Woman's Hour

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani education activist and the world’s youngest Nobel Prize laureate. Malala was just 15 when, on the way home from school, a member of the Taliban boarded her bus, asked for her by name, and shot her in the head. In the decade since, Malala has continued to fight for the educational rights of girls and women across the globe through her charity, the Malala Fund. Now she’s turned her attention to Hollywood, most recently as Executive Producer of the short documentary film Stranger At The Gate – which has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film.The line-ups for this summer’s festivals are being announced – and there’s a noticeable absence of headlining women. Glastonbury has three men headlining, as does Latitude Festival. Why is there such an imbalance when it comes to female artists and big gigs? What needs to be done to change it? CEO and owner of Green Man Festival Fiona Stewart joins Nuala alongside creator of the F-list directory of female musicians, Vick Bain.When should you bring up the topic of whether or not you want children with a partner? If you have different opinions, do you walk away from an otherwise happy relationship? Nuala is joined by Relationship Counsellor Val Sampson and listener Sarah to discuss the healthiest way to go about it.The Bristolian comic and star of last year’s Strictly Come Dancing, Jayde Adams has written a brand new show ‘Men, I Can Save You,’ to explore her relationships with men and learn from how she has been treated in the past. She talks to Woman’s Hour about how she wants to guide men to salvation with humour.Presented by Nuala McGovern Producer: Louise Corley

Five women. Five inspirational stories. Earlier this year, Woman’s Hour spoke to women from all different backgrounds and professions about the moment they found their voice. When was the moment they realised they had to speak up? And how did it change them? For International Women’s Day, Anita Rani brings you all of the interviews from the ‘Finding My Voice’ series, in a one-off special episode of the Woman’s Hour podcast. Elika Ashoori was an actor and baker who rarely kept up with politics. That is, until 2017 when her father, Anoosheh, was detained by the Iranian authorities while visiting his mother. Over the next five years, she and her family fought for his release and she was forced to go through what she calls a ‘crash course’ in human rights campaigning. Her father was flown back the UK on the same plane as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in March 2022. Since then, Elika has dedicated herself to campaigning for the rights of women and girls in Iran, including cutting off her hair on ITV’s Lorraine. Milly Johnson had always known she wanted to write novels but says, ‘I didn’t think that ordinary girls like me got those sorts of jobs.’ She was a 40-year-old single mum when she got her first publishing deal and now, 21 novels later, she’s a Sunday Times best-selling author and her books have sold over 3 million copies. She describes how she found her voice the moment she started putting the everyday experiences of Yorkshire women into her writing. Moud Goba fled her home country of Zimbabwe at the age of 20 due to harassment she faced over her sexuality. She is now the Chair of the Board of Trustees for UK Black Pride and has spent over a decade helping other LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers to integrate into their new communities. She explains how she found her voice as an activist once she was finally able to express her sexuality freely. Shekeila Scarlett was excluded from school when she was 12 years old. Although she was reinstated at the school just 2 months later, the experience made her realised how distant young pupils were from the governors who made decisions about their school. At 26, she’s now the Chair of Governors at Stoke Newington School in Hackney, making her one of the youngest chairs of a school governing board in the UK. In 2020, Liz Roberts chose to report the sexual assault she suffered at the hands of her brother 50 years previously, when she was just eight years old. During the legal proceedings, she chose to waive her right to anonymity – a right which is automatically granted to victims of sexual offences in the UK. She explains the choice to use her name and why, since her brother’s sentencing, she’s continued to speak publicly about her story. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Hatty Nash

Schoolgirls in Iran have been admitted to hospital this week after reportedly being poisoned by gas whilst at school. Many Iranians suspect the poisonings are a deliberate attempt to force girls’ schools to close, although the government has not confirmed. Faranak Amidi, BBC Near East Women's Affairs correspondent and Azadeh Pourzand, human rights researcher at SOAS discuss.In new book Womb: The Inside Story of Where We All Began, NHS midwife Leah Hazard seeks to explore the organ she describes as 'woefully under-researched and misunderstood'. She shares what she has learnt from looking into the womb’s past, present and possible future.Actor and singer Cynthia Erivo discusses her role in the upcoming film, Luther: The Fallen Sun, where she appears opposite Idris Elba. She shares her experience working on the movie version of the musical Wicked, playing the lead role of Elphaba, her 2020 oscar-nominated performance as Harriet Tubman, and her new found liberation in expressing her bisexuality.Jo Cheetham was studying for a PhD and working as a nanny in London when she read news of an upcoming protest. Before she could talk herself out of it, Jo joined the No More Page 3 campaign team. We discuss her new memoir, Killjoy. Jo talks to us about the power of a grassroots campaign and everyday people doing extraordinary things.On Monday, the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act came into effect, raising the age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 in England and Wales. It's what campaigners against child and forced marriage have worked towards for many years. We reflect on this social change with two listeners, Judith and Jeanette who willingly got married at 16.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Surya Elango Editor: Louise Corley

Actor, Bukky Bakray, who at 19, became the youngest BAFTA Rising Star Award recipient as well as one of the youngest 'Best Actress in a Leading Role' nominees for her critically acclaimed performance in the film Rocks. Bukky makes her stage debut in the coming of age play Sleepova in which four Black teenage friends explore sexuality, identity, relationships and family as they head towards adulthood while struggling to maintain their friendships. Bukky joins Anita in the studio to talk about her career and the power of female friendship.Dozens of schoolgirls in Iran have been admitted to hospital this week after reportedly being poisoned by gas whilst at school. Over 1,000 girls have been affected by this since November and many Iranians suspect the poisonings are a deliberate attempt to force girls’ schools to close. The government hasn’t said whether it believes they are premeditated. We hear from Faranak Amidi, BBC Near East Women's Affairs correspondent and Azadeh Pourzand, Human Rights Researcher at SOAS. So-called 'TikTok protests' have continued to take place in Britain's schools as hundreds of pupils rebelled against teachers over new rules with some clips attracting millions of views. Although the specific grievances vary from school-to-school, the social media trend appears to be spreading, with children in Southampton, Blackpool and Essex staging demonstrations in the last few days that were posted on the platform. Protests over a ban on school skirts at an Oxfordshire school led to police being called and the school being forced to temporarily close. That school has now U-turned on its uniform policy. So where is the balance between standing up for your rights and breaking school rules? Can the two ever be compatible or always at odds. And how can girls and young women in particular learn to find their voice and be listened to? Technology and innovation journalist and author, Becca Caddy, Sangeeta Pillai- the founder of Soul Soutras, and activist, and founder of Love Your Period, Molly Fenton discuss.It has been 40 years since Karen Carpenter died. The singer and drummer was one half of soft-rock group The Carpenters, whose hit songs became the backdrop to the 1970s. Her death at 32 years of age from anorexia nervosa shocked the world. But did her early death overshadow her musical legacy? Lucy O’Brien has looked back over Karen’s life to write a biography, Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Diana Parkes, the mother of a woman killed by her pilot husband more than a decade ago has called on the Justice Secretary to intervene over his possible release from prison in November. Anita talks to Diana Parkes, Joanna's best friend Hetti Barkworth-Nanton and the former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland. Why do breast injuries in sport appear to go under-reported and what are the potential consequences? And can a well-fitting sports bra prevent a woman’s breasts from bouncing a reported 10,000 times during an hour-long run? World leading breast expert Associate Professor Deirdre McGhee from University of Wollongong, Australia joins Anita to discuss breast health and exercise. When the wealthy financier Charles Vance Millar died, he left no direct heirs, so he decided to leave today’s equivalent of $9 million to the woman who had the most children over the next 10 years. This sparked what became known as “The Great Stork Derby”, a so-called contest that created a media frenzy. It’s the inspiration behind Caroline Lea’s new novel ‘Prize Women’. She speaks to Woman’s Hour about the real historical event.Jo Cheetham was studying for a PhD and working as a nanny in London, when she read news of an upcoming protest. Before she could talk herself out of it, Jo officially joined the No More Page 3 campaign team. Over three years, Jo protested up and down the country, contended with trolls, gave a group performance on the West End stage and spoke at the Scottish Parliament. In her memoir 'Killjoy' Jo describes everyday people doing extraordinary things and the power of a grassroots campaign.Presenter: Anita Rani Studio manager: Bob Nettles

People with eating disorders are being repeatedly failed by the system and radical changes need to be made to prevent further tragedies. That’s according to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman UK, Rob Behrens. He says little progress has been made in the six years since the publication of a report which highlighted serious failings in eating disorder services. Rob joins Nuala to talk about what those failings are, and what needs to be done.In her memoir Outside the Sky is Blue, writer and journalist Christina Patterson tells her story of what it's like to grow up with a sibling who is mentally ill. Her older sister, Caroline, had her first breakdown when she was fourteen and Christina was nine. Later, Caroline was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was heavily medicated for the rest of her life. Christina joins Nuala to discuss growing up in a family in the shadow of mental illness. Actor, singer, songwriter, and all round South London superstar Cynthia Erivo joins Nuala to speak about her role in the upcoming film, Luther: The Fallen Sun, where she appears opposite Idris Elba. She’ll also talk about making the movie version of the musical Wicked, where she is playing the lead role of Elphaba, and being one step away from an EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony) award winner.Would you want to know if you were going to get cancer? Journalist Hilary Osborne was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She regrets not finding out sooner whether she carries the BRCA2 gene. Whereas comedian Michelle Brasier has been told by doctors she has a 97% chance of developing cancer, and is living life to the full. So, how do you face the stark reality of living with a hereditary and life-shortening illness? Hilary and Michelle join to Nuala to talk about their experiences. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lottie Garton

As teachers strike again over pay this week we talk to the BBC's Education Editor Branwen Jeffreys. As awards season continues we want to know - who should win best performance by a jumper? Mark Darcey’s reindeer jumper? Cameron Diaz’s knitwear in The Holiday? Fashion journalist Naomi Pike talks to Woman’s Hour about the most iconic knitwear in film - and we also hear from the creator of the most talked about jumpers of the moment. Delia Barry is 83 and personally knitted the jumpers you can see in the Oscar-nominated movie ‘Banshees of Inisherin’. She tells Nuala how she came to knit for films, and what it’s like to be the woman behind the new ‘it’ jumper. The laws surrounding fertility treatment and embryo research in the UK have remained largely unchanged for thirty years. Today a new consultation being held by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) opens. They want to hear from people who have been impacted by fertility treatment. Julia Chain, chair of the HFEA, joins Nuala. There have been accusations of Russian soldiers using sexual violence as a weapon of war during the current conflict in Ukraine. Progress is being made to bring the perpetrators to justice, but it’s slow. Nuala is joined by Anna Mykytenko, senior legal advisor to Global Rights Compliance, and Anna Orel, who works for the Andreev Foundation. In her new book Womb - The Inside Story of Where We All Began NHS midwife Leah Hazard seeks to explore the organ she describes as “woefully under-researched and misunderstood”. She shares with Nuala what she has learnt from looking into the womb’s past, present and possible future. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lucinda Montefiore Studio Manager: Gayl Gordon

At least 59 migrants, including 33 women and 12 children, have died and dozens more are feared missing after their boat sank in rough seas off southern Italy. The vessel broke apart while trying to land near Crotone on Sunday. A baby was among the dead, Italian officials said. Bodies were recovered from the beach at a nearby seaside resort in the Calabria region. Nuala speaks to Caroline Davis, BBC Pakistan Correspondent and Annalisa Camilli, journalist for Internazionale magazine in Rome.A new report from the Howard League of Penal Reform looks at the links between women, gambling and crime. They say women are being let down by a lack of awareness and action to tackle the problem by police, probation and prisons - leaving them without the support they need. Dr Julie Trebilcock, senior Lecturer in Criminology at Brunel University London, and one of the researchers on the project, joins Nuala, along with Tracey whose gambling addiction resulted in a 13 month prison sentence.We speak to author Sara Barnes, about the challenge she set herself to mark her sixtieth birthday, sixty swims with sixty different people.Today the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act comes into effect, raising the age of marriage and civil partnership to 18 in England and Wales which means 16 and 17-year-olds will no longer be able to marry or enter a civil partnership under any circumstances, including with parental or judicial consent. It's what campaigners against child marriage have worked towards for many years. We thought it would be interesting on this day of change in the marriage laws in England and Wales, to look back at the experiences of some of you who got married willingly at 16. Nuala talks to listeners Judith and Jeanette.The Taliban's severe restrictions on women's rights in the country are having a negative impact on the already struggling economy. That's the conclusion of a study by the International Crisis Group – an independent organisation that works on conflict and policy. Since women were barred from university education and work in offices, including NGO's, cuts to foreign donor funds have become more likely, as many western politicians fear their voters will not accept the idea of their taxes helping a country ruled by the Taliban. Nuala is joined now by the BBC's Zarghuna Kargar.

Dame Melinda Simmons, the British Ambassador to Ukraine, joins Hayley Hassall to mark one year on from the Russian invasion. She talks about the impact the war is having on women and girls in the country, as well as the strength and heroism women are showing as they adapt their lives to exist in a constant state of war.Who decides what’s reasonable or unreasonable? And how do we agree as a society on what is ‘reasonable’ behaviour? Dr Kirsty Sedgman speaks to Nuala McGovern about her new book, ‘On being Unreasonable: Breaking the rules and making things better’, which addresses societal divides over what is, or isn’t, reasonable. New research from Cancer UK has shown that Black women from Caribbean and African backgrounds are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at later stages. To talk about why this happens and what needs to be done to help black women get diagnosed earlier, Nuala McGovern speaks to Kruti Shroti from Cancer Research UK and Adobea Obeng, who tried three times to get medical help before being diagnosed with incurable breast cancer. Irish singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy joins Nuala McGovern to talk about her newest album, ‘Gimme Some Wine’ and her UK tour. She explains how lockdown gave her time to heal and reflect on her life while creating new music, and how a purple AGA helped her to get over a particularly bad break-up!Averil Mansfield qualified as a surgeon in the early 1970s, a time when female medics were outnumbered my men eight to one. When she told her consultant she was getting married, his reply was: ‘what a pity!’. She joins Hayley Hassall to talk about her inspirational career and her thoughts on the current state of the NHS.Presenter: Hayley Hassall Producer: Lottie Garton

It is a year since Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The war has severely impacted social cohesion, community security and the resilience of local communities, especially women and girls. Approximately 5.4 million people have been displaced inside Ukraine, and 8 million people have registered as refugees across Europe. Woman’s Hour speaks to the UK ambassador to Ukraine, Dame Melinda Simmons her only UK interview on this first anniversary.Leicester Cathedral is celebrating having a fully female clergy team in what it believes might be a first for England. Hayley Hassall speaks to one of the team of 5, the canon pastor Reverend Canon Alison Adams at Leicester Cathedral. What do you do when something amazing happens to you whilst someone you love is going through something terrible?…a sibling, a best friend…or even a twin. That is what happened to twin sisters Chloe and Lydia. When Chloe was days away from giving birth, Lydia experienced her second miscarriage and it tested their bond to the limit. They join Hayley to share their story. Do you sew or quilt? ‘The New Bend’ is the name of an exhibition running at the Hauser and Wirth gallery in Somerset until 8 May. It showcases the work of 12 contemporary artists and quilters whose work pays homage to the enduring legacy of the women of the Gee’s Bend Alabama quilters, who were quilting as early as the 19th century in the Alabama Black Belt in America. Hayley is joined by Ferren Gipson - art historian, textile artist and author of ‘Women’s Work: From Feminine Arts to Feminist Art’ to discuss quilting and reclaiming the idea of ‘women’s work’ within the history of art.Presented by Hayley Hassall Producer: Louise Corley Studio Engineer: Bob Nettles

Averil Mansfield was the UK’s first woman vascular surgeon and first female professor of surgery. She qualified as a surgeon in the early 1970s, at a time when only two per cent of her colleagues were female – and was often met with disbelief bordering on amusement when telling people what she did. She talks to Woman’s Hour about her medical achievements, which she downplays to, ‘It’s just glorified plumbing,’ as detailed in her memoir ‘Life in Her Hands.’A a new app to block child abuse images has received £1.8m pounds of EU funding, with the aim to help combat what has been described as a "growing demand" for child abuse images. According to the NSPCC, child abuse image offences have reached record levels with more than 30,000 reported in the last year. It also revealed that the police have recorded the first child abuse crimes in the metaverse, with eight instances recorded last year. We hear from Rani Govinder, Senior Child Safety Online policy officer from the NSPCC and John Staines, former police officer from E-Safety Training who goes into schools to educate children and teens about online safety. Dada Masilo is a South African choreographer, who is known for her re-working of classic stories to reflect black female identity. Her latest show is called Sacrifice, inspired by Stravinksy’s iconic ballet Rite of Spring is on a national tour of the UK, and will be performed at the Sadler’s Wells in London this weekend. Plus the new study from the Cambridge Centre for Family Research which shows that having an older sibling helped keep children well-adjusted during lockdown. Prof Claire Hughes joins Nuala to discuss how older siblings can provide protection from stress.Presenter Hayley Hassall Producer Beverley Purcell

New research from Cancer Research UK and NHS Digital has revealed that Black women from Caribbean and African backgrounds are more likely to be diagnosed with certain types of cancer at later stages, when treatment is less likely to be successful. This study is the first to show that ethnicity is a significant factor in late-stage diagnosis for women with breast, ovarian, uterine, non-small cell lung cancer and colon cancer. Nuala speaks to Kruti Shrotri, Head of Policy Development at Cancer Research UK and Adobea Obeng who sought medical help three times over two years before she was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer.Eleanor McEvoy is one of Ireland's foremost songwriters and has worked with the likes of U2, Sinead O'Connor and Mary Black. She is the composer and co-performer of A Woman's Heart, the title track for the best-selling Irish album in Irish history, and one of Ireland's favourite folk songs, which recently featured in the award winning Derry Girls. One of Eleanor's songs, Sophie, is used in treatment centres to treat patients with eating disorders. She joins Nuala live in the studio to discuss her UK tour, the inspiration behind the tracks of her most recent album Gimme Some Wine and to perform the track South Anne Street.In 2014, thousands of Yazidi women and girls were captured as part of an Islamic State Group genocide. While many of the men were shot, women and girls were forced into sex slavery for IS. Today, many of these women and children still live in camps in Iraq as they have nowhere else to go. Now, the Iraqi government says they’re going to close the camps. Nuala McGovern is joined by journalist Rachel Wright and CEO of Bellwether International Rachel Miner to talk about the conditions in the camps and what more needs to be done.Judges from the Special Immigration Appeals Commission have today decided the removal of British citizenship from Shamima Begum, who left the UK as a 15-year-old schoolgirl to join Islamic State, was lawful. In the hearing last year challenging the decision, her legal team said it ignored the fact that she may have been trafficked into Syria. Nuala is joined by BBC Home Affairs Correspondent Daniel Sandford.In 1838 a middle-class Victorian woman, Mrs Anne Sykes, was given a diary on her wedding day which she filled over the years with snippets of clothes and household fabrics, carefully annotating each one. Nearly two hundred years later Kate Strasdin, a fashion historian, came across the scrapbook. She spent six years researching the materials she found stuck to the album’s pages and created her own book The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Skyes about this unique record of the lives of Victorian women.

We discuss the statement released by Nicola Bulley's family following the sad news that that the body found in river Wyre had been formally identified as Nicola Bulley who had been missing for over 3 weeks. They expressed their pain on how their loved ones were treated throughout this ordeal. They called for accountability, and for another family not to go through what they had gone through. Joining Nuala is Zoe Billingham, former head of the inspectorate of Constabulary, Ellen Milazzo from Victim Support and Baroness Helen Newlove, former victim's commissioner for England and Wales. Up to 9 in 10 first-time mothers who have a vaginal birth will have some sort of tear. So, it’s no wonder that tearing is a big worry for expectant mums. Marie Louise, also known as The Modern Midwife, explains to Nuala why tears happen, and what to really expect. Plus, midwife turned inventor, Malene Hegenberger, explains how she created a retractor to help her see tears better when suturing. Why are women from diverse background much less likely to be able to swim than white women? And what can be done about it? Team GB’s first black female swimmer Alice Dearing helped to found the Black Swimming Association along with journalist Seren Jones – they join Nuala to discuss. As London Fashion Week draws to a close today, the Times fashion director, 51-year-old Anna Murphy, reflects on feeling like the only woman of her age in the front row who has not had work done on her face. What she calls the normalisation of ‘tweakments’ is one of the topics explored in her new book Destination Fabulous. She tells Nuala about the changing trends in tweakments, why she finds the term problematic and how to embrace ageing naturallyPresenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

Who gets to decide about social norms, about what's reasonable and unreasonable behaviour? Is it OK to breastfeed in public, to let your children play in the garden while others are working from home? Can we come together and talk about these things reasonably? According to Dr Kirsty Sedgman, the author of a new book, On being Unreasonable: Breaking the rules and making things better, we're living in an age of division. If she asks, we reimagined the rules of public togetherness, what would get better? What would change for the worse? And for whom?As MPs return to parliament today, they come back to a new set of proposals by the Standards Committee. It has recently published a report recommending that MPs arrested for serious offences should be banned from the parliamentary estate. We discuss with Esther Webber, Senior UK Correspondent for Politico, and Westminster parliamentary aide and GMB representative Jenny Symmons .Half of state-funded schools in England for children with special educational needs and disabilities are oversubscribed, new BBC research has found. Schools have been forced to convert portable cabins and even cupboards into teaching spaces due to a lack of space. Head teachers say this puts pressure on staff and makes pupils anxious. Parents say their children are missing education while they wait for places. BBC correspondent Elaine Dunkley who has led the investigation and produced an Iplayer documentary, ‘SEND help’, explains how this situation has arisen.Nadine Benjamin MBE is a celebrated Soprano. But if it wasn’t for the words of an encouraging high school music teacher, she would never have considered a career in Opera. Now, she’s played in the UK’s most prestigious Opera Houses in shows including La Bohème, Madama Butterfly and the Marriage of Figaro. Last year she performed for the new King. Nadine joins Nuala to talk about her journey into the industry and performs from Songs of Joy which brings together stories told through song and spoken word, celebrating the lived experiences of black and mixed-race composers.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Giles Aspen

Actor Aimee Lou Wood is best known for her role in Netflix’s Sex Education. Her character - also called Aimee - was at the heart of some of the most iconic storylines that came out of the first three seasons of the show. Now she’s taking to the stage as Sally Bowles in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in London’s West End. She talks about performing in the show and her recent BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination.The former police officer, Wayne Couzens, who raped and murdered Sarah Everard two years ago, has admitted three counts of indecent exposure. Now academics and criminologists are calling for a change in the way indecent exposure is seen – saying we need to stop the perception of it as a so-called ‘nuisance offence’ and take it more seriously. Jennifer Grant from the University of Portsmouth and the BBC’s Home Affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani discuss allegations against Wayne Couzens that go back to 2015. A new Netflix series from Executive Producer Jada Pinkett-Smith tells the stories of African Queens. The first focuses on Queen Njinga, a powerful woman who led Ndongo, modern day Angola, through the slave trade and invasions by the Portuguese. One of the writers and former British High Commissioner to Mozambique, Nne Nne Iwuji-Eme explains why it’s so important to hear her story.Woman's Hour is in the process of putting together our Power List for 2023 - this year focussed on finding 30 of the most powerful women in sport. But what about the power of sport itself? Hayley Compton and Jessica Morgan who say sport got them through very difficult times in their lives explain why.Coleen Greenwood spent almost two and a half years in a relationship with a man she knew as James Scott. He said he was a divorced firefighter who wanted to marry and go into business with her - but it was all based on a lie. Her story is the subject of a new BBC podcast series Love-Bombed with Vicki Pattison. Coleen talks about the impact the relationship had on her. She is joined by Chris Bentham, who investigated the case.Nell Mescal is a singer songwriter who writes Indie Folk songs. She’s a rising star whose featured in Rolling Stone Magazine and has been named as an artist to watch by NME. She performs her single ‘Graduating’ live in the studio.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Paula McFarlane Editor: Emma Pearce

Ricky Reel’s body was discovered in the River Thames 25 years ago, a week after he had gone missing following a racist attack when he was on a night out with friends. His case was never solved, the police initially believed he had run away from an arranged marriage and later that his death was an accident. The case is now being re-examined by the Met Police’s major inquiries specialist casework team, due in part to Sukhdev Reel’s relentless campaigning on behalf of her son. She tells Anita why she has never given up on getting justice for her son.Actor Aimee Lou Wood is best known for her role in Netflix’s Sex Education. Her character - also called Aimee - was at the heart of some of the most iconic storylines that came out of the first three seasons of the show. But now she’s taking to the stage as Sally Bowles in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in London’s West End. She joins Anita in the studio to talk about performing in the show and her recent BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination.Anita Bhagwandas is an award-winning beauty journalist who describes the beauty industry as one she adores but a place that has ‘never loved [her] back’.Her new book Ugly: Giving Us Back Our Beauty Standards unearths why the word has such power and how we can reclaim it for ourselves. A blend of manifesto and memoir, the book explores how racial, class, and social prejudices shape what society deems ‘beautiful’. She joins Anita to discuss life as a beauty journalist, overcoming self-hatred, and the beauty standards set by Disney princesses.With movements like Dry January growing in popularity, many women want to question their relationship with alcohol, while also maintaining the possibility of moderation. Anita is joined by the journalist Roisin Kelly who shares what she learned while sober dating, and Ruby Warrington, the author who inspired the sober curious movement, who discusses the art of mindful drinking.

As Scotland’s First Minister announces her resignation after nearly a decade in the job we consider her legacy, the reasons for and the timing of her decision to go and consider who might take over with the Scotsman’s Political Editor Alistair Grant and journalist Ruth Wishart.The musical Sylvia has just opened at the Old Vic celebrating the life of Sylvia Pankhurst – feminist, activist, pacifist, socialist, rebel who was at the heart of the Suffragette movement, with her sister Christabel and mother Emmeline. Actor, singer and musical theatre performer Sharon Rose who plays this lesser-known Pankhurst discusses her role.Woman's Hour is in the process of putting together our Power List for 2023 - this year focussed on finding 30 of the most powerful women in sport. But what about the power of sport itself? Hayley Compton and Jessica Morgan who say sport got them through very difficult times in their lives explain why.What is Europe doing to tackle the issue of femicide? Since the start of 2023, there has been a wave of news coverage in Europe on violence against women, and specifically, femicide, the act of killing a woman because she is a woman. The Spanish government has called its second emergency meeting of domestic violence experts after the murder of six women and a young girl since the start of January. And in France, 18 women have been murdered this year, according to the organisation ‘Femicide by a partner or ex partner’. This is despite both countries having introduced measures to fight against gender based violence. Mélina Huet, a journalist at the French news channel LCI and director of the documentary on femicides ‘Protect the Living, Honour the Dead’ and Susana Pavlou, the director of the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies join Anita to discuss.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Alistair Grant Interviewed Guest: Ruth Wishart Interviewed Guest: Sharon Rose Interviewed Guest: Hayley Compton Interviewed Guest: Jessica Morgan Interviewed Guest: Melina Huet Interviewed Guest: Susana Pavlou

The former police officer, Wayne Couzens, who raped and murdered Sarah Everard two years ago, has admitted three counts of indecent exposure, one of which happened just four days before he kidnapped and killed Sarah Everard. Now academics and criminologists are calling for a change in the way indecent exposure is seen – saying we need to stop the perception of it as a so-called ‘nuisance offence’ and take it more seriously, as in some cases it can lead to far more serious crimes. Nuala talks to BBC’s Home Affairs correspondent, Dominic Casciani and Jennifer Grant from the University of Portsmouth. What are your thoughts on children’s sleepovers? Are they a rite of passage or just a big headache? Well, #nosleepovers was trending on social media recently after an American influencer and mum of two, Tara Huck, shared her unpopular parenting opinion: she doesn't allow her children to attend sleepovers. When Netmums did a poll of their UK parents - 63% said they ban sleepovers. So is it the end for sleepovers? Victoria Richards is Editor of Indy Voices at the Independent and hosts multiple sleepovers a year, whereas parenting columnist for Velvet Magazine, Emily Martin, is trying to avoid them for as long as possible.A new Netflix series from Executive Producer Jada Pinkett-Smith is out today, telling the stories of African Queens. The first focuses on Queen Njinga, a powerful woman who led Ndongo – modern day Angola – through the slave trade and invasions by the Portuguese. To find out more about Njinga, and why it’s so important to hear her story, Nuala McGovern is joined by one of the writers and former British High Commissioner to Mozambique, Nne Nne Iwuji-Eme.Scientists say that an on-demand, non-hormonal contraceptive pill for men may be a real possibility after successful trials stopped sperm from being able to swim. Tests in mice suggest that it stuns sperm long enough to stop them from reaching the egg. Further tests are needed, but if successful, it could provide a reliable oral contraception. Michelle Roberts is the BBC's Digital Health Editor. The republican Nikki Haley has announced that she will be running for president next year in the US. She's the first Republican to challenge Donald Trump for the party's presidential nomination. Nikki Haley first made her way onto the political scene back in 2010, when she became the youngest governor in the USA at the age of 39, securing a victory against an all-male field to become South Carolina's first female and Asian-American governor. Since then she has been hailed as a rising star who could potentially change the Republican party's male-dominated image. So what does this announcement mean for American Politics? Daniel Lippman is a reporter for Politico covering the White House in Washington.

Nell Mescal is a singer songwriter from Ireland who writes Indie Folk songs. She’s a rising star whose featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, has been named as an artist to watch by NME and is preparing for a summer of live gigs. She joins Nuala McGovern to talk about what inspires her songs, being a young woman in the music industry and performs her single ‘Graduating’ live in the studio. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been photographed five times over recent months alongside his adolescent daughter. The latest photos show a beaming Kim Ju-Ae, who is aged between 9 and 10, standing with her father at a lavish military parade, where at least 11 intercontinental ballistic missiles were shown. So, why is Kim Jong Un revealing his daughter now? There is speculation that she is to be his successor, but is there any truth to that claim? Nuala talks to Professor Hazel Smith is Professorial Research Associate in Korean Studies at SOAS, University of London and BBC Correspondent Jean MacKenzie who is based in South Korea. Fern Brady is a comedian and writer who has appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Live at the Apollo, and the most recent series of Taskmaster. She has also co-hosted three series of the Wheel of Misfortune podcast for BBC Sounds with fellow comedian Alison Spittle. In 2021, Fern received a diagnosis for autism. In her new book, Strong Female Character, she explores how this has impacted her life, and what it means to be an autistic working-class woman. We talk about plans to regulate the buy now pay later credit industry with Stella Creasy MP and Claer Barratt from the Financial Times.And BBC LGBT & Identity Correspondent Lauren Moss reports on a new book which claims that 97.5 per cent of children seeking help at the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) based at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, had autism, depression or other problems that might have explained their unhappiness. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Gayl Gordon

Coleen Greenwood spent almost two and a half years in a relationship with a man she knew as James Scott. He said he was a divorced firefighter who wanted to marry and go into business with her - but it was all based on a lie. Her story is the subject of a new BBC podcast series Love-Bombed with Vicki Pattison. Ahead of its launch we speak to Coleen about the impact the relationship had on her; and to DC Chris Bentham, who investigated the case.A boy and girl, both aged 15, have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey at a park in Warrington. This follows on from an incident last Monday, where a teenage girl was injured in what police have described as a "serious racially aggravated assault". Recent statistics from the Ministry of Justice show that there were 3,500 proven knife and offensive weapon offences committed by children between 2020 and 2021. We hear the latest from BBC's Rowan Bridge in Warrington and from Zoe Cooke, a campaigner against knife crime whose son Byron was stabbed to death in 2021. Do writers of memoirs focusing on traumatic events need protection? Does the publishing industry need to come up with guidelines to protect writers? Terri White, author of the memoir Coming Undone and Kit de Waal author of Without Warning & Only Sometimes: Scenes from an Unpredictable Childhood discuss. Plus who are you at work? Workplace consultant Gabriella Braun explain how psychoanalysis can reveal some hidden truths behind our behaviour. From interactions with your boss triggering feelings about your parents, to colleagues setting off old issues of sibling rivalries, Presenter Nuala McGovern Producer Beverley Purcell

Danielle Deadwyler's extraordinary portrayal of the civil rights activist Mamie Till-Mobley in Chinonye Chukwu’s ‘Till’ has earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Leading Actress. The film tells the true story of Mamie’s pursuit of justice after her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, was tortured and lynched in 1955. Danielle discusses grief, Mamie’s legacy, and the ongoing fight for civil rights.Dorset Police are investigating allegations of abuse in Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service. Nazir Afzal, the former chief prosecutor for North West England & Zoe Billingham, former head of the Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue consider if the fire service has a problem with its culture, and in particular women.European Champion and Queen of the Jungle, Jill Scott, is one of the most decorated footballers in the country and after announcing her retirement from the sport last year she's turned her attention to the next generation. On Friday she opened a new football pitch in her hometown in South Tyneside. She tells us what she wants the Lionesses' legacy to be.Salma Hayek Pinault broke barriers in the 90’s as one of the first Latina actresses to establish a successful career in Hollywood. She tells us about her new role as a strong female lead starring opposite Channing Tatum in ‘Magic Mike’s Last Stand’.We explore the complexities of disabled parenting with Eliza Hull, an Australian musician & disabled parent and Nina Tame. We hear about their new anthology of stories, ‘We’ve Got This’.What is audio porn? Caroline Spiegel, the founder of an erotic audio app called Quinn and Dr Caroline West, consent educator at University of Galway discuss.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Surya Elango Studio Manager: Bob Nettles Editor: Lucinda Montefiore

Anita is joined by the European Champion and Queen of the Jungle Jill Scott. Jill is one of the most decorated footballers in the country and after announcing her retirement from the sport last year she's turned her attention to the next generation. Today she is opening a new football pitch in her hometown in South Tyneside and tells Anita what she wants the Lionesses' legacy to be. The gang-rape of a woman in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, sparked protests yesterday with women calling out the country’s ‘rape epidemic’. The 24-year-old woman was walking with a male colleague in the city’s largest park at 8pm last week when she was attacked and raped by two armed men. The police have said that investigations were ongoing but in a statement warned people to avoid unlit areas of the park in the evening. We hear from Aisha Sarwari, columnist and co-founder Women’s Advancement Hub based in Islamabad and Caroline Davies, the BBC's Pakistan CorrespondentSalma Hayek Pinault is a Mexican American actress, director and producer who broke barriers in the 90’s as one of the first Latina actresses to establish a successful career in Hollywood, appearing in several Robert Rodriguez films including From Dusk Til Dawn. She was Oscar-nominated for her role in Frida, about the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, a film which she also produced. Now she is starring opposite Channing Tatum in Magic Mike’s Last Stand, which perhaps surprisingly, is set mostly in a London theatre. Salma joins Anita in the Woman’s Hour studio to talk about being the strong female lead, and power dynamics in Hollywood.Being a parent for the first time is challenging for anyone. But when you’re a disabled parent, it brings with it many more complexities, including discrimination from society and medical professionals alike. Eliza Hull, an Australian musician and disabled parent, realised that there was no positive literature around being a disabled parent – so she created it herself. ‘We’ve Got This’ is an anthology of stories from disabled parents about how they’ve overcome challenges to become parents, and how much they love it. We hear from Eliza herself alongside one of the authors, Nina Tame.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Jill Scott Interviewed Guest: Aisha Sarwari Interviewed Guest: Caroline Davies Interviewed Guest: Salma Hayek Pinault Interviewed Guest: Eliza Hull Interviewed Guest: Nina Tame

The number of women watching porn is on the increase, according to one of the world’s most popular sites. They say around a third of its viewers are female and growing. There’s also a new type of porn that is said to be gaining popularity among some women – audio porn. You might wonder, what it is and why it might appeal to women. Caroline Spiegel is the founder of an erotic audio app called Quinn, one of many apps out there, and Dr Caroline West, consent educator at University of Galway and host of the Glow West sexual wellness podcast.The earthquakes in southern Turkey and northern Syria have killed nearly 16,000 people. As rescuers work to save people still trapped in the rubble, the World Health Organisation has raised concerns that without shelter, water, fuel or electricity, many more lives are at risk. Today the Disasters Emergency Committee launched its appeal to raise funds to provide aid to the survivors. Racha Nasreddine, Director for ActionAid in the Arab Region tells Anita how women and girls are being affected.On yesterday’s Woman’s Hour we briefly discussed the Church of England’s decision not to back a change in teaching to permit clergy to conduct same-sex marriages. Listener Suzanne Elvidge contacted the programme to share her recent letter to her Bishop and her local clergy explaining why she felt she had no choice but to leave the Church after a lifelong membership. She joins Anita to discuss her decision.For our series Girl's World, Ena Miller took her dog-eared teenage diary to a school in Glasgow to talk to Saskia, Francesca and Olivia, who are all 14, about changing attitudes to sex and gender.Six years after her acclaimed debut novel Stay With Me was shortlisted for the Baileys Prize for Women’s Fiction, Nigerian writer Ayòbámi Adébáyo joins Anita to talk about her highly-anticipated second work of fiction, A Spell Of Good Things, a state-of-the-nation story exploring the divide between rich and poor, as Nigeria transitioned back into democracy in 2000.

Nuala McGovern talks to Irish actor Jessie Buckley about her new role as one of an extraordinary ensemble cast in the new film Women Talking. Based on the novel by Miriam Toews, it follows the women of an isolated religious community as they grapple with a huge decision they have to make, as a collective, following the discovery of male violence. Could God go gender neutral in the Church of England and no longer be referred to only as "he" but also as "they" and "she"? Rev Martine Oborne chair of Women and the Church which campaigns for "gender justice" in the church and journalist Anne Atkins discuss.Research estimates 1 in 5 women will lose a pregnancy in their lifetime and 1 in 20 will go through it more than once, but no official record is kept of how many miscarriages happen each year. After losing four pregnancies in the space of two years, with no obvious cause, Jennie Agg set out to understand why miscarriage remains such a profoundly misunderstood, under researched and under acknowledged experience. She has written about it in Life, Almost, which documents her path to motherhood and her search for answers. Dorset Police are investigating allegations that firefighters at Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service had taken photos of women who had died in car accidents and shared the images on a Whatsapp group. In the group, male firefighters are alleged to have made degrading comments about the victims. Several female firefighters also spoke of sexual harassment, including claims a male firefighter demanded sexual favours at the scene of a fire. Nazir Afzal, the former chief prosecutor for North West England who carried out an independent review into the London Fire Brigade last year and Zoe Billingham, former head of the Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue consider if the fire service has a problem with its culture, and in particular women.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Donald McDonald

Former Police Officer David Carrick will be sentenced this morning. BBC correspondent Helena Wilkinson joins Nuala. Shamima Begum left the UK in 2015. Now, for the first time, we have a better idea of what she might have been doing in the four years between then and her re-appearance in a camp in Syria in 2019. We know that she has married an IS fighter, had three children and lost three children in the last eight years – but what else happened? Nuala McGovern is joined by the BBC’s Josh Baker, host of the podcast I’m Not A Monster: The Shamima Begum Story and Dr Gina Vale, a lecturer of Criminology at the University of Southampton who specialises in terrorism. Danielle Deadwyler's extraordinary portrayal of the civil rights activist Mamie Till-Mobley in Chinonye Chukwu’s Till (2022) has earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Leading Actress. The film tells the true story of Mamie’s pursuit of justice after her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, was tortured and lynched in 1955. Danielle joins Nuala McGovern to discuss grief, Mamie’s legacy, and the ongoing fight for civil rights. As low-slung trousers come back into fashion and high-waists are all the rage we ask how fashion, age and generation determine where our trousers sit and how we feel about it. Hannah Rogers Assistant Fashion Editor for The Times joins Nuala. In 1993, aged twenty, Carmel Mc Mahon left Ireland for New York, carrying $500, two suitcases and a ton of emotional baggage. It took years, and a bitter struggle with alcohol addiction, to unpick the intricate traumas of her past and present. Carmel has now written a book, In Ordinary Time: Fragments of a Family History.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

Is the world of Young Adult (YA) Fiction getting too dark for our teenagers? Nuala McGovern speaks to YA authors Julia Golding (Finding Sky) and Holly Bourne (The Places I’ve Cried in Public) to discuss where teenagers can find joy and uplift in their reading today, as well as why it’s important to address some of the darker themes in young adult literature.The latest from Iran where tens of thousands of prisoners have been pardoned with Abbie Cheeseman from The Telegraph.Commentators Ella Whelan and Rachel Williams debate whether Welsh Rugby Union were right to ban choirs from singing "Delilah" at games.The Board of Control for Cricket in India – the governing body of the sport - announced last week that the five teams that make up the new Women’s Premier League have been sold to local investors for more than £465 million. This is a remarkable amount, even in India where men’s cricket teams command staggeringly high valuations and life changing for India’s women cricketers who have struggled financially to make ends meet. We hear from BBC Mumbai Sports Reporter Janhavee Moole how it could also change the game for women cricketers around the world.If you were listening to Woman's Hour last Wednesday you will have heard me speaking to two of our judges for the Woman's Hour Power List - one of Britain’s most celebrated British Paralympians of all time, Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson and Cricket World Cup winner turned broadcaster Ebony Rainford-Brent. Today you will hear from our third judge Sam Quek - Sam was as part of the squad who won Britain’s first ever hockey gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016. She was also won gold at the European Championships in 2015. Now she is a team captain - the first female team captain - on BBC1's Question of Sport. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager

Helena Bonham Carter tells us about playing Noele Gordon, "the Queen of the midlands", in new ITV drama 'Nolly' written by Russell T Davies. The actress starred in the hugely popular TV soap Crossroads for 18 years until she was sacked very suddenly in 1981. The TV drama Happy Valley has captured the public’s imagination with the final episode of the final series airing this Sunday. We hear from one listener who contacted Woman’s Hour about how as a kinship carer she has felt “heard” by the drama and Anita also speaks to Dr Lucy Peake the chief executive of Kinship – the UK’s largest charity for kinship carers.We speak to actor and comic, Emily Atack who is standing up against the men who cyber-flash her daily. Having received unsolicited, unwanted, abusive messages, dick pics and crude images for years she has made a documentary “Emily Atack: Asking for it?” for BBC 2. It’s 20 years in England since the repeal of section 28 – a law that came in from 1988 to 2003 to ban the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ in UK schools. Professor Catherine Lee of Anglia Ruskin University is a lesbian and taught in schools for every year of section 28. We discuss how this law affected gay or lesbian teachers and students.Women are able to recall details of sexual assault and rape with accuracy, even if they have drunk – moderate amounts of alcohol, according to a new study from the University of Birmingham. Heather Flowe, Professor of Psychology who led the study tells us about its significance.The comedian Sophie Duker is on a mission to reclaim the term 'hag' in her new UK stand-up tour of the same name. She tells us about growing up with ‘the princess myth’, embracing ageing and our sexualityPresenter: Anita Rani Producer: Surya Elango Editor: Lucinda Montefiore

A new report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons on conditions at Eastwood Park women’s prison has been released today. We speak to Sandra Fieldhouse, lead for women’s prisons at HMI Prisons about the findings. The TV drama Happy Valley has captured the public’s imagination with the final episode of the final series airing this Sunday. Catherine Cawood played by Sarah Lancashire is the policewoman who we see bringing up her grandson Ryan after her daughter took her own life. We hear from one listener who contacted Woman’s Hour about how as a kinship carer she has felt “heard” by the drama and Anita also speaks to Dr Lucy Peake the chief executive of Kinship – the UK’s largest charity for kinship carers. The Grammy's will be held on Sunday in Los Angeles and Beyoncé leads the pack with nine overall nominations. She has also announced her first tour in seven years, which led to the ticket website crashing. The UK concerts are part of a 43-date world tour in support of her Grammy-nominated Renaissance album. Anita discusses her success with Jacqueline Springer, curator Africa and Diaspora: Performance at the Victoria and Albert Museum and music journalist.China and Japan are seeing a marked reduction in their birth rates which will have a major impact on how their societies function in the next decades. With ageing populations and a birth rate well below the 2.1 replacement level observers are predicting significant problems ahead. By the end of the century China is predicted to drop from more than a billion to around 800 million and Japan’s population will drop from 123 million today to around 75 million. Anita Rani discusses the reasons and implications with Dr Yu Jie, Senior Research Fellow on China Asia Pacific Programme at Chatham House; and Yoko Ishikura an independent business consultant, professor emeritus at Hitotsubashi University who is working with the Japanese Government’s Digital Agency. Presented by Anita Rani Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel

Women are able to recall details of sexual assault and rape with accuracy, even if they have drunk – moderate amounts of alcohol .A study conducted at the University of Birmingham demonstrated that women who had drunk alcohol up to the legal limit for driving were able to recall details of an assault in a hypothetical scenario, including details of activities to which they had, and had not, consented. Heather Flowe, Professor of Psychology led the study.A year ago, British Army officer and physiotherapist Captain Preet Chandi (AKA Polar Preet) made history as the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition in Antarctica. Now she’s just broken another world record: the longest ever solo and unsupported Polar ski expedition. The 33-year-old travelled 922 miles across Antarctica, beating the previous record of 907 miles set by Henry Worsley, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, in 2015. Having spent over 70 days on her own, trekking in temperatures as cold as -50C, she speaks to Anita Rani about how she endured such a physical and mental challenge.Is your partner’s ex a significant person in your life? Are they someone you tolerate - or are they someone whose company you genuinely enjoy? Would you even go so far as to call them a friend? Or even a best friend? The friendship between popstar Katy Perry and the model Miranda Kerr attracted attention this week. Why…because Katy Perry is engaged to Orlando Bloom - who Miranda used to be married to. Katy Perry posted about her friend on Instagram calling her her “sister from another mister” and stating “I love our modern family”. So how realistic or welcome is it to be friends with your partner’s ex? We hear from the journalist Esther Walker.Adding higher levels of folic acid (otherwise known as vitamin B9) to all flour and rice would stop hundreds more UK babies being born with lifelong disabilities. That's what a group of leading scientists are saying. Women in the UK are advised to take a daily folic supplement before becoming pregnant, to reduce the risk of giving birth to babies with severe abnormalities called neural tube defects, such as spina bifida. But many don't. Anita Rani is joined by Neena Modi, Professor of Neonatal Medicine at Imperial College London.Best known more recently for her portrayal of River Song, the wife and occasional companion of Dr Who, actor Alex Kingston is currently on stage in Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Tempest. Women playing what are regarded as traditionally male roles on stage is not unusual these days but Alex explains to Anita why making Prospero a woman and mother surviving exile on a small island makes that role much more powerful. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Professor Heather Flowe Interviewed Guest: Preet Chandi Interviewed Guest: Esther Walker Interviewed Guest: Professor Neena Modi Interviewed Guest: Alex Kingston Photographer: Ikin Yum

Helena Bonham Carter is one of our best known actors – she’s played everyone from Princess Margaret in The Crown and Elizabeth the Queen Mother in The King's Speech, to Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter films, and more recently Enola Holmes’ formidable mother in the Netflix films with Milly Bobby Brown. Helena is now taking on a very different role, that of the Queen of the Midlands Noele Gordon, or Nolly as she was known to her friends; the actress who starred in the hugely popular TV soap Crossroads for 18 years until she was sacked very suddenly in 1981. Russell T Davies has written the three part drama which is released on ITV X on Thursday 2 February. Helena joins Nuala in the studio.Researchers in Canada estimate that approximately one in eight women are likely to be suffering from an unrecognised brain injury related to domestic violence. Millions of dollars are spent each year in Canada studying the impacts of traumatic brain injuries on professional male athlete’s brains, such as hockey players, whilst very little is known about the injuries suffered by female victims of intimate partner violence. Nuala speaks to Karen Mason, co-founder of the Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury Through Research project, and a former executive director of the Kelona Women’s Shelter in Canada, and Dr Paul van Donkelaar, a clinical neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia who specialises in concussion research.There's just one more week to get your submissions in for the Woman's Hour Power List, this year focussing on women in sport. It's not just football where the women's game has seen big success - Great Britain’s women’s curling team won a gold medal in Beijing, the 2022 Tour de France Femmes broke records, England and Wales have been confirmed as hosts of Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026 and the list goes on. Nuala is joined by two of our Power List judges Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, one of Britain’s most celebrated British Paralympians of all time, winning 16 medals across five Games, now a cross bench peer in the House of Lords, and Ebony Rainford-Brent, the World Cup winning cricketer and broadcaster.1500 people who received treatment from jailed breast surgeon Ian Paterson are being recalled by Spire Healthcare, a private hospital company, after their details were recovered from an old computer database. Described as 'one of the biggest medical scandals ever to have hit this country' the man at the centre of it became known as 'the butchering breast surgeon'. Joining Nuala is Jane Kirby, PA Media Health Editor.

Actor and comedian, Emily Atack has decided to stand up against the men who cyber-flash her daily. Having received unsolicited, unwanted, abusive messages, dick pics and crude images for years she has made a documentary “Emily Atack: Asking for it?” for BBC 2. Emily joins Nuala to discuss why men do this and why she's chosen to speak about it publicly and call for change. Baroness Catherine Ashton is a Labour peer who served as Europe’s most powerful diplomat between 2009-2014, a turbulent period by anyone’s standards. It was her job to co-ordinate and lead on the EU's response to international crises, including the Arab Spring, Somali pirate attacks, the Iran nuclear deal and the Ukraine uprising followed by Russia’s annexation of the Crimea. Behind the scenes and in front of the cameras she criss-crossed the globe trying to get lasting deals done. Catherine has documented all of this in a new book called And Then What? Inside Stories of 21st Century Diplomacy, and joins Nuala.What comes to your mind when you think of the word 'hag'? The comedian and recent Taskmaster champion Sophie Duker is on a mission to reclaim the term in her new UK stand-up tour of the same name. She tells Nuala about growing up with ‘the princess myth’, embracing ageing and why it’s so important to be open about sex and sexuality.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce Credit: BBC/Little Gem Productions/Richard Ansett

Hilary Grime’s daughter Phoebe, a student at Newcastle university, took her own life in June 2021. Hilary has since come together with other bereaved families to form the Learn Network with the aim of preventing future deaths of students by suicide. One of their first targets is to ask the government to legislate for a statutory duty of care for students in Higher Education. Hilary joins Nuala to talk about her daughter Phoebe and why she thinks it's so essential to get a statutory duty of care.Japan's decluttering and tidying expert Marie Kondo has admitted to 'kind of giving up' on tidying up after having her third child. Joining Nuala to discuss whether to ignore the mess or try to keep on top of it, comedian Helen Thorn, one half of the Scummy Mummies podcast. In her latest book, Crazy Old Ladies - The Story Of Hag Horror, Caroline Young explores the subgenre of horror movies in the 1950s and 1960s that cast iconic movie stars in often grotesque roles. She joins Nuala McGovern to explain hag horror or 'hagsploitation' and to discuss how actresses were treated in Hollywood as they got older. It’s 20 years in England since the repeal of section 28 – a law that came in from 1988 to 2003 to ban the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ in UK schools. Professor Catherine Lee of Anglia Ruskin University is a lesbian and taught in schools for every year of section 28. During that time she was a PE teacher in inner-city Liverpool before moving into special educational needs and pastoral leadership in rural Suffolk. So how did this law affect her other gay or lesbian teachers and her students who identified as lesbian or gay? Catherine has written a book Pretended: Schools and Section 28: Historical, Cultural and Personal.

Lesley Paterson is a five times world champion triathlete. She’s also a successful screenwriter, who has just been nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film All Quiet on the Western Front. It’s taken her sixteen years to get the film made. A woman no stranger to endurance, she explains how she used her prize money from her sporting career to help fund the film. An independent review into Zara Aleena's murder found a catalogue of errors by the probation service. We speak to HM Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell who conducted the review, along with Zara Aleena's aunt Farah Naz.The Woman's Hour Power List for 2023 is here! Last year was a game-changer for the visibility and perception of women in sport in this country and we want to showcase inspirational women – both on and off the field – who are spearheading and building on this momentum. The chair of judges Jessica Creighton launches the Power List and explains how you can make your suggestion.What is the role of a best friend at a deathbed? We All Want Impossible Things is a new novel by Catherine Newman exploring the topic. She reveals how her personal experience inspired the book. During World War Two, a house in Tynemouth was used as a sanctuary for more than 20 Jewish girls fleeing Nazi persecution. They had come to the UK on the Kindertransport. After a BBC investigation, a blue plaque was unveiled there yesterday, Holocaust Memorial Day, celebrating the house's forgotten past and those that found sanctuary there. Two of the girls who lived in the house were Ruth David and Elfi Jonas. We speak to their daughters, Margaret Finch and Helen Strange, about their mothers and their visit to the house.

During World War Two, a house in Tynemouth was used as a sanctuary for more than 20 Jewish girls fleeing Nazi persecution. They had come to the UK on the Kindertransport. After a BBC investigation, a blue plaque will be unveiled there today, Holocaust Memorial Day, celebrating the house's forgotten past and those that found sanctuary there. Two of the Girls who lived in the house were Ruth David and Elfi Jonas. Anita speaks to their daughters - Margaret Finch and Helen Strange about their mothers and their visit to the house.Mary Nighy began her acting career at the age of 17, starring in films such as Marie Antoinette and Tormented. The daughter of actors Bill Nighy and Diana Quick, she has since turned director, of TV shows like Industry and Traces but she has just released her directorial debut Alice Darling. The film, starring Anna Kendrick, explores what it might feel like to be trapped inside a coercive, controlling and psychologically abusive relationship. Mary joins Anita Rani to talk about the themes of the film, female friendship and working behind the camera.Big employers including Tesco, Asda, Natwest and the country's most senior family judge are supporting a scheme that gives time off to parents who are splitting up. A survey of 200 workers by the Positive Parenting Alliance showed that 90 per cent of respondents said that their work was adversely affected. Anita speaks to XY and Sara Davison a divorce coach and author. How do you differentiate between symptoms of menopause and dementia and when should you be worried? A new brain check-up tool kit from Alzheimer’s Research UK is encouraging people to do more to look after their brains to try to reduce their dementia risk. Research shows that women are generally at a greater risk of dementia - outnumbering the number of men who get the disease by 2:1 worldwide. But as women get older and experience the menopause, they may notice a decline in their memory, feel confused and get brain fog. We also hear about an early study which suggests that HRT may reduce the risk of some women developing Alzheimer's disease.

The Woman's Hour Power List for 2023 is here! Last year was a game-changer for the visibility and perception of women in sport in this country and we want to showcase inspirational women – both on and off the field – who are spearheading and building on this momentum to elevate women’s sport. We need your suggestions! The chair of judges Jessica Creighton joins Anita Rani to launch the Power List and explains how you can make your suggestion. Lesley Paterson is a five times world champion triathlete. She’s also a successful screenwriter, who has just been nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film All Quiet on the Western Front. It’s taken her sixteen years to get the film made. A woman no stranger to endurance, she explains how she used her prize money from her sporting career to help fund the film. It’s now one of this year’s biggest contenders at the Oscars and BAFTAs. A transgender woman in Scotland has been convicted of raping two women in attacks carried out before changing gender. Isla Bryson is now in custody and facing a lengthy jail term - but where that sentence should be served is the subject of heated debate. It has led to concerns about the safety of any women held alongside Bryson in a female prison. The Scottish Prison Service says the decision on where transgender prisoners are housed is taken on a case-by-case basis after appropriate risk assessments. Catriona Renton has been following the case for BBC Scotland News and joins Anita.Claudia Jones, the woman described as the 'founding spirit' of Notting Hill Carnival, is to be commemorated with a blue plaque this year. The feminist, journalist and political activist is one of five women whose achievements and legacy will be marked by English Heritage. Currently, about 14 per cent of the nearly 1,000 blue plaques honour women. Anita finds out more from the freelance journalist and Editor of Soho House, Sagal Mohammed.WFH, or the hybrid working week, has become the new norm for many of us in the paid workforce since Covid. But how does this affect the amount of unpaid domestic labour and the sharing of daily chores in UK households? Who does the most in your home – men or women? How happy are you with the division of work? What has changed since the lockdowns? Shireen Kanji, Professor of work and organisation at Brunel University and Oriel Sullivan, Professor of Inequalities of Gender, at the Centre for Time Use Research, University College, London discuss a hypothetical chore calculator; what chores are being inputted daily and what’s the emotional result? Presented by Anita Rani Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel

The conservatives and Labour party appear to be agreed on one issue on the political agenda – that is childcare. Both parties realise it will be a key battleground in the general election with polling suggesting it is of particular concern in some of the red wall seat which the conservatives need to hold onto if they are to stay in government. The UK’s childcare system is one of the most expensive in the world and ranked one of the least effective according to a recent report by UNICEF. Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson joins Nuala McGovern in the studio to discuss her party’s plans for reform which she says will compare with Aneurin Bevan’s creation of the National Health Service.What is the role of a best friend at a deathbed? ‘We All Want Impossible Things’ a new novel by Catherine Newman is funny and rude as well as very sad and it’s a celebration of all sorts of love. Ash's best friend is dying and her heart is breaking but life does go on, until it stops. Catherine Newman joins Nuala to explain what inspired the bookWhen she was 19, Chanel Contos was playing a drinking game with friends. Someone asked ‘what’s the kinkiest thing you like to do during sex? Her 17-year-old friend replied, ‘It’s not really that kinky, but I guess choking.’ Now 24, and listed as one of the BBC’s 100 Women, Chanel wants to challenge the normalisation of sexual choking (and other acts such as spitting or slapping). She’s joined on the programme by writer Rachel Thompson, author of Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom and what We Can Do about it. They discuss why these acts are so prevalent, and whether women and girls are feeling pressured into them.Could the state pension age be raised again from 67 to 68 and what would it mean for women? We talk to the former pensions minister and conserative peer Baroness Ros Altmann.And we hear the latest about female nominations at the Oscars with film critic Karen Krizanovich.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Donald McDonald

An independent review into Zara Aleena's murder found a catalogue of errors by the probation service. HM Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell who conducted the review joins Nuala McGovern along with Zara Aleena's aunt Farah Naz. According to new research being single comes at a price. Single people pay, on average, £860 a month more than people living in couples. So why does it cost an extra £10k per year to live as a single person? And is the independence and freedom that some single people feel worth the price tag? Nicola Slawson is a journalist and founder of The Single Supplement. There's been a long running campaign for working women going through the menopause to get better protection. This morning the government has announced it won't make the menopause a protected characteristic, in the same way things like age and sex are - despite a recommendation from MPs that it should be. The government is commissioning more research into the subject, and cheaper and better access to HRT. But is this enough? Reporter Melanie Abbott gives us the full details of the government's response to calls for more protection. And campaigner Helen Garlick from Henpicked tells us she is calling for more action. A new study will examine the disproportionate number of female teachers developing asbestos related diseases. Backed by teaching unions, it’s hoped the findings will put more pressure on the government to take action on asbestos in school buildings. Nuala will be talking to Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted, and one woman who lost her mother – a teacher for many years - to asbestos related lung cancer, mesothelioma. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

The Brits scrapped their best male and best female awards last year in favour of gender-neutral prizes. This year no women are on the shortlist for best artist - won by Adele last year - though are nominated in other categories. Social media has been awash with fans of musicians like Charlie XCX, Florence Welch, Mabel and Ella Henderson asking why they'd been overlooked. We hear from journalist Laura Snapes the Guardian's music editor and Vick Bain who's worked in the music industry for 25 years, was the CEO of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors and founder of The F-List directory of UK female musicians. Several former employees at the Welsh Rugby Union have told the BBC about a ‘toxic’ culture of sexism at the organisation. Nuala McGovern is joined by former Wales rugby international and Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi. Do you ever wonder why you’re being shown particular adverts online? Nuala speaks to one woman, Hannah Tomes, who is being advertised egg donation banks despite having no interest in this – she wonders if she’s being advertised to because of her gender – we will seek to find out if she’s right and speak to the BBC’s Technology Editor Zoe Kleinman. Figures from the ONS show that there are now twice as many women giving birth over the age of 40 as there are having children under the age of 20. But does the age you become a mother change the way you experience parenting? We hear from two women who had children at very different points in their lives…Lucy Baker the founder of the blog Geriatric Mum and Lauren Crosby Medlicott a freelance journalist who has written about her experience as a young mum.Presenter Nuala McGovern Producer Beverley Purcell

The award-winning actor Michelle Williams discusses her new role in Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film, The Fabelmans. She plays Mitzi, a concert pianist who’s put her artistic ambition aside to raise a family, and is struggling to play a supporting role to her computer genius husband. Michelle explains why she was attracted to the role, and how her work in Dawson's Creek as a teenager set her up for Hollywood success. On Thursday, the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her shock resignation. We discuss with BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James Lansdale, former Prime Minister Helen Clark and the political scientist Lara Greaves from Auckland University.Wendy Warrington is an NHS nurse and midwife who has been giving medical help and support to women and children in Ukraine since March last year. She tells us about the impact of the war on maternity services in the country. Afghan police have confirmed that a former Afghan MP and her bodyguard have been shot dead at her home in the capital Kabul. Mursal Nabizada was one of nine out of 69 female MPs who chose to stay in the country after the Taliban returned to power. We speak to Fawzia Koofi, Afghanistan's First Woman Deputy Speaker of Parliament.The Oscar-nominated actor and Downton Abbey star Elizabeth McGovern shares her experience of playing Martha in a new production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?‘Lucky girl syndrome’ is a new trend taking over TikTok with over 80 million views of the hashtag. The journalist Róisín Lanigan from i-D magazine and psychologist Catherine Hallissey discuss whether it’s just a new take on positive thinking, and whether there is any psychological basis for it.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Lucy Wai Editor: Lucinda Montefiore

The Hollywood actor Michelle Williams began her career aged 16 on the TV drama Dawson’s Creek. Now, at 42, she’s starring in Steven Spielberg’s new film The Fabelmans, based on his own family. She plays Mitzi, a concert pianist who’s put her artistic ambition aside to raise a family, and is struggling to play a supporting role to her computer genius husband. But the crucial relationship portrayed in the movie is the one between Mitzi and her son, Sammy. Michelle joins Anita to explain why she was attracted to the role.There are an estimated 2.1 million people in the UK experiencing self-reported long covid, according to data from the Office for National Statistics which affects women more than men. But in the NHS priorities and operational planning guidance for 2023-24, no mention was made of Long Covid. Dr Binita Kane is a Consultant Respiratory Physician in Manchester. She also has a daughter with long covid and knows the challenges that causes and is worried that Long Covid has been deprioritised. She is joined by Dr Melissa Heightman, clinical lead for Post Covid services at University College Hospital London, and the National speciality advisor with the long covid programme for NHS England.Some outfits grab all the attention. Think Lady Gaga's meat dress, Madonna's Cone bra or J Lo in her plunge neck green Versace dress. Well Monday night saw the return of the ITV dating show Love Island but it was the outfit worn by the new host Maya Jama that got everyone talking. It was sexy, and red, and - you might be surprised to know - crocheted. The person who made it is the young designer Sierra Ndagire who joins Anita.It’s been 25 years since Goodness Gracious Me graced our television screens on BBC 2. It was the first comedy sketch show conceived, written and performed by British Asians. Anita Rani chats with the multi-hyphenate artists, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia from the original ensemble cast. They discuss how they birthed a new “Asian Comedy” genre and its role today, getting spotted in a restaurant by George Michael, and some of their infamous sketches that added a new lens to British women.

When art historian Joanna Wolfarth was pregnant with her first child, she assumed she would breastfeed, as her mother had fed her. This didn’t go according to plan. In a bid to understand her own feelings and attitudes about feeding her baby, she has just published a new book called Milk: An Intimate History of Breastfeeding . We discuss the shock resignation of New Zealander Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with BBC Diplomatic Correspondent James Lansdale, former Prime Minister Helen Clark and the political scientist Lara Greaves from Auckland University.The premier league and the football association has been spelling out what they'll do to attract more women both as players and fans. But critics say women players are still too often thought of as an afterthought when it comes to both resources and facilities. And that fans are put off because they are badly catered for and misogyny can be rife in football stadia. We hear from football corrrespondent Jacqui Oatley and Shaista Aziz from the campaign group The Three Hijabis and the Academic Dr Stacey Pope from Durham University. Do you consider yourself to be a lucky person? ‘Lucky girl syndrome’ is a new trend taking over TikTok with over 80 million views of the hashtag. The concept involves telling yourself that you are the luckiest person in the world, that everything always works out for you - and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The journalist Róisín Lanigan from i-D magazine and psychologist Catherine Hallissey join Anita to discuss whether it’s just a new take on positive thinking, and whether there is any psychological basis for it.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Bob Nettles

(Photo Amy Ní Fhearraigh by Kip Carroll)Rosemary Kennedy has often been referred to as the "missing Kennedy". She was the sister of former US President John F. Kennedy and despite been part of one of the most famous families in American politics, very little was known about Rosemary. Until recently. Her story has been brought to life by the Irish National Opera in Least Like the Other – Searching for Rosemary Kennedy at the Royal Opera House. Director Netia Jones and soprano Amy Ní Fhearraigh join Jessica Creighton to discuss the production and its themes.The First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, told CNN news that it is the women in Ukraine who are bearing the brunt of the war, caring for their children and older relatives, and keeping things going. Someone who knows this only too well is Wendy Warrington, an NHS nurse and midwife who has been going out to give medical help and support to women and children in Ukraine since March last year. She joins Jessica to talk about the situations that she sees every day, and how women really are at the heart of it all.The Queen of Reinvention, Madonna, has announced her first ever greatest hits tour to mark 40 years since her breakout single, Holiday. She'll be playing 35 dates around the world. Performing hits from her 1983 self-titled debut album to 2019's Madame X. Jess dicusses her influence with Fiona Sturges, Arts writer for The Guardian and the Financial Times.Yesterday serial rapist David Carrick was formally dismissed by the Metropolitan Police. He pleaded guilty to 24 rapes and multiple sexual offences. Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, has apologised to his victims for the force’s failings. The force is currently investigating 1,000 sexual and domestic abuse claims involving about 800 of its officers. For survivors hearing about these cases in the news can be very difficult. Jess speaks to Nicola Brookes who was groomed by a police officer. The independent office of Police conduct said he “knowingly targeted and exploited” her.During the Covid 19 lockdown, the writer Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett decided - like many of us - to get a pet. She acquired Mackerel, a kitten, whose antics over one year helped her examine her desire and fears about becoming a mother and inspired her to write her latest book ‘The Year of the Cat’. Jessica Creighton asks Rhiannon about cat ladies and the extraordinary cat characters of her childhood, and the deeper themes of her book - anxiety and recovery from trauma, family love and why she used to say, “I’m not sure I want children.”Presented by Jessica Creighton Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell

Elizabeth McGovern was Oscar nominated for her portrayal of Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime and, by the age of 21, had played leading roles in Once Upon A Time In America followed by The Handmaid’s Tale and The Wings of the Dove. She is probably best known though for playing Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey. She is now on stage starring in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The actress and musician joins Jessica to discuss her varied career so far and what drew her to the role of Martha.A misconduct hearing today will formally dismiss David Carrick from the Metropolitan Police, after he admitted twenty-four counts of rape and multiple sexual assaults. Carrick was finally stopped when one woman reported him in October 2021. Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, has apologised to Carrick's victims, and says the force is currently also investigating 1,000 sexual and domestic abuse claims involving about 800 of its officers. Jessica is joined to discuss by Shabnam Chaudhri, who served as an officer in the Met for 30 years.Tomorrow will see the start of a second round of strikes by the Royal College of Nursing. The RCN says that this will be the biggest walkout so far, affecting 55 trusts in England - that's 11 more than last month. They are calling for a pay rise of 5% above inflation, with inflation currently sitting at 14%. The government says the demands are unaffordable and pay rises were decided by independent pay review bodies. NHS staff in England and Wales - including nurses - have already received an average increase of 4.75%. The union says that there will be a further two strikes in February in England and Wales, unless there is movement on pay by the end of this month. Pat Cullen is the General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing, and joins Jessica.Today marks the 250th anniversary of the UK in the Antarctic following the first voyage of James Cook in 1773. In contrast to Cook’s all-male crew in the 18th century, the UK’s current polar leadership includes several women. What is it like to be a female leader in this field? Jessica Creighton is joined by Jane Rumble, the Head of Polar Regions Department at the UK Foreign Office, Professor Dame Jane Francis, the Director of the British Antarctic Survey and Captain Milly Ingham, the Captain of HMS Protector, The Royal Navy’s ice patrol ship to find out.One of literary history’s favourite characters – Alison the Wife of Bath – from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is re-examined in a new book by Professor Marion Turner from Oxford University. Marion tells Jessica how the lusty life story of the medieval Alison who married five times has inspired other writers from Shakespeare to Zadie Smith.

Patricia Hodge has been gracing the stage and screen for over five decades. Well known for her iconic performances in 80s TV series Rumpole of the Bailey and The Life and Loves of the She-Devil. She is currently starring in a revival of the 1941 Lillian Hellmann play Watch on the Rhine at the Donmar Warehouse and plays Fanny. Patricia joins Krupa to discuss the role and how opportunities for women in the film, TV and theatre industry have evolved throughout her career.The much discussed Online Safety Bill returns to the House of Commons tomorrow. The path for the Bill which seeks to make Britain “the safest place in the world to be online” still looks far from certain. The BBC’s Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent Marianna Spring joins us to discuss what the points of contention are. Krupa is also joined by the former Culture Secretary Baroness Nicky Morgan and Lord Richard Allan who was Director of Policy in Europe for Facebook for 10 years. A new drama starting tonight focuses on the experience of three women returning to front line NHS jobs following maternity leave. Krupa will be chatting to the female paediatrician and surgeon who helped inform and inspire the characters on screen about their own experiences of returning to such high pressure roles whilst juggling motherhood. Afghan police have confirmed that a former Afghan MP and her bodyguard have been shot dead at her home in the capital Kabul. Mursal Nabizada, was one of 9 out of 69 female MPs who chose to stay in the country after the Talian returned to power in August 2021. Krupa speaks to Fawzia Koofi, Afghanistan's First Woman Deputy Speaker of Parliament.Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Emma Pearce Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

We speak to listeners on how best to talk about Andrew Tate and other social media influencers who are spreading misogynistic messages online. We talk to Dr Emily Setty, Senior Lecturer at the University of Surrey who does research in schools with young people about sex and relationships & Michael Conroy, founder of Men at Work, an organisation that trains professionals how to have constructive dialogue with boys.Listener Hayley got in touch to share her own story, not only of being a donor conceived person herself, but of using a donor to conceive her own children too. She explains why she thinks it’s so important to be open and honest about your child’s conception.22-year-old Eleanor Williams who claimed she had been trafficked and raped by an Asian grooming gang was convicted of perverting the course of justice. She will be sentenced in March but we consider the possible impact her conviction could have on how rape is reported, how it’s handled by the police and whether women are believed. We hear from the former chief prosecutor for the north west Nazir Ali and Maggie Oliver, the former senior police officer who became a whistle-blower for exposing the poor handling of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring case by her own force.We hear from Joanna Bourke who is the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric on the history of breast cancer.The Offbeat Sari exhibition will include 90 examples of innovative saris – including the first ever sari worn at the Met Gala and a foil jersey sari worn by Lady Gaga. We talk to the exhibition's curator Priya Khanchandani.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Surya Elango Editor: Louise Corley

Women conductors are in the limelight this week with a film called “Tar”, which opens in cinemas today, starring Cate Blanchett depicting the life of Lydia Tár - a fictional world-renowned composer-conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. The American conductor Marin Alsop famously observed that women are more likely to lead a G7 country or become four-star generals in the US Army than they are to be the principal conductor of a big orchestra. Anita Rani speaks to one our listener Emma Warren who got in touch with us as she is the only woman on her choral conducting course at The Royal Academy and Joséphine Korda who has just been announced by Opera North as their latest Female Conductor Trainee. Yesterday we talked about Andrew Tate and other social media influencers who are spreading misogynistic messages online. Several listeners got in touch to tell us about how their children have come across this kind of material and with concerns about how best to talk about it with them. Anita is joined by Dr Emily Setty, Senior Lecturer at the University of Surrey who does research in schools with young people about sex and relationships and Michael Conroy founder of Men at Work, an organisation that trains professionals how to have constructive dialogue with boys. Jenny Beavan has spent over 40 years dressing the greats of Hollywood for film and screen. She is an 11 time Oscar nominated (and 3 time Oscar winning) costume designer, whose work you will be familiar with from films such as Sense and Sensibility, The King’s Speech, and Mad Max: Fury Road. She has just been longlisted for the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design for her work on Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. The film tells the story of Ada Harris, played by Lesley Manville, a cleaning lady who – unsurprisingly – travels to Paris, after she sees a Dior dress belonging to one of her clients and is determined to own one of her own. Jenny joins Anita to tell us about the process of recreating old Dior designs and the transformative power of that perfect dress!More than 25 years ago, the World Health Organisation made a commitment to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation across the world. Despite this, around eight thousand women and girls each day go through FGM. To understand why this is still happening, Anita Rani will hear from WHO researcher Dr Christina Pallitto and charity CEO Nkatha Mugao, who helps women and girls in Kenya who have been cut, and is working to stop FGM.

Natasha Kaplinsky has become the first female president of the British Board of Film Classification, which is responsible for setting age guidelines for films, videos and DVDs, as well as content on some streaming services. The journalist, presenter and former newsreader for the BBC, Sky and Channel 5 joins Anita for her first broadcast interview about the role since her appointment in November. She'll discuss what drew her to the job, which topics concern parents the most and how she'll judge today's cultural sensitivities around sex, violence and language.Andrew Tate appeared in court earlier this week and is continuing to be held on charges of rape and human trafficking in Romania – charges his lawyer claims have “no evidence.” One of the top ten most Googled individuals of 2022, a kickboxer turned life coach and former contestant of Big Brother, he gained popularity for his online videos which contained misogynistic content. But Andrew Tate is not the only person spreading those views on social media, there are a host of other men who have that space. So who are they preaching to and why are their messages so popular? Anita speaks to journalist Harriet Hall who interviewed Andrew Tate as part of an investigation into misogyny online for Cosmopolitan magazine and Dr Bettina Rottweiler from University College London who specialises in the relationship between misogyny and different types of violence. Professor Joanna Bourke has been looking into the history of breast cancer. How did the one-step radical mastectomy persist as the most common way to deal with the disease until relatively recently? How was breast cancer racialized, with many doctors in the US who believed that black women could not get it? And why are women encouraged to reconstruct their missing breast after surgery? Joanna is the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric, and is giving a lecture on the cultural history of breast cancer this evening, which will also be available to watch online. She joins Anita in studio.Dr Rebecca Gomperts has spent her career providing abortions in places where the procedure is restricted or illegal. Her first venture, Women on Waves, saw her using a converted fishing trawler to travel into international waters and perform the procedures on board. Then she started an online service shipping abortion pills to women, using her Austrian medical license to stay within the law. Most recently her attention has turned to the US in the wake of the overturning of Roe vs Wade. She joins Anita Rani to discuss how her work has changed.

The Offbeat Sari exhibition will include 90 examples of innovative saris – including the first ever sari worn at the Met Gala and a foil jersey sari worn by Lady Gaga. Krupa Padhy talks to the exhibition's curator Priya Khanchandani.BBC Journalist Faranak Amidi brings us the latest from Iran and we look at LOAB, the internet character created by artificial intelligence. Described as having the 'eerie face of a middle-aged woman with dead eyes, a vacant stare and a disturbing grimace', she's become an online viral phenomenon. Steph Swanson, the artist who created LOAB, explains her work and we hear from Tabitha Goldstaub, who chairs the UK’s Artificial Intelligence Council, and Mhairi Aitken, from the Alan Turing Institute. In February 2003, a woman called Lana Clarkson was found dead at the Hollywood mansion of the iconic music producer Phil Spector. It was a global news sensation, with Spector insisting that the 40-year-old actor – whom he had only met that evening - had killed herself with his gun. A new Sky documentary series called Spector re-examines what happened almost 20 years ago, and speaks to her family and friends for the first time.And are you one of those people who loves jumping into the sea or a river at this time of year to feel the benefit of cold water swimming? Well, if so, the British Medical Journal has said that swimmers should be told more about the risks of a lung condition known as SIPE - swimming-induced pulmonary oedema. Dr Ruth Williamson is a cold water swimmer and Acting Chief Medical Officer at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. She tells us how to spot SIPE and what to do about it, if you fear you have it. Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Michael MillhamPhoto Credit; : Bikramjit Bose

One hundred years ago Edith Thompson and her lover Frederick Bywaters were hanged for the murder of her husband Percy, even though there was no evidence that she was involved with the killing. What condemned Edith were the letters that she had written to Freddy, which were interpreted by the law as incitement to murder. Laura Thompson has brought the letter together in a book Au Revoir Now Darlint. She joins Nuala to discuss the story and why the case still resonates a century later.A report out today by the charity the Fawcett Society has found a ‘toxic and exclusionary’ culture in Westminster which they say risks pushing out women MPs and having a damaging effect on democracy. Nuala is joined by Jemima Olchawski, CEO of the Fawcett Society as well as the Conservative MP Maria Miller who is Chair of the APPG on Women and Parliament and the Labour MP Stella Creasy who has campaigned for better maternity rights for MPs. When Nuala spoke about donor conceived children on Woman’s Hour last week, listener Hayley got in touch to share her own story, not only of being a donor conceived person herself, but of using a donor to conceive her own children too. She explains why she thinks it’s so important to be open and honest about your child’s conception.Dragons' Den has returned to our TV screens and the Dragons were impressed by Lucy Rout's pitch. The 28 year old became the first entrepreneur in 20 series to receive investment and a job offer from Peter Jones alongside investment backing from two other dragons. Lucy is the founder of Tabuu, a business that sells stylish pill cases with the aim of removing the stigma around taking medication. Lucy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the 25, and following reconstruction of her digestive system has to take medication every time she eats. She talks to Nuala about her illness and her experience in the Den.Presented by Nuala McGovern Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell

Last week we reported how 22-year-old Eleanor Williams who claimed she had been trafficked and raped by an Asian grooming gang was convicted of perverting the course of justice. She will be sentenced in March but we consider the possible impact her conviction could have on how rape is reported, how it’s handled by the police and whether women are believed. We hear from the former chief prosecutor for the north west Nazir Ali and Maggie Oliver, the former senior police officer who became a whistle blower for exposing the poor handling of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring case by her own force. Whether it's rail, nurses, ambulance staff or postal workers strikes are becoming an increasingly common part of life. Could teachers across the UK be the next to follow? This week sees some teachers in Scotland striking with unions in England, Wales and NI. balloting their members in the coming days. Three quarters of teachers are female. Nuala talks to a teacher with nearly 30 years experience Michelle Richards and Natalie Perera, Chief Executive of the Education Policy Hira Ahmad is the first woman with Bruck Syndrome, a brittle bone condition, to give birth to a healthy baby. The 28-year-old gave birth to baby girl Dua last January l and now wants to share her story to inspire others with similar conditions. She was given specialist care in St George's Hospital, London led by Professor Asma Khalil, consultant in obstetrics and maternal foetal medicine. Until recently, it was believed that the early pioneers of animation had all been men. That consensus was shattered when historian Mindy Johnson uncovered the previously unseen work of the animator Bessie Mae Kelley from the 1920s. Kelley’s films are now the earliest surviving hand-drawn animations by a woman (before this the earliest woman’s work was from the 1950s.) Mindy joins Nuala McGovern to discuss gender bias in film history and why this discovery is so ground-breaking.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Beverley Purcell