Woman's Hour

A woman posted a thread on Mumsnet about wanting to take time off work while going through a break up with father or her child, the responses she got were mixed. We want to know whether you would ever consider this but also would you be open about taking time off to help deal with a break up? We speak to relationship expert Mel Schilling and blogger Meera Narandan.We talk to Chi-chi Nwanoku from Chineke! Orchestra – Europe’s first professional majority Black and ethnically diverse orchestra – and hear music from their new albumThe Yoga Manifesto – a new book by Nadia Gilani and we’ll be joined by one of the winners from last night’s International Women’s Podcast AwardsPresenter: Anita Rani Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Michael Millham.

'Ladies shall we have some fun?' Some of you may recognise this catchphrase and be thinking of the sex and relationship expert Oloni, who built an online community by speaking openly about sex and relationships. Her new book – The Big O – is out and goes into detail about how we can close what she calls ‘the orgasm gap’. Oloni joins Emma.The Bank of England’s intervention yesterday to calm financial markets after the government’s mini-budget came hot on the heels of the International Monetary Fund warning that the measures are likely to fuel the cost of living crisis. One woman who’s been advising the IMF over the past 20 years is Ngaire Woods, now Professor of Global Economic Governance at the University of Oxford, she joins Emma.Giorgia Meloni’s election as the Prime Minister of Italy is just the latest victory for a woman on the right of the political spectrum. The vast majority of European women who have who had true executive power - party or government leaders – come from the right, starting with Margaret Thatcher. The academic Costanza Hermanin from the European University Institute in Florence joins Emma Barnett to discuss why the Left have had fewer female leaders, alongside Professor Matthew Goodwin from the University of Kent, who has written a number of books including National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy.We've been talking about female friendship in the last couple of weeks and focussing on what happens when friendship goes wrong. Can you fix a friendship that has broken and should you try? Daniella and Nataliya - Dan and Nat - are both 33 and they live in London. Jo Morris talked to them, separately, about their long friendship and what it means to them. Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Emma Pearce

Sir Keir Starmer delivered his speech to the Labour Party conference yesterday. It comes as YouGov polling shows women would be more likely than men to vote Labour if an election were held now. What's behind this? Former Tony Blair aide for over 10 years Baroness Sally Morgan joins Emma Barnett alongside Anoosh Chakelin Britain Editor at the New Statesman.Actor Gwyneth Paltrow decided to pose naked, mostly covered in gold body powder, and then posted her photos on social media saying she had learned to accept 'the marks and the loosening skin, the wrinkles' that come with turning 50 and her decision was 'more about the female gaze and just a sense of fun'. Is there power to be gained from going naked? Emma speaks to economist and author Dr Victoria Bateman who protested against Brexit naked on TV, and walked naked into the drinks reception at the Royal Economic Society Conference.A group of grandmothers, mothers, sisters, aunts and daughters from Leicester have called for an end to the clashes involving mainly young men from sections of the Muslim and Hindu communities. The tensions in the city, which started last month following an India and Pakistan cricket match and the spread of misinformation on social media, resulted in large-scale disorder on 17th September on the east side of the city. This has led to nearly 50 arrests, 158 crimes being recorded and nine people being charged. The arrests have included people from outside of the city. The group of South Asian women of Muslim, Hindu and Sikh faiths in Leicester issued a joint statement at the weekend saying "As strong proud Asian women, we know that when Leicester is united, it can never be defeated.” Joining Emma are local Labour Councillor Rita Patel who is Hindu and Yasmin Surti, a Muslim mother of three and Secretary of the Federation of Muslim Organisations in Leicester.Zarifa Ghafari was the youngest woman to become a mayor in Afghanistan, before having to flee the country last year after threats on her life by the Taliban, once again back in charge. Zarifa sadly knows first hand the brutality of the regime, as only weeks after another assassination attempt on her life failed in 2020, the Taliban killed her father. Her story forms the basis of a new Netflix documentary called In Her Hands and a book called Zarifa. She joins Emma from Germany, where she and her mother, fiance and six siblings now live in safety.

In her new novel "Best Of Friends" the award winning writer Kamila Shamasie explores the personal and political in Karachi in 1988 and London now. Fourteen year old Maryam and Zahra have been friends for 40 years but can they ever really know each other?Tonight's File on 4 will highlight the shortcomings of the Police and the National Referral Mechanism – the government pathway set up to provide financial, emotional and legal support as well as access to safe accommodation to victims of trafficking – and reveal how British survivors are being let down by the system. Emma talks to reporter Annabel Deas and we hear from a woman we're calling "Isobel" who is currently at risk of trafficking and lives in fear of her life. She was last trafficked earlier this year when she was gang raped and badly beaten by a gang who have abused her for over a decade. Her abuse began when she was 13 years old. Presenter Emma Barnett Producer Beverley PurcellPhoto credit; Alex von Tunzelman

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

The number of women gambling is expected to rise as the cost of living crisis continues. Hear Jo’s story of what happened when she became addicted to gambling, and advice on the warning signs and how to get help from the chief executive of GambleAware Zoe Osmond. When Max Dickins needed to find himself a best man, he realised that he had no male friends. When he discovered that this is something lots of men go through, he decided to write a book with hints and tips for men, as well as what they can learn from the women in their lives about how to keep friendships.As the war in Ukraine goes on, musicians are providing hope and peace for Ukrainians. Piano soloist Anna Fedorova explains what she’s achieved through the power of music alongside the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra.The royal family is going to have a new, slimmer, shape in future. Royal biographer Catherine Mayer tells Emma what this means for Prince Andrew in particular, as well as the future of the monarchy under King Charles. Sheep shearer Marie Prebble tells us how she set a brand new women’s world record for sheep shearing – which involved months of training, and eight hours straight of holding wriggling sheep. Caitlin McPhail and Helen Thorn discuss dating in the modern world – including the small signs on online dating profiles that show someone’s a little bit boring, and how to let your true personality shine on dating platforms. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Lottie Garton

Sheep farmer Marie Prebble speaks to Woman’s Hour about how she sheared 370 sheep in eight hours to set a new world record in female sheep shearing. She’ll be giving us an insight into what it takes to prepare for such an event and telling us a bit more about being one of the few female sheep farmers in the UK.More than 100,000 people in part-time work could face a benefit cut if they fail to properly look to do more hours, Kwasi Kwarteng is set to announce in his mini-budget today (Friday). The new rule will require benefit claimants working up to 15 hours a week to take new steps to increase their earnings or face having their benefits reduced. Part time work is essential to those in unpaid care roles, which are mostly held by women, so we wanted to find out how the new rules will affect these women. In Seoul last Wednesday, a 28-year-old woman was killed in a subway restroom, one day before her alleged killer was due to be sentenced on charges of stalking her. Her death has shocked the nation and prompted calls for a tightening of Korea's recent anti-stalking laws. We speak to BBC Seoul correspondent Jean MacKenzie.The much-loved film and book The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has been adapted for the stage, featuring the acting talents of Academy award-winning actor Hayley Mills and Coronation Street star Rula Lenska. They play Evelyn and Madge, two British retirees who start a new life in a retirement hotel in Bangalore; and join us to discuss how the play tackles misconceptions about ageing. Ira Mathur’s 'Love the Dark Days' is set across India, England, Trinidad and St Lucia. The memoir follows the author and broadcaster's journey as a child growing up in post-independence India with a Muslim mother and a Hindu father. Having lived with her grandmother, a member of an elite Muslim family, with a history of having colluded with the brutality of the British rule, she realises she has unconsciously imbibed her grandmother’s prejudices of class and race. Ira joins Anita Rani in the Woman’s Hour studio.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Helen Barnard Interviewed Guest: Marie Prebble Photographer: Emily Fleur Interviewed Guest: Jean Mackenzie Interviewed Guest: Hayley Mills Interviewed Guest: Rula Lenska Interviewed Guest: Ira Mathur

What role does music play in providing hope and solidarity when facing the horrors of war? The concert pianist Anna Fedorova is a member of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra which performed in concerts around the world over the summer. Ahead of a documentary on BBC 2 this Saturday called Ukraine's Musical Freedom Fighters, she joins Emma to talk about the experience, how she is continuing to support musicians from the Ukraine and why she feels it is imperative she continues to play the work of Russian composers. This week President Joe Biden announced that the pandemic is over in the US despite figures showing 400 Americans on average are dying from the virus every day. This comes after the director of the World Health Organisation recently stated that the pandemic remains a global emergency but the end could be in the sight if countries use the tools at their disposal. Here in the UK the latest figures show Covid infections have fallen to their lowest levels since October last year. Fewer than a million people had the virus in the last week of August. So, is the end in sight? And how prepared are we to believe it? Should we accept normality will resume and we can adjust our behaviour accordingly? Emma Barnett is joined by Professor of Epidemiology, Azra Ghani and Professor Pragya Agarwal to discuss. A new study by the charity GambleAware shows that the cost of living crisis could trigger an increase in women gambling. The survey of more than 1600 women shows that one in four women aged 18-49 who gamble expect to gamble more in the coming months, with 12% of those surveyed already having turned to gambling to try and supplement household income. GambleAware are starting a campaign to target women and break the stigma that prevents them from seeking support. Emma is joined by their Chief Executive, Zoe Osmond and Jo who has been "gamble free" for a year. Demonstrations have spread across Iran sparked by the death of a 22 year old woman, Mahsa Amini. She died days after being arrested by morality police for allegedly not complying with strict rules on head coverings. As we reported on Tuesday, eyewitnesses said she was beaten while inside a police van after being picked up in Tehran. There have now been protests for five successive days - with incredibly powerful scenes across Iran - women burning their headscarves and cutting their hair in protest and eight people have died. Could this be a turning point in how Iran polices women? Faranak Amidi is the BBC Near East Women Affairs correspondent. One in three Japanese people under the age of 35 say they have no plans to marry. Women because they enjoy the freedoms of being single and having a career and men because they worry about being able to financially provide for a family. So what is driving this rejection and what will the long term impacts be on Japan? Dr Jennifer Coates is Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies at the University of Sheffield and Emily Itami is the author of Fault Lines, she grew up in Tokyo and now lives in London.Photo of Anna Fedorova: Marco Borggreve

We're all aware of red flags, the indicators that a potential partner may exhibit a lack of respect, or interest in your relationship. But a new flag has emerged on dating apps - the beige flag. These are indicators on dating app profiles which suggest a person has nothing of interest to say, and may well be boring. Emma Barnett is joined by Caitlin MacPhail, who coined the phrase, and comedian Helen Thorn.The period of national mourning following the death of the Queen has ended but will continue for the Royal Family. One senior member of the family who has been the subject of many headlines over the past week is Prince Andrew who stepped down as a working royal in 2019 after a Newsnight interview that addressed his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He paid a financial settlement to Virginia Giuffre, who had accused him of sexual assault, a claim he denies. Catherine Mayer, author of Charles: The Heart of a King, joins Emma Barnett to discuss what type of monarch King Charles will be and what the future holds for Prince Andrew. Analysis today by the BBC has found more than half of maternity units in England fail consistently to meet safety standards. Birte Harlev-Lam is Executive Director at the Royal College of Midwives and joins Emma. The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot is considered one of the most important poems of the 20th century. To celebrate its centenary Lyndall Gordon, author of Hyacinth Girl, tells Emma Barnett about the women who weave a vital thread through the poem; from Eliot’s first wife Vivienne to his hidden muse Emily Hale. Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Emma Pearce

183 key workers and community volunteers were amongst royals, politicians and world leaders in Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s state funeral on Monday. One woman who was asked to be an eyewitness to this historic day was Lynn McManus, from North Shields, in Tyne and Wear. She's the founder of The Tim Lamb's Children's Centre and Pathways4All, a parent-led charity providing play and leisure for disabled children. She was recognised in the Queen's last Birthday Honours List in June 2022 with an MBE for her services to children with disabilities.A 2019 YouGov survey found that one in five men have no close friends — twice the proportion for women. What pressure might this be putting on their female partners, to fulfil the role of best friend and hold the social calendar? And what tools can men learn to help maintain friendships? Max Dickins is an author, playwright and comedian, and has written Billy No-Mates: How I Realised Men Have a Friendship Problem. He joins Emma to discuss.Liz Truss is heading to New York today, making her first foreign trip as Prime Minister as she attends the annual United Nations General Assembly. During her two-day trip she is due to have meetings with US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron. This will be her first test in building international relationships and trust in the UK. So does the former foreign secretary have the interpersonal skills to build strong relationships? Joining Emma to discuss are deputy political editor for the Spectator Katy Balls and Bronwen Maddox the new director and CEO of Chatham House.A 22-year-old Iranian woman has died days after being arrested by morality police for allegedly not complying with strict rules on head coverings. Eyewitnesses said Mahsa Amini was beaten while inside a police van after being picked up in Tehran last Tuesday, and died on Friday after spending three days in a coma. It is the latest in a series of reports of brutality against women by authorities in Iran in recent weeks. Tehran's police chief says the death of a woman in custody was an "unfortunate" incident he does not want repeated. BBC Woman Affairs correspondent for the Near East, Faranak Amidi joins Emma with the latest.The Married Women’s Association was formed in 1938 by a former suffragette and its main aim was to ensure that men and women would be treated as equals in the union of marriage - both legally and financially. Their members included the first female barrister and the first female BBC executive, as well as the writer Vera Britain, so why are they not well known, and how influential were they? Dr Sharon Thompson, presenter of the Quiet Revolutionaries podcast, who has also written a book of the same name, joins Emma.