STEPHANIE STANHOPE WOULDN’T CALL HERSELF A FEMINIST but, as the NSW leader of the largest and most influential women’s organisation in Australia, she’s at the forefront of demanding a better deal for women, particularly those who live in the bush. “We’re not afraid of controversial issues – politicians listen to us,” says Stephanie, the State President of the Country Women’s Association (CWA) of NSW. Some of these issues include domestic violence, homelessness (particularly affecting older women), rural health, inland rail, and fracking for coal seam gas.
Stephanie, a former dairy farmer, has suffered her fair share of adversity, from escaping an unhappy relationship to losing her home near Bega, on the NSW South Coast, in the Black
