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-14/australias-booming-prison-population-inthree-charts/8616876>.

63. ‘Criminal and Civil Courts in the Age of COVID-19’, The Law Report (ABC Radio National, 31 March 2020).

64. ‘Prisoner Characteristics, Australia’, Australian Bureau of Statistics (Web Page) <https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/ 4517.0~2018~Main%20Features~Prisoner%20characteristics,%20Australia~4>.

65. ‘COVID-19, Prisons and the Courts. And the Homeless Man Fined For Dumpster Diving’, The Law Report (ABC Radio National, 24 March 2020).

66. Ibid 4.

67. Kirti Mishra,‘Who are the homeless?’, Indo Global Services Society (Online, June,2014) <<https://igsss.org/blog/who-are-the-homeless>.

68. Lockdown in India has impacted 40 million internal migrants: World Ban’, The Economic Times (Online, 23 April 2020) <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ news/politics-and-nation/lockdown-in-india-has-impacted-40-million-internalmigrants-world-bank/articleshow/75311966.cms?from=mdr>

69. Pushkar Banakar, ‘Most migrants died during COVID-19 lockdown 3.0: SaveLife Foundation’, The New Indian Express (0nline, 3 June 2009) <https:// www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/jun/03/most-migrants-died-duringcovid-19-lockdown-30-savelife-foundation-2151565.html>.

70. Ben Knight, ‘Has the coronavirus pandemic proved that homelessness is solvable?’, ABC News (Online, 8 June 2020) <https://www.abc.net.au/news/ 2020-06-08/housing-homeless-in-pandemic-has-worked-lets-make-itpermanent/12330442>.

71. Ibid.

72. Umi David, ‘COVID-19 lockdown crisis for migrant workers: What states are doing’, Down to Earth (21 April 2020) <https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/ governance/covid-19-lockdown-crisis-for-migrant-workers-what-states-aredoing-70584>

73. Ibid

74. Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation [1985] 3 SCC 545.

75. White Ribbon, White Ribbon Research (2020) <https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/ Primary-Preventatives/Research>.

76. The Lookout, COVID-19 and Family Violence FAQs (29 April 2020) <https:// www.thelookout.org.au/family-violence-workers/covid-19-and-family-violence/ covid-19-and-family-violence-faqs>.

77. Ibid.

78. Ibid.

79. Ibid.

80. Ibid.

81. White Ribbon (n 75).

82. Australian Human Rights Commission, Violence Against Women In Australia (2017) (20 January 2017) <https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/legal/ submission/violence-against-women-australia-2017>.

83. Ibid.

84. Todd Bishop, ‘Can you find God in a Zoom call? Communities of faith get religion on tech in COVID-19 crisis’, GeekWire (Article, 11 April 2020) <https:// www.geekwire.com/2020/can-find-god-zoom-call-communities-faith-adjustingrealities-covid-19/>.

85. Talib Haider and Afnan Malik, ‘Virtual Iftars helping Muslims to connect during COVID-19’, SBS (Article, 12 May 2020) <https://www.sbs.com.au/language/ english/virtual-iftars-helping-muslims-to-connect-during-covid-19>.

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86. Wikipedia, ‘Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religion’, Wikpedia (Web page, 2020) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_religion#Food_and_medical_assistanc e_and_social_justice_work>.

87. Iqbal Nasim, ‘Patience, sacrifice and Zakat: How Muslims find the strength to endure the COVID-19 pandemic’, Euronews (Article, 29 April 2020) <https:// www.euronews.com/2020/04/29/patience-sacrifice-zakat-how-muslims-findthe-strength-to-endure-covid-19-pandemic-view>.

88. Shariq Siddiqui, ‘Drive-thru iftars and coronavirus task forces: How Muslim are observing obligations to the poor this Ramadan’, The Conversation (8 May 2020) <https://theconversation.com/drive-thru-iftars-and-coronavirus-task-forceshow-muslims-are-observing-obligations-to-the-poor-this-ramadan-137365>; Musaddique Thange, ‘How Indian Muslims Engaged in COVID-19 Relief Efforts Are Countering Hate with Love’, The Wire (Article, 27 April 2020) <https:// thewire.in/society/covid-19-relief-effort-muslims>.

89. James Vukmmirovic, ‘Sikh charity helping people across Sandwell amid coronavirus crisis’, Express & Star (Article, April 22 2020) <https:// www.expressandstar.com/news/health/coronavirus-covid19/2020/04/22/sikhcharity-helping-people-across-sandwell-amid-coronavirus-crisis/>.

90. Anna Halafoff, ‘Religious groups are embracing technology during the lockdown, but can it replace human connection?’, The Conversation (Article, 1 May 2020) <https://theconversation.com/religious-groups-are-embracingtechnology-during-the-lockdown-but-can-it-replace-humanconnection-135682>.

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