Weekend Woman's Hour: Priya Ragu, Women in the Ukraine, Inheritance laws

Mar 5, 2022

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Swiss-Tamil singer Priya Ragu has been shortlisted in the BBC Sound of 2022 Poll – joining Adele, Jessie J and Celeste. She tells us how her music plays homage to her heritage and is a fusion of traditional Tamil music, RnB and Soul, which she uniquely calls ‘Ragu Wavy’.

All week we've been covering Ukraine. We hear from Lesia Vasylenko, a Ukrainian MP who describes her new reality of being trained to use an assault rifle to defend her family and her country and Olena Symonenko who decided to flee Kyiv, and has escaped to Poland with her 6 year old son.

If the Mona Lisa could speak what would she say? A new novel by Natasha Solomons gives voice to the painting and lets her tell her own story. We speak to Natasha and the Da Vinci expert Professor Martin Kemp.

A person guilty of manslaughter or murder is already prevented from inheriting their victim’s estate by what’s known as the Forfeiture Rule. But should that law be extended to somebody guilty of domestic abuse? We speak to MP Florence Eshalomi, who is attempting to change the law. We also hear Tom Guha's story. He has had to deal with exactly this issue since his mother died and his stepfather’s behaviour was found to have a direct link to her death.

Swiss-Tamil singer Priya Ragu, who has been shortlisted in the BBC Sound of 2022 Poll -joining Adele, Jessie J and Celeste, talks to Anita about how her music plays homage to her heritage and is a fusion of traditional Tamil music, RnB and Soul, which she uniquely calls ‘Ragu Wavy’.

Danielle Marin is the author of Top Girl, a book exploring her first-hand experiences with drug dealing, gangs and violent crimes. Danielle wants people to know about young women who get caught up in this kind of lifestyle, and how she found a way out.

And in our new series called Threads, celebrating the emotional power of old clothes, listener Sarah tells us about a very special pair of knickers, given to her by her dear friend Ruth on her 21st birthday almost 40 years ago.