Woman's Hour

It’s being called medicine’s Me Too moment. Two female doctors have launched an online campaign gathering testimony about sexual harassment and a culture of sexism in the world of health care. Dr Becky Cox and Dr Chelcie Jewitt join Krupa to explain why they launched Surviving in Scrubs. Last week we looked at radical solutions to the ageing population and slowing birth rate, including a tax on the childfree. One country which has taken a unique approach is Hungary which introduced tax breaks and loans to encourage women to have more children in 2019. The BBC’s Nick Thorpe’s joins Krupa to discuss how successful the policy has been. Back in 1972, the very first England Women's Football Team beat Scotland in their first international victory, but unlike the men’s team, the Lionesses were not awarded official caps. Pressure has been mounting for the Football Association to recognise the 1972 team with caps. The reserve goalkeeper, Sue Wyhatt, joins us as the FA announce they will award the caps. The male contraceptive pill has been talked about for decades but so far has never got past the research stages. There is a current clinical trial though that is already yielding good results – however it’s not a pill, it’s a gel. It’s also had positive feedback from the couples who tried it. Krupa is joined by Dr Diana Blithe, who leads the Contraceptive Development Program at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in the US.The UK premiere of Little Women opens at Opera Holland Park later this week. The award winning director Ella Marchment, joins Krupa Padhy, along with Charlotte Padham, who makes her professional debut as Jo.Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Emma Pearce

American author R J Palacio talks to Krupa Padhy about her latest novel "White Bird" Following the overturning of Roe V Wade in the US more women have talked openly about having had an abortion but many never speak openly about their experiences. In a series first broadcast in 2019 we hear five different personal testimonies from women. Today, a woman we are calling Amanda who only came to terms with her abortion 25 years later.How can learning your child’s ‘love language’ help you become a better parent? Child and Educational Psychologist, Dr Nneka Ikeogu, talks us through the 5 languages of love and explains how children give, and receive, love using them.We hear from the BBC’S South Asia Correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan about how the economic crisis in Sri Lanka is affecting families across the countryAnd how do women's bodies respond to extreme heat? We talk to GP Dr Radikha Vohra and Dr Jo Mountfield from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Gayl GordonPicture Credit: Heike Bogenberger

A formal apology should be issued by the government to the thousands of unmarried mothers in England and Wales who had their babies taken for adoption in the 50s, 60s, 70s. In a report published today, the Joint Committee on Human Rights says the Government bears ultimate responsibility for the pain and suffering caused by public institutions and state employees that railroaded mothers into those unwanted adoptions. Harriet Harman MP is Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights.Fulani chef Fatmata Binta has won the world's most prestigious gastronomy prize, the 2022 Basque Culinary World Prize, an international achievement award for chefs who improve society through food. Fatmata is the first African to receive the award, and won for her work celebrating nomadic food culture and exploring west African cuisine through her Dine on a Mat pop-up restaurant.What shape does a life take after fleeing a war? It's nearly five months since Russia invaded Ukraine and families across the UK are trying to redefine their 'normal' after being displaced. Many will be housed in temporary accommodation; others will be living with host families. While safety and the promise of a new home will bring comfort and relief, sharing a domestic space with strangers can bring its own set of challenges. Anastasia Skelton is an Ukrainian living in the UK who is currently volunteering as a coordinator in Canterbury, helping to match refugees with host families. And Kate Daniels is a family therapist and senior lecturer in clinical psychology at Christchurch University. She has set up a project to equip host families with the emotional skills necessary to make the transition as easy as possible for the people displaced by war.The artist and feminist activist Elsa James tells us about exploring her identity as a black woman living in Essex in her latest exhibition 'Othered in a Region that has Been Historically Othered'. She has lived in the county for more than 20 years but asks ‘Is being in Essex diluting my black identity’? She also examines the lives of historical black female figures as well the women who came over as nurses as part of Windrush and who made their homes in Essex.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Harriet Harman Interviewed Guest: Veronica Smith Interviewed Guest: Fatmata Binta Interviewed Guest: Anastasia Skelton Interviewed Guest: Kate Daniels Interviewed Guest: Elsa James Film Still: Andy Delaney

Since the overturning of Roe vs Wade in the United States here on Woman’s Hour we’ve looked at what this will mean for women in America, and also what the status of abortion is here in the UK. But what right do women around the world have to an abortion and could the overturning of Roe vs Wade in America lead other countries to follow suit? Macarena Saez is from the NGO Human Rights Watch and joins Emma. A new study shows women are now twice as likely as men to be extremely worried about their lives and those around them, after the pandemic. Journalist Eleanor Morgan and Charlotte Faircloth from UCL join Emma to discuss.The latest in our series about matriarchs, the redoubtable women in your lives. Today listener Alexandra on her fabulous Auntie Lilla who bred miniature Shetland ponies was 6'3" and a bit terrifying. Jersey has elected its first ever female Chief Minister – the equivalent of the island’s Prime Minister. Politics on the island has been largely male, white and middle class for years. But in elections last month, more women won seats in Jersey’s States Assembly - the equivalent of Jersey’s Parliament - than ever before. Emma Barnett catches up with Kristina Moore, a former journalist and TV presenter, to find out how her first few weeks in office are going. Bees and other essential insects that we rely on to pollinate our crops are threatened by harmful pesticides according to a group of women campaigners who have launched a petition this week. We hear from Anabel Kindersley who is the co-owner of Neal’s Yard Remedies and the leader behind the #StandByBees campaign and Ben Woodcock, a scientist from UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Emma Pearce

Conservative MPs start voting in the first round ballot to see who will take over from Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister - 4 women and 4 men ,after the candidates were reduced to eight contenders. Some of the policy areas being debated are familiar: tax, immigration and our relationship with the EU. Some are less so and quite new to the political battlefield as defining issues for the candidates, such as what do each of them think constitutes being a woman. It is also striking that the political ghost of one woman is being invoked left, right and centre - Margaret Thatcher. Emma talks to Mrs Thatcher's former private secretary, Caroline Slocock. We also talk to Ella Robertson McKay the National Chair of the Conservative Young Women - which is made up of women under the age of 35. She reveals the results of a poll of their membership which asked who they want to be Prime Minister. Cases of Covid have been rising rapidly in the UK in recent weeks and new data in a report out today from the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee shows that by the end of May 2022 nearly three million adults in England are unvaccinated. While overall uptake has been high, it has been low with particular groups - including pregnant women and some ethnic minorities. We talk to Marian Knight, Professor of Maternal and Child Population Health at Oxford University.Obvious evidence of child sex crimes in Telford was ignored for generations leading to more than 1,000 girls being abused, an inquiry has found. Agencies blamed children for the abuse they suffered, not the perpetrators, and exploitation was not investigated because of "nervousness about race". Chairman Tom Crowther QC said the abuse had thrived unchecked for decades. His report makes 47 recommendations for improvement by agencies involved. West Mercia Police has apologised "unequivocally" for past events as has Telford & Wrekin Council. Emma talks to Richard Scorer, a solicitor with Slater and Gordon who has represented many victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.In 2019 we asked our listeners ‘Have you had an abortion? How did you feel about it then and how do you feel about it now?’ 5 women told us about their personal experience of having an abortion. Today, a woman we are calling Clare remembers getting on the bus in her school uniform to access an abortion more than 30 years ago.When ‘Lady Unchained’ was 21, she was sentenced to two and a half years in prison following a fight in a club when trying to protect her sister. Picking up the pen to survive in prison, she began to write and perform poetry. Since her release, Lady Unchained has made it her mission to become an advocate for life after prison - a poet, performer, award winning broadcaster. She is the Founder and Creative Director of Unchained Poetry, an artistic platform for artists with lived experience of the criminal justice system, and runs poetry workshops in prisons and in Women Centres. We speak to her as she releases her debut poetry book: ‘Behind Bars: On punishment, prison & release’, a culmination of her work during and after prison.

The online platform TikTok has become one of the most popular social media apps in the world, with more than one billion monthly active users. Young people in particular love watching and creating videos and the content is often funny and upbeat. But author and content creator Tova Leigh contacted us to say she has noticed more and more disturbing content on the site that encourages violence against women and girls.Following the slew of sleaze and misconduct allegations against MPs at Westminster is there an argument for a change in the way our parliamentarians are selected? Would greater scrutiny of individual applicants at an early stage avoid some of the issues encountered over the last few years and could it lead to greater female representation? Emma Barnett talks to the political journalist Michael Crick who has recently founded the twitter thread Tomorrow’s MPs which monitors political party selection processes, and to the former Deputy Chief Whip of the Conservative party who served as MP for Guildford for many years, Anne Milton.A few weeks ago we asked listeners about the matriarchs in their lives, the redoubtable women whose stories deserved to be told. We got so many great stories that we decided to hear some of them on air. Today, listener Zoe from the Peak District on her nan May Mythen. She had 15 children, refused to send her learning disabled son to an institution as was common in the 1940's and inspired her grand-daughter Zoe to be brave and try stand-up comedy.Normal is a term we bandy about all the time, but have you ever stopped to think about what it actually means, and whether it’s helpful as a concept? Sarah Chaney is the author of Am I Normal? The 200 Year Search For Normal People (And Why They Don’t Exist). She joins Emma to explain why she believes that women in particular have been hard done by in the history of the so-called norm.

Angélique Kidjo is a 5 time Grammy Award winner from Benin who has been called "Africa's premier diva". Later this month she will be headlining the WOMAD world music and dance festival. She’ll be talking on Woman’s Hour about why she sings in five different languages and how music can be a greater force for change than politics. A recent article in the Sunday Times asked whether we should tax the childfree. It got a lot of attention and Sarah Harper, Professor of Gerontology at Oxford University joins Emma to discuss, as does Daisy Buchanan, an author and podcast host who has chosen to be child free.The first international England Women’s football match was in November 1972, England vs Scotland. Neither team were awarded with ‘caps’ which are awarded to players whenever they represent their country in an international match. Nicola Sturgeon awarded the 1972 Scottish Women’s team with their long awaited caps before the Women’s World Cup final last year. The 1972 England Women’s team are still waiting to receive theirs. 50 years on from that first match, we speak to Woman’s Hour listener and a 1972 goalkeeper for the England Women’s football team, Sue Whyatt and the honorary secretary of the Women’s Football Association, Patricia Gregory who co-organised the first international women’s England v Scotland match in November 1972.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Emma Pearce

The actor Sally Phillips on her latest film on Sky Cinema 'How to Please a Woman. Set in Western Australia, Sally plays fifty-something Gina who, having just lost her job, feels invisible and stuck in a sexless marriage, and sets up an all-male house cleaning service that also offers sexual services. Photo © SUCH FEISTY DAMES PTY LTDAs Boris Johnson prepares to step down we hear from Nusrat Ghani the Conservative MP for Wealden and vice-chair of The 1922 committee that represents backbench conservative MPs. The members of the 1922 Committee wield a lot of power in the Conservative Party and runs the selection process for new leaders.Charlotte Carew Pole the Director of Women2Win, an organisation which aims to increase the number of Conservative women in Parliament.The rise in women being prescribed anti depressants. Dr Nighat Arif a GP who specialises in women's health explains. The American soul singer PP Arnold found fame in the 1960s as an Ikette with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue . Her autobiography is called Soul Survivor,As the Women's Euros get under way, veteran players share their stories. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

The actor, writer and comedian Sally Phillips best known for Smack the Pony, the Bridget Jones trilogy, Miranda, Veep and, of course, Radio 4’s very own award-winning 'Clare in the Community' returns to our screens next week in the third series of Sky’s popular parenting comedy Breeders. And on Sky Cinema from today she takes the starring role in a new film ‘How to Please a Woman’. Set in Western Australia, Sally plays fifty-something Gina who, having just lost her job, feels invisible and stuck in a sexless marriage, and sets up an all-male house cleaning service that also offers sexual services.With the school holidays having already started in Scotland and Northern Ireland and fast approaching in England and Wales, the charity Pregnant Then Screwed surveyed 28,000 parents, 99% women, on their childcare plans for the summer. From the data they found 1630 women who had had an abortion in the last five years said childcare costs had influenced their decision and nearly 1 in 5 of them had made that choice solely based on childcare costs. Joeli Brearley, founder of the charity joins Anita to explain why this unexpected results are such a cause for concern.Freemasons are known for their white aprons, mysterious symbols and secret handshakes. To the outside world their rituals, which are shrouded in mystery, appear cult like. But for over a hundred years female freemasons have been gathering to conduct initiations and ceremonies like their male counterparts. The Order of Women Freemasons has several thousand members while Freemasonry for Women has about 700. So what is the appeal of becoming a member of an organisation that is shrouded in mystery? I am joined by Grand Master Zuzanka Penn of the Order of Women's Freemasons and Gaelle Ndanga from Freemasonry for Women.Actor and writer Rebecca Humphries had often been called crazy by her boyfriend. But when paparazzi caught him kissing his Strictly Come Dancing partner, she realised the only crazy thing was believing she didn't deserve more. Posting her thoughts on social media, a flood of support poured in, but amongst the well-wishes was a simple question with an infinitely complex answer: 'If he was so bad, why did you stay?'. Rebecca joins Anita Rani to talk about her new book ‘Why Did You Stay: a memoir about self-worth’. They explore why good girls are drawn to darkness, whether pop culture glamourises toxicity, when a relationship 'rough patch' becomes the start of a destructive cycle, if women are conditioned for co-dependency, and - ultimately - how to reframe disaster into something magical.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Sally Phillips Interviewed Guest: Joeli Brearley Interviewed Guest: Zuzanka Penn Interviewed Guest: Gaelle Ndanga Interviewed Guest: Rebecca Humphries

As Boris Johnson prepares to step down we hear from Nusrat Ghani the Conservative MP for Wealden and vice-chair of The 1922 committee that represents backbench conservative MPs. Dubbed "the men in grey suits", the members of the 1922 Committee wield a lot of power in the Conservative Party and runs the selection process for new leaders.Also joining Emma is Katie Perrior who worked as a political advisor at 10 Downing Street under Theresa May and previously for Boris Johnson and David Davis. She is now chair of INHouse Communications Charlotte Carew Pole the Director of Women2Win, an organisation which aims to increase the number of Conservative women in Parliament. Journalist Sonia Purnell and author of Just Boris: A Tale of Blond AmbitionPlus the latest from Westminster from BBC political Correspondent Ione WellsPresenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Emma Harth