[Nooky]
Respect.
Respect for ourselves, for our culture, for each other.
It helps us stand tall and be the warriors we always have been.
Our kids look to us, their mob, mums and dads, aunties, uncles, nans and pops, Elders, mates, to help show them the way.
But these days, there's lots of other voices they're hearing online and on social media.
And they're teaching our kids all kinds of bad, disrespectful stuff about women and girls.
Stuff that can lead to violence.
Violence against women isn't part of our culture.
It never has been.
So we need to drown out the noise from those bad influences and turn up our voices.
Not just online, but everywhere.
Because when we teach our kids respect for themselves, culture, Country and each other, things change and those disrespectful influencers, they lose. Because we've turned up respect.
But the aunties at Banatjarl know connecting to Country and culture helps to empower the next generation to be strong.
Helping all of us turn up respect.
[Banatjarl Strongbala Wimun Grup]
My name is Andrea Andrews.
I'm a Jawoyn woman, and I come from the Bagala clan group and I'm working for the Banatjarl Strongbala Wimun Grup here in Katherine.
My name is Miliwanga Wurrben.
I am a Rembarrnga woman of Central Arnhem Land.
My clan group is the Mirratja people.
The Strong Wimun Grup has been there for a very long time, 20, 30 odd years, and this old lady here was part of that, starting in the beginning.
It's about healing and empowering our women to be stronger so that they can be stronger for their families as well.
When it comes to prevention, this is where these young women will come.
And so when we have a yarning circle, we're able to let them know the culture, you know, Indigenous culture.
So we have to go back to the beginning, almost in the Dreamtime, to actually explain how it was with our men and women.
We bring out all these, you know, customary laws and our kinship relationship system, everything that a woman needs to know.
So the wellbeing that we teach comes from our cultural activities, such as weaving and painting, and ceramic making, you know?
Learning on Country, which is what Banatjarl is all about.
So we have camps there at times, and we invite all these women to come and just have a feel, you know, about the Country and feel of the animals and our ancestral spirits of the land.
Because we are not working alone.
They will always be with us.
We teach them how to respect and acknowledge not only the land, but themselves.
I want my kids and my grandkids and my families and everyone else to have that respect so that they can have positive outcomes.
If you don't have respect, you're always going to, you'll be sort of down and out.
Respect for me is a very important word for myself, and of course, our Elders.
So Mila here, in order for us to have a good relationship, we both need to respect each other and that's how, that's how it should be.
[Nooky]
Our women, they're survivors and leaders.
They've always been our backbone.
Strong women making us stronger, and it's still the case now. So let's be loud and proud. Let's raise our voices and teach our kids about respect every day in our communities, because respect for ourselves, our culture, our Country, and each other can drown out the voices of disrespect. Anywhere.
It's time to pump up the volume. Let's Turn Up Respect.
