Woman's Hour

The company SAGA has decided to give employees who've just become grandparents some special leave. They say it's about helping new grandparents celebrate but also it's to highlight how important older workers are, not just to the company but to families and wider society. So if you're a grandparent providing childcare for your kids, what's the cost? What does it take out of you, time-wise and energy wise? How much are you saving your kids? And do you see it as a precious thing you’ll never have the chance to do again, or after a while is it too much pressure? We hear from one of our listeners Linda who looks after two of her grandchildren and Shireen Kanji, a Professor of Work and Organisation at Brunel University.New Covid measures are being introduced across the UK, because of the threat posed by the Omicron variant. In England it's known as Plan B, and mandates mask-wearing, working from home and Covid passports. However, around 75 Conservative MPs are expected to rebel as it's put to a vote in the House of Commons on Tuesday. As parliament debates these new restrictions, where do you stand on taking personal responsibility for containing the virus, and how will it affect your Christmas? To discuss, Emma is joined by Guardian journalist Lucy Mangan and Lucy Fisher, Deputy Political Editor at The Telegraph. In November 2020 a family court found that the conservative MP Kate Griffiths' then husband, Andrew Griffiths (also a former conservative MP for the same Staffordshire seat and former Conservative minister) raped her in her sleep, abused & coercively controlled her. These were civil proceedings, so the finding was based on the balance of probabilities, rather than the criminal standard of probable doubt. As is the norm in family cases, this information was private and not made public. But following a successful application by journalists, supported by Kate Griffiths - the details of this case, with both parties' names attached, were published last Friday. In the recent judgement, judges from the Court of Appeal referred to the ‘mother's right to tell her story.’ Andrew Griffiths has denied allegations made by his ex-wife and ‘adamantly denied’ rape. Dr Charlotte Proudman, the barrister who represented Kate Griffiths joins Emma.The next in our series Under Pressure which looks at what happens to relationships when life gets in the way. Carla and Brendon met at school. Their lives looked to be on track and then everything changed when Carla was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Jo Morris reports.The nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2021 have been revealed. There have been 66 recipients of the award, but only 13 of these have been women. Anna Kessel, Women’s Sports Editor at The Telegraph talks to Emma about the women on the shortlist and who is favourite to win.

Musician and composer, Zoe Rahman has won a MOBO, a British Jazz Award, and this week Zoe was awarded the ‘Impact Award’ at the 2021 Ivors Composer Awards.Julia Chain the chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, made a plea for the 1990 Act governing fertility clinics and practice in this country to be updated. She argues that after 30 years, the science and culture around IVF has changed so much, and that the law needs to catch up. This week Ministers revealed a 10-year drugs strategy which includes £300m for combating more than 2,000 county lines gangs. Sahira Irshad and Jen Jones are part of Mums United, a group of local mothers fighting against rising gang violence in Sheffield. 23-year-old Vee Kativhu was told Oxford university wasn't for people like her - she proved her teachers wrong by graduating recently from there with a degree in in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History. She's now studying International Education Policy at Harvard. Her popular Youtube channel gives out studying tips and she has a new book out - Empowered: Live Your Life with Passion and Purpose. Last week the government set out how it will improve life for women in the armed forces, in response to the Women in the Armed Forces report which came out in July. It found that service-women who were victims of bullying, harassment, discrimination and serious sexual assault were being ‘denied justice’ by a ‘woefully inadequate’ military complaints process. We heard from the Secretary of State for Defence, MP Ben Wallace.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

Catfishing is the practise of using a fake profile to start an online romance. The podcast Sweet Bobby has been shining a light on this issue through the story of Kirat Assi, a 42-year-old radio presenter who started a relationship with a person she thought to be Bobby, a handsome cardiologist, via Facebook. However, when he repeatedly fails to visit her in person, she slowly comes to learn his true identity. She shares her story with Anita, and is joined by investigative journalist Alexi Mostrous who explains the current legislation around catfishing.Is the world of horse racing being forced to face up to its own #metoo moment this week? A light has been shone on the bullying and harassment endured by professional jockey, Bryony Frost, on and off the track by a male jockey who has now been banned for 18 months, with three months suspended. We hear from race trainer Gaye Kelleway, the first woman to ride a winner at Royal Ascot, and from Annamarie Phelps, the Chair of the British Horseracing Authority.Earlier this week, Ministers revealed a 10-year drugs strategy, allocating £780m in funding for the drug treatment system in England. This will include £300m for combating more than 2,000 county lines gangs. County lines is a form of criminal exploitation where urban gangs persuade, coerce or force children and young people to store drugs and money and/or transport them to suburban areas, market towns and coastal regions. Anita speaks to two mothers whose respective families and communities have been impacted by county lines gangs. Sahira Irshad founded Mums United in Sheffield, a charity led by mothers to tackle youth violence and child drug exploitation. She is joined by Jen Jones a volunteer mother from the group. Chef and food-writer Keshia Sakarah is a second-generation West Indian of Montserratian and Barbudan heritage. Her restaurant Caribe' celebrates the diverse cuisine of the Caribbean, representing dishes from across the region. Keshia joins Anita to talk about the traditions and history behind Caribbean Christmas food.From the hand-knitted mittens to the Bluetooth-enabled glove that acts like a phone, the humble glove has been linked to honour, status and identity but also to decadence and deceit. Dr Anne Green, Emeritus Professor of French at King’s College London tells us about her new book Gloves. An Intimate History.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed

Jazz musician Zoe Rahman has been described as one of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene. She takes influence from her English, Irish and Bengali heritage to write music with swing, lyricism and intimacy. She’s a MOBO Award winner, British Jazz Award winner and now an Ivors Composer Award winner. She speaks to Emma - unfortunately we aren't able to include her live music performances in the podcast for copyright reasons. We discuss the resignation of senior government advisor Allegra Stratton over the Downing Street party video, with Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine and the Mirror's Political Editor Pippa Crerar.Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of British-Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe talks to Emma about his recent 21 day hunger strike outside the Foreign Office in London and his ongoing campaign to secure his wife's release from Iran, and he and their daughter face another Christmas without her.German leader Angela Merkel has officially left office after 16 years and a new chancellor, Olaf Scholz has been confirmed. His party, the centre-left Social Democrats now have a substantial majority in a three-way coalition government. But the new chancellor has already faced opposition from conservatives over plans to reform abortion law. How will he impact the lives of women in Germany? Chief Political Editor, Michaela Kuefner from Deutsche Welle, joins Emma to discuss.The revival of Sex and the City – a new series called And Just Like That… airs tonight on Sky TV. It comes at the same time as a brand new TV show on Prime – Harlem – focuses on four ambitious best friends navigating relationships and careers. Emma speaks to Dr Kadian Pow – who teaches Sociology and Black Studies at Birmingham City University.Image: Zoe Rahman Credit: Ilze Kitshoff

Allegra Stratton has found herself at the centre of a political storm. ITV footage shows her rehearsing a TV news conference and dealing with tricky questions about Christmas parties during covid lockdowns. Staff are laughing and joking. We speak to political journalist Pippa Crerar, who broke the original story of the Downing Street party as well as other gatherings. We also get reaction from Jo Lawrence who has a catering company, and whose Mum sadly died of covid last year.We talk about women in chess with Woman Grandmaster and nine time British woman's chess champion Jovanka Houska and Aga Milewska, Director of Women’s Chess at the English Chess Federation.An Afghan mum, who's in a hotel with her family, is having to move to her third hotel since she got here a few months ago. We find out what life is like for her and her children, and speak to Judith Dennis from The Refugee Council about why this constant moving is happening. We hear from Tanya Borg whose daughters are still in Libya, after their father took them there in 2015. She said: "It breaks my heart. Why is nobody doing anything? I'm going to try and get them back until I die." Tanya was granted full custody by British and Libyan courts, but the girls are still missing and thought to be with their grandmother. The writer, musician and mum of three, Izzy Judd, tells us about her past disordered eating and obsession with 'clean' diets which she believes were problems when she was trying to get pregnant. Dr Fatima Husain, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, explains more about the condition of Hypothalamic Amenorrhea.

Emma speaks to the Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, about the government’s plans to improve women’s experiences in the armed forces. In particular she asks him to explain why the government has rejected calls for rape or sexual assault committed in the military to be tried in civilian courts, away from military courts.Education activist Vee Kativhu talks to Emma about why she set up her own YouTube channel, Empowered by Vee, shortly after arriving at the University of Oxford. Today, the Law Commission has published a major report on hate crime. One of the areas examined was the proposal to make misogyny a hate crime and so a criminal offence. To the disappointment of a coalition of women's rights campaigners, the Law Commission has said the move would not solve the “real problem” of hostility or prejudice directed against women because of their sex or gender. Emma is joined by criminal law commissioner, Professor Penny Lewis from the Law Commission. and Sue Fish, the former constable of Nottinghamshire police.Imagine expecting your first child and at the same time being homeless or facing homelessness in the near future. Emma is joined by Laura Jones, founder of PETRA, a project which helps young mothers and mothers-to-be with housing and Jade Toogood, a mother and former resident of a Petra Project home.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

In our series Under Pressure we've been looking at what happens to relationships when couples are put under extreme strain: how do they cope? Today we hear from Kate and Annie who live in Northumberland. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. In March, Julia Chain was announced as the new chair of the HFEA. Now Julia is calling for the 1990 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act to be updated. She joins Emma to discuss the changes she wants to see.We talk to Deborah Bull and Jill Baldock about how dancing can lift your mood.A report out today from the Institute for Fiscal Studies says there's been 'almost' no progress towards closing the gender pay gap in the last 25 years. Professor Lucinda Platt, who's on the panel of the IFS Deaton Inequalities review, and who researches inequality at the London School of Economic, explains why not. If your facial fillers aren’t to your liking, or worse injected in a dangerous spot, you can get them dissolved with a substance called hyaluronidase. But women are reporting nasty side effects including swelling, tissue loss, burning sensations and headaches. A cosmetic surgeon, Daniel Ezra, is studying this to try to establish exactly what's going on. We hear from him as well as our reporter Melanie Abbott.

Brené Brown's Tedx talk 'The Power of Vulnerablity' is one of the most viewed talks in the world with more than 50 million views. Her new book 'The Atlas of the Heart' takes on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. Photo credit: Randal Ford. Calls for Boots, the chemist to permanently reduce the price of the morning after pill. With campaigner Rosie Stokes, and the Labour MP Diana Johnson.More than 4,000 women gave evidence to the Defence Sub-Committee on Women in the Armed Forces for its landmark inquiry, which was published earlier this year. This week the Ministry of Defence responded to the recommendations from that inquiry. We heard from Sarah Atherton, Conservative MP and Chair of the Defence Sub Committee.Raising awareness of the complexities and realities of being a stepmum today, with Katie Harrison, host of a a new podcast 'You're Not My Mum: The Stepmum's Side' and Suzie Hayman, a counsellor and spokesperson for the parenting charity Family Lives and author of 'Be A Great Step-Parent.'The poet Kim Moore on her new collection 'All the Men I Never Married'. Alternative Christmas food ideas with the chef and restauranter Ravinder Bhogal. She shares her houghts on creating some rich adaptations of everything from brussel sprouts and ham to samosas and mathi.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregorPhoto credit: Randal Ford

Brené Brown has always called herself a mapmaker and in her sixth and newest book, the Atlas of the Heart, out this week, she takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. Her TEDx talk “the power of vulnerability” is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world with more than 50 million views. She joins Anita.This Sunday marks 100 years since women's football was banned by the English Football Association. Because of Covid the Women's FA Cup final, traditionally played in May, will take place with Arsenal taking on Chelsea and shown live on the BBC. Kelly Simmons, director of the Women's Professional Game at the Football Association; and Jen O' Neill, editor of football magazine She Kicks discuss the game.The number of tribunal cases in which employees are alleging menopause related discrimination is on the rise. Analysis of the Courts and Tribunals Service has shown that menopause was cited ten times in the first six months of 2021, and could rise to 20 by the end of the year, if the rate continues as it is. Research by Menopause Matters earlier this year found five cases in 2018, and 16 in 2020. Although these figures appear very small, nearly one million women are said to have left work due to menopausal symptoms and there is currently a Women and Equalities Committee inquiry looking into workplace practices around the menopause. So what can be done to prevent a situation getting as far as a tribunal? I’m joined by Lauren Chiren, who runs Women of a Certain Stage, providing coaching, mentoring and training on the menopause at work and Sinead Casey, a partner with the law firm Linklaters, who advise employers on workplace issues including menopausal women, and has been looking at the recent uptake in cases. Over the next few Fridays we’ll be looking at alternative Christmas food ideas and who better to start off with than Ravinder Bhogal, journalist, chef and owner of Jikoni, her restaurant in London. Always challenging traditional notions of food preparation she joins Anita to share her thoughts on creating some rich adaptations of everything from brussel sprouts and ham to samosas and mathi. And tells us why Christmas is a particularly special time for her and her family. The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been in court all week in New York City on sex trafficking and other charges. She’s challenging claims that she groomed underage girls for convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein for sexual abuse. He died in prison in 2019. She’s been in a US jail since her arrest last year. We hear from Stephen Wright, Associate Editor at the Daily Mail currently in New York City covering the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Brené Brown Interviewed Guest: Kelly Simmons Interviewed Guest: Jen O'Neill Interviewed Guest: Lauren Chiren Interviewed Guest: Sinead Casey Interviewed Guest: Ravinder Bhogal Interviewed Guest: Stephen Wright

The Women’s Tennis Association has suspended all events in China over concerns for the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. Her safety has become a matter of international concern after she posted sexual assault allegations against former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli and then disappeared from public view. She has since reappeared and has said she is safe and well but there are still concerns for her wellbeing. Last week China’s foreign ministry said it was not a diplomatic matter and the issue had been maliciously hyped up. In a timely new book, 'China Unbound: A New World Disorder', the journalist Joanna Chiu says that for far too long western societies have mishandled or ignored Beijing’s actions, out of narrow self-interest. She believes decades of wilful misinterpretations have, over time, become complicit in the toxic diplomacy, human rights abuses, and foreign interference China engages in today. Joanna speaks to Krupa Padhy about Peng Shuai, the #metoo movement in China and her work as founder and chair of NuVoices, which highlights and supports women working on the subject of China. Back in the summer a parliamentary report came out about women in the armed forces. It was put together by the Defence Sub-Committee on Women in the Armed Forces which gathered evidence from four thousand women involved in the army now and in the past. It made for very bad reading. Stories of bullying, harassment, discrimination came to light, as well as sexual assault and rape. That report duly went to the Government, which today makes public whether or not it's upheld the Committee's recommendations. Pregnant women say they are worried about catching Covid at work and not is enough is being done to keep them safe, that's according to a recent survey by the UK maternity rights charity Maternity Action. It recently surveyed just over 400 women who worked in different settings from offices to factories and chemical plants. Ros Bragg is the director at Maternity ActionA new podcast "You're Not My Mum: The Stepmum's Side" was launched last week on BBC Sounds. Katie Harrison is the host and she's passionate about raising awareness of the complexities and realities of being a modern stepmother. She joins Krupa Padhy to talk about some of the challenges along with Suzie Hayman who is a counsellor and spokesperson for the parenting charity Family Lives and author of "Be A Great Step-Parent." Today Angela Merkel receives her official farewell as Germany’s chancellor, it’s a position she has held for the last 16 years. A special ceremony will take place in Berlin this evening where music of the Chancellor’s choice will be performed by a military band. More than a few eyebrows have been raised after the Chancellor picked a track by Nina Hagen also known as the Grandmother of Punk Rock. BBC Berlin Correspondent Jenny Hill and historian Katja Hoyer join Krupa Padhy to discuss Angela Merkel’s legacy, her musical choices and Nina Hagen.