The Australian Women's Weekly March 2021

“So when is baby number two coming?” I’ve been asked this regularly over the past five years. At various times work associates, friends and even my dentist have probed me about when I’d be going back for a second pregnancy. I’ll never forget a cheery supermarket cashier insisting loudly – while ringing up my groceries – that I should hurry up and give my poor then-three-year-old a sibling. For weeks afterwards my daughter told everyone she was getting a baby sister, which led to some red-faced backtracking at day care pick-up! I know this was just harmless small talk – but it stung every time. Because what people didn’t know is that I’d been trying my best to get pregnant – naturopaths, compulsive temperature taking, the works. We succeeded on…

A CALL FOR JUSTICE I had just finished reading Miscarriage Of Justice (AWW, February) and then heard the awful news of the young couple in Queensland who, together with their unborn son, were killed by a selfish driver. These people commit deadly crimes, not minor offences! The law needs to change to address how serious these crimes are by issuing much greater sentences. The general public is rightly horrified by these crimes and the lenient sentences received. Let us hope that after all the petitions and submissions to the government that we will at last see justice served, as we all believe it should. J. French, Onkaparinga Hills, SA YOUNG AT HEART It was lovely reading about Kiwi actor Sam Neill (Home At Last, AWW, January), who we have adopted…

IT WAS A VERY SPECIAL VALENTINE’S DAY for Prince Harry and Meghan, who chose the day of love to share the joyous news they are expecting their second child. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex look ecstatic in the photograph released to accompany the announcement. The date holds significant meaning for Prince Harry – on Valentine’s Day in 1984, the British press reported Princess Diana was expecting her second child. Women we love GREEN GIRL WONDER Eighteen-year-old Greta Thunberg has been recognised for her work to “preserve Sweden’s unique nature for future generations” with a beautiful commemorative postage stamp. POETRY IN MOTION The world collectively caught its breath as 22-year-old Amanda Gorman read her poem The Hill We Climb at the US presidential inauguration. The National Youth Poet Laureate embodied…

Sylvia Jeffreys is reclining in a make-up chair, eyes gratefully closed, as she has the final touch-ups before beginning her photo shoot with The Weekly. With her son, Oscar, having just turned one and her second child (another boy, whose name she and husband Peter Stefanovic are keeping to themselves for now) due in April, it’s a precious moment to rest. Oscar is an active baby – too young to grasp the concept of a new arrival – and has spent the past few hours clambering happily all over his mother’s growing bump. In the phase of her pregnancy where she’s “feeling a bit slow and like I’m entering that fatigue stage again”, Sylvia’s desire for a brief break is understandable. But her eyes snap open when her mother Janine,…

Meghan is relaxing in the grass, her head languishing in Prince Harry’s lap, right hand resting on her bump, and both are beaming uncontrollably as they stare into each other’s eyes. The picture (on page 10) says it all. After all the pain of the past year – moving to the US, court battles, their heartbreaking miscarriage, family rifts and virus restrictions preventing travel – this was truly exciting and welcome news. “We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child,” a spokesman for the couple said. The black and white photo was taken remotely by long-time friend and photographer Misan Harriman. The Nigerian-born British photographer and social activist who shot UK Vogue’s…

In 2018, a photograph of two junior surfing champions, proudly holding their winners’ cheques went viral. The female winner, Zoe Steyn, had won $400; the first-placed male, Rio Waida, twice that. Facebook erupted. Did the girls surf an easier ocean we don’t know about? What are we teaching our girls through this archaic discrimination? Do I get 50 per cent discount from (sponsor) Billabong because I’m only worth half as much? The World Surf League (WSL) rolled out its excuses but suddenly there was a tsunami of stories detailing decades of the inequality and bigotry suffered by female competitors. Shortly after came an announcement: From 2019, women would receive the same prize money as men. For a group of tough, talented, renegade women it was the victory they’d been fighting…