Weekend Woman's Hour - Lockdown anniversary, Cryptocurrencies & Portraits of women

Last week marked the first anniversary of lockdown. We hear from three women of different ages, backgrounds and circumstances to discuss their experiences of having to stay at home. Actor and author Sheila Hancock and writers Kerry Hudson and Yasmin Rahman tell us about their highs and lows.

Friday marks 50 years of Bangladesh Independence. The BBC Asian Network presenter Nadia Ali and Shaz Aberdean, a community worker in Swansea tell us about the celebrations.

We discuss the ins and outs of cryptocurrencies and why young women are choosing to invest in these more than ever before with money expert Jasmine Birtles and Susannah Streeter a senior investment analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Last year the National Crime Agency assessed there were at least 300,000 individuals posing a sexual threat to children in the UK and warned of a spike in online child sexual abuse offending during the pandemic. Donald Findlater is from the charity The Stop it Now helpline, he tells us about the growing problem. We also hear from Chris who was arrested for possession of illegal sexual images and from Sarah about her husband’s arrest.

Zing Tsjeung, executive editor of Vice UK and Mai-Anh Peterson, co-founder of BESEAN the British East and Southeast Asian Network tell us about the increase in racially motivated attacks against women of Asian descent throughout the pandemic.

And the very last commission before the National Portrait Gallery in London closed for renovation involved two women - a portrait of the author Zadie Smith by the artist Toyin Ojih Odutola. But such a work is in stark contrast to much of the rest of the permanent collection, with 88% of the artists and 75% of the sitters being male. We hear from Curator and art historian Dr Flavia Frigeri, and from the artists Roxana Halls and Toyin Ojih Odutola about the women they paint and want to see in the gallery.

Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed Editor: Siobhann Tighe