The Australian Women's Weekly

welcome!

I’M LUCKY ENOUGH to receive many letters from readers each month telling me how The Weekly has touched their lives, or thanking us for a particular story. Of course, there are also the odd notes of constructive criticism, which although harder to hear are no less welcome. But one particular letter hit home recently – it was from a dear friend of my mother’s. She had read about our Kindness Project, and suggested I look no further than my own mother to see the epitome of such a virtue. She explained how mum had bought her a subscription to her favourite magazine (The Weekly, of course!) to cheer her up as she recovered from major surgery.This is just one of countless kind acts mum performs, without thought, not…

open line

Our Tuscan Sun fashion shoot featured a gorgeous older model. CLOSE TO HOME Beware the Healthcare Gender Gap investigation (AWW, March) struck a raw nerve with me. For many years I suffered at the hands of medical professionals whose treatment was humiliating and condescending. When I became seriously ill, I consulted a female doctor who later restored my health. It took some time, but thanks to that doctor and a caring specialist my thyroid was taken care of. Name withheld, via email. ROYAL ROLE MODELS I must commend Juliet Rieden on her article about the Duchess of Sussex (Meghan’s grace under fire, AWW, March). Both Meghan and Duchess Catherine work so hard and are just such fabulous ambassadors for all the charities…

letter of the month

Thank you, Women’s Weekly, for a wonderful March edition. Your article on Joanna Lumley ( Fear, love and my biggest regret, AWW, March) was so welcome. She is such a special lady in every sense of the word, and I’m sure many of us are in awe of her stamina, curiosity and humanity. Your delightful pages of fashion ( Tuscan sun , AWW , March), with a beautiful older woman (right), show that glamour and beauty are ageless and not just the realm of the Hollywood set. …

in brief news bites

The Duke and Duchess attend a cooking demonstration Meghan elegant in a cream kaftan-inspired Dior gown for an evening reception. being greeted by a young well-wisher Meghan visits a boarding school This tour is the last for Meghan, who is due to give birth in late April, according to reports. Harry and Meghan soaked up the culture and made fans during their tour. (REX/SHUTTERSTOCK. GETTY.) Majestic Meghan LESS THAN 48 HOURS AFTER she arrived home from her New York baby shower, Meghan was a ball of unstoppable energy on the Sussex couple’s first tour to Morocco. The visit, which was followed by a 100-strong media pack, highlighted causes close to Meghan’s heart, from gender equality and girls’…

let’s talk about

NO WORK FOR WOMEN The people behind The Women’s March urged women to strike on International Women’s Day, turning it into “A Day without a Woman” to show the world how much labour the fairer sex shoulders. ON THE STREETS There were so many inspiring images of women marching around the world for International Women’s Day. One of our favourites was this picuture of “STEMinists” in Katherine, NT. JULIA & MEGHAN Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard joined singer Annie Lennox and the Duchess of Sussex on a panel to promote women’s leadership, where she praised Meghan’s passion for equality. PETER BREW-BEVAN. PICTURE SUPPLIED AND USED WITH PERMISSION. YIANNI ASPRADAKIS/BAUERSYNDICATION.COM.AU. GETTY IMAGES. CATERS NEWS AGENCY. CGU INSURANCE.…

inside the shame of george pell

I was raised a devoted Catholic. Mass every Sunday, confession, giving up sweets for Lent. At school we recited Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy and at lunchtime didn’t step on lines on the pavement lest it be declared that we loved the devil. It’s perhaps that upbringing that, in 2015, drew me to cover the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse for ABC’s 7.30 program. That year, I met a woman, Julie Stewart, who was the same age as me. Julie had been raised in a parish across Melbourne from where I grew up. I’ll never forget seeing her First Communion photo – eyes cast to the heavens, her starchy white dress, veil and stiff crown of artificial flowers, her frilly socks and little patent leather…