Yajilarra: the story of the women of Fitzroy Crossing

Aboriginal women leading change in remote Australia

Yajilarra is a documentary (director, Melanie Hogan, 2009, 26 minutes) about a group of Aboriginal women from Fitzroy Crossing in remote northern Western Australia. The short film, which was produced by the Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre of Fitzroy Crossing, premiered at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York in 2009 where it received a standing ovation.

‘Yajillara’, which in the Bunuba Indigenous language means ‘to dream,’ tells the story of a group of indigenous women who led a campaign to place a ban on the sale of full strength alcohol in their community. The ban, which was not without controversy, resulted in a 43% reduction in domestic violence reports, a 55% reduction in alcohol related hospital presentations, an increase in school attendance levels and an 88% reduction in the amount of alcohol purchased.

To read more about the film and the community of Fitzroy Crossing, visit:

• How an Alcohol Ban Revived an Aboriginal Community: Shari Nijman interviews JUNE OSCAR, CEO of Marninwarntikura Fitzroy Women’s Resource Centre (May 2009)
• Studying Foetal Alcohol in Fitzroy Crossing (Radius, March 2010, p.14)