dé Ishtar, Zohl 1953-

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dé Ishtar, Zohl 1953-

PERSONAL:

Born 1953, in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Education: Macquarie University, Australia, M.A.; University of Sydney, Australia, M.Phil.; Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, Ph.D., 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia; fax: +61-7-3346-8796. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, researcher, activist, administrator. Kapululangu Women's Law and Culture Centre, founder, director, 1999-2001; University of Queensland, Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, researcher. Peace activist and creator of cross-cultural collaborations with Indigenous Australian and Pacific women.

MEMBER:

Australian Sociological Association, International Sociological Association, Australian Women's Studies Association, International Association of Community Development.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Isi Liebler Prize, 2003; nominee, Nobel Peace Prize, 2005; postdoctoral fellow, Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Queensland.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

Daughters of the Pacific, Spinifex Press (North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1994.

(Editor) Pacific Women Speak Out for Independence and Denuclearisation, Pacific Connections (Christchurch, New Zealand), 1998.

Holding Yawulyu: White Culture and Black Women's Law, Spinifex Press (North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 2005.

Contributor of chapters to numerous books, including Feminist Voices, Women Studies Texts for Aotearoa/ New Zealand, Oxford University Press (Auckland, New Zealand), 1992; Gender and Catastrophe, Zed Books (London, England), 1998; Horse Dreams: The Meaning of Horses in Women's Lives, Spinifex Press (North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 2004. Contributor of articles to numerous journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Zohl dé Ishtar is an Irish-Australian lesbian writer and cultural activist, who has focused on promoting the rights of Indigenous Australian and Pacific women, as well as on antinuclear campaigns, environmental concerns, and eradicating colonialism and sexual discrimination. Dé Ishtar's first book, Daughters of the Pacific, appeared in 1994, and includes stories collected from indigenous women across the Pacific. However, the stories in the volume are not ones conjuring unspoiled beauty; rather they provide "an engaging account of the issues concerning nuclear colonization and more," according to Lynn B. Wilson, writing in the Women's Review of Books. Dé Ishtar traveled extensively in the Pacific for a year interviewing women about how they have been affected by colonialism and militarism. Wilson went on to note that Daughters of the Pacific "works holistically, positioning women within their cultural traditions, new political structures and resistance efforts."

While completing her doctoral thesis, dé Ishtar spent two years living with female Aboriginal elders in Western Australia. The resulting thesis was later adapted for publication as Holding Yawulyu: White Culture and Black Women's Law, "a challenging new book," according to Traffic contributor Robyn Hillman-Harrigan. Dé Ishtar was not a passive observer during her time living with the indigenous women of the community of Wirrimanu; instead she took part in their daily activities and rituals while investigating the ways in which white culture had encroached upon the culture of Wirrimanu. The resulting book "offers valuable insight into the perseverance-through-struggle of the amazing Kapululangu women elders of Wirrimanu," as Hillman-Harrigan concluded.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Traffic, January, 2006, Robin Hillman-Harrigan, review of Holding Yawulyu: White Culture and Black Women's Law, p. 214.

Women's Review of Books, February, 1996, Lynn B. Wilson, review of Daughters of the Pacific, p. 16; July-August, 2006, Batya Weinbaum, review of Holding Yawulyu, p. 29.