Woman's Hour

We get the latest on Afghanistan with BBC journalist Sana Safi and talk to Seema Malhotra MP whose constituency in West London has a large Afghan community. She explains the help that's being provided to refugees.We go live to BBC Sports Correspondent Katie Smith in Tokyo who talks about female success at the Paralympics in Tokyo. We hear a live performance from the Zizi Strallen who plays Mary Poppins in the West End. She sings Practically Perfect accompanied by Isaac McCullough on the piano.We explore the notion of co-dependency with counsellor Susan McGrath, as well as a member of Co-Dependants Anonymous UK. We find out how co-dependency develops and what you can do about it. And mirrors: why are some more flattering than others, and what are the range of feelings that come up when we look in the mirror? We hear from mirror expert Dr Melissa Kao and psychotherapist Susie Orbach.

Alice Bromage served in Afghanistan as a Major and left in 2016. She tells us what's she is hearing from the troops serving on the ground in Afghanistan. A recent survey revealed that tradespeople are £35,000 better off than university graduates. But only 14.5% of the construction workforce as a whole is female, and that drops to just 2% when it comes to skilled manual trades, according to CITB figures. Emma hears from painter and decorator Barbara Marshfield, plasterer Steph Leese and Fiona Sharp, Social Value Director for Procure Plus.Clearing out the attic of family belongings - how and when should you do it? Vicki Edmunds and Marion Malcher discuss. The joy of being average with Sarah Stein Lubrano and author Eleanor Ross.What is motivating older women to join the Extinction Rebellion protests this week. Protestors Fiona Atkinson and Marion Malcher discuss.Why do we still use Ms, Mrs, Miss. Dr Amy Erikson, who is a Reader in Feminist History at the University of Cambridge and, Stella Sutcliffe, who has spent the last three years campaigning for organisations and businesses to stop requesting, using and and storing marriage titles through her Campaign “Go Title Free”.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

Two explosions hit Kabul airport yesterday, killing some 90 people and at least 150 people were also wounded in the attack. The UK government has just announced the final stages of the evacuation... which means the processing centre at the airport has been closed and no further people will be called forward. So what is the situation on the ground for the women and children in Afghanistan? Anita speaks to Mahjooba Nowrouzi, from the BBC Afghan Service. Raffaela Baiocchi is an Italian obstetrician and gynaecologist based in the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan. She works for Emergency an Italian NGO and is responsible for emergency reproductive health, co-managing the maternity part of the Panshir hospital. Her staff are continuing to come to work going through now Taleban-controlled check points from other provinces, but less than half of the female patients, who would normally attend, are coming into the hospital in the last week.Do you like being called a Miss, Ms, Mx or Mrs or none of them at all? Why do some organisations still ask us for a title when filling out a form? Anita talks to Stella Sutcliffe, the Founder of the ‘Go Title Free’ Campaign, and Dr Amy Erickson a Reader in Feminist History at the University of Cambridge. We’ve received a large number of emails from a group of women born in the 1950s known as Waspis (Women Against State Pension Inequality). Many were given very little notice that they wouldn’t be receiving their expected pension at 60 years old - with delays of up to six years. Last month, The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found the Department for Work and Pensions ‘guilty of maladministration’ in the way they dealt with communicating the change in State Pension Age. Anita discusses with listener Jane Cowley and Daniela Silcock, Head of Policy Research at the Pensions Policy Institute. Catherine wrote to us and said: "Please would you consider doing a piece about Sislin Fay Allen, the first UK black female officer, in 1968. She died in Jamaica in last month. Commander Alison Heydari is the most senior Black woman police officer in England and Wales, talks about being inspired by Sislin and about her own experience. Listener Lavinia wrote to us to say: It puzzles me that no mention is ever made of women who worked in munitions during the war. Her mother had worked at the munitions factory in Woolwich, but it was never spoken about. She joins Anita along with Vikki Hawkins, Curator, Second World War Galleries at the Imperial War Museum.Presented by Anita Rani Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel

Dr Amy Baker, Parental Alienation expert, discusses the impact on children and the belief that a child's voice should be heard in court. The podcast also covers the challenges facing Afghanistan's female judges, societal pressures to excel, being 'good enough,' and the story of Lady Evelyn Cobbold converting to Islam and undertaking the hajj.

Circo Rum Ba Ba describe themselves as an exuberant troupe of all women performers who bring extraordinary spectacle and performance into unconventional settings where it is least expected. Founder and artistic director, and Woman’s Hour listener, Marianne Grove, a trained actor explains why she went from performing in theatres into the street bringing the magic of the circus and theatre to a wider audience. We hear from Sahraa Karimi an Afghan film director and the first female chairperson of the Afghan Film Organisation who tells us of her recent escape to Kiev in the Ukraine. What does she make of the current Taliban guidance for working women to stay at home for their own safety?Extinction Rebellion is protesting in London for a fortnight. They've warned to expect disruption. Listener Fiona Atkinson from Kendal got in touch with us to say that she's joined the group at the age of 65 and was there on Monday. She'd due to return next week. Her email to us began by saying, "I and thousands of women will be in London on Mon 23rd August in Trafalgar Square at the start of 2 weeks of the Extinction Rebellion protest. I would love you to cover the women involved in the Climate Crisis debate/protests and focus on how it will affect our children and grandchildren.” She is joined by Marion Malcher, 66, who was arrested on Monday for lying in middle of a street with her arm in a suitcase. She was released without charge and is back at Piccadilly Circus this morning. So what is motivating older women to protest and is it effective? Many listeners have been in touch with their concerns about the planet, especially in relation to our ‘growth-at-all costs’ economic system. One psychoanalyst called Phoebe Wieland emailed us about how she is ‘increasingly seeing clients from all walks of life who feel deep existential anxiety about the climate and ecological situation we face." Phoebe asked us to invite mental health professional Sally Weintrobe on to the programme whose new book on the psychological roots of the climate crisis has just been published. Listeners also asked us to speak to Kate Raworth who is a prominent eco-economist whose groundbreaking work Doughnut Economics has helped them find hope. There are approximately 351,000 children with a learning disability in the UK - but an assessment and diagnosis can take years. One listener - called Lauren Gibson - is in this waiting period wants some advice. She joins us to discuss, alongside Salena Begley, the Scottish Partnership Engagement Manager at Family Fund UK.

What should we do with all our attic memorabilia? Vicki from South Wales talks about the joy of clearing our her attic with her daughters and Maryam from Rotherham talks about her mother's suitcase brought over from Pakistan in the 1950s.The desperation of many thousands of people trying to get out of Afghanistan in the last couple of weeks has been on our screens and the front page of our newspapers for days now. Many, outside of the country, are trying to do what they can to help get their colleagues, friends, loved ones get out – as Alice Bromage, previously a Major in the UK army , told us yesterday. She talked about the Sandhurst Sisterhood, around 2500 ex-army women officers, who are constantly being messaged by women, and men, who they have trained and worked with in Afghanistan. Jude, as an ex-military officer, is one of the network. Based in Dubai, she and her husband, an ex-Royal marine of 24 years, run a small local security business in Kabul, and have done for about a decade now. What role are they playing in the ongoing evacuation?What are the best food choices to make for the environment? And can going vegetarian or vegan really help with the issue of climate change? That's what Woman's Hour listener Judith wants to know - so Sarah Bridle, physics professor at Manchester University and author of Food and Climate Change Without the Hot Air is on hand with some answers! She joins Emma to crunch the numbers and give some practical advice on ways to make our breakfast, lunch and tea less harmful for the planet.About a quarter of a million people in the UK suffer from myalgic encepahalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. It's a condition that affects more women than men, but patients still face doubts about their symptoms and there is controversy about treatment. Since the pandemic began, as many as two million people in the UK may have long Covid, with women 1.5 times more likely to experience ongoing symptoms than men. The symptoms of long Covid range from fatigue and muscle pain to coughs and headaches and have been linked to ME. Scientists and ME/CFS patients hope that research into long Covid will be an opportunity to learn more about long term consequences of viral infections. Dr Nina Muirhead, specialist surgeon in dermatology who has ME and Dr David Strain, the British Medical Association's lead on Long Covid and medical advisor to Action for ME discuss the links between long Covid and treatment of ME/CFS.What was it like to be a Neanderthal woman? That's what listener Hannah wants to know. She emailed asking to hear from female archeologists, such as Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes, about their view on the Neanderthal female lifestyle and how it compares to our own. So, we asked Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes to come on the programme to tell us. Did they hunt? Did they look after the children? Did they have the menopause? Her book, Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art, aims to tell a completely new story about Neanderthals.

A recent survey revealed that tradespeople are £35,000 better off than university graduates. But only 14.5% of the construction workforce as a whole is female, and that drops to just 2% when it comes to skilled manual trades, according to CITB figures. Barbara Marshfield has been a painter and decorator for 25 years, and got in touch. She joins Emma to discuss, along with Steph Leese who has her own successful business, and Fiona Sharp, Social Value Director for Procure Plus.Reports from this morning and over the weekend reveal a desperate situation for many women and children in Afghanistan trying to flee. We've heard a lot, and seen pictures of the male British troops who have and are currently serving on the ground in Afghanistan. But what about the women? How differently do women approach these situations... Alice Bromage served in Afghanistan as a Major. She did 2 tours, and left in 2016. In the past few months, a number of women have spoken out about stealthing -a form of sexual violence that involves non-consensual condom removal. One listener wants to know if there is a male equivalent, and if not, how the gender of a victim impacts the way society views rape. Emma is joined by the barrister Harriet Johnson and Dr Siobhan Weare, Senior Lecturer at the Lancaster University Law School who has researched criminal justice and male survivors of sexual violence.The breakdown of romantic relationships can have a significant impact on us - but so too can the breakdown of friendships, sometimes being even more painful. Listener Melanie joins us to discuss her experience of losing a friendship, as does journalist and writer, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett and relationship expert and author, Liz Pryor. Presented by Emma Barnett Produced by Frankie Tobi

The actor Lesley Manville on her mission to change the way the world sees older women - not least in her latest TV performance in Channel 4's I am series. Lesley plays Maria, who at 60 and after 30-odd years of marriage, is finding it suffocating and decides she wants more from life.The BBC journalist Zarghuna Kargar who used to present Afghan Woman's Hour found herself translating a Taliban press conference. It was her voice telling us what a Taliban spokesman said about women. How menopause affects your dental health. We hear from Louise Newsom, NHS Advisor for the National Menopause Programme and Dr Uchenna Okoye, Clinical Director of London Smiling Dental Group.'When Ruby Wax Met…' features some of her most memorable interviews. Ruby tells us about a particularly memorable encounter with a future US President- a Mr Donald Trump and when she fell in love with Carrie Fisher. The woman who took her birth father to court for raping her birth mother in the 70s. It is thought to be the first of its kind. And the people who love their pens - they even watch others using them. We hear from stationery enthusiast Rhiannon Morgan, who runs mummy of four YouTube channel and Jenna Meyers, a TikToker and hand-letterer who creates content about her favourite pens and handwriting.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

How common is it to experience ‘hate’ towards someone you once loved? We tend to think of 'hate' as one of the strongest emotions we can have, so what happens if you find yourself 'hating' your former partner, particularly if you have children with them. We discuss why some people experience this during or after the breakdown of their relationship, and how to move on from it. In the early 1990s Ruby Wax smashed out of the TV studio and rewrote the rule book on the celebrity chat show with 'When Ruby Wax Met…'. She joins Anita to look back at some of these encounters with stars such as Grace Jones, Carrie Fisher, Imelda Marcos, and one particularly memorable encounter with a future US President and his new girlfriend - a Mr Donald Trump. As part of our money series, we are looking at the FIRE Movement. The acronym, which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early, is a method of extreme saving, in order to retire – or stop working – decades earlier. Recent studies suggest that over half of millennials do not see themselves as 'emotionally and behaviourally' connected to their job and company. Exhausted from high-pressure jobs and with a growing sense of burnout, some millennials are turning to the FIRE strategy in an attempt to become financially independent, sooner. Emma-Lou Montgomery is a personal finance and investment writer at Fidelity International, and Sarah Pennells is a Consumer Finance Specialist from the Royal London.Indian-American violinist Preetha Narayanan and British cellist Tara Franks met while studying at the Guildhall School of Music and went on to form a strings duo – Balladeste. Their style has been described as Contemporary Classical meets Folk in its broadest form - Indo-Baroque meets alt-folk minimalism. For their new album, Beyond Breath, they have taken fragments of melodic lines from a set of Indian devotional songs learnt in Preetha’s childhood as inspiration. They join Anita to discuss the cross-cultural melding of their musical ideas and styles.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Ruby Wax Interviewed Guest: Sara Davison Interviewed Guest: Fahima Mahomed Interviewed Guest: Sarah Pennells Interviewed Guest: Emma-Lou Montgomery Interviewed Guest: Preetha Narayanan Interviewed Guest: Tara Franks

We continue reporting on what's happening to women and children in Afghanistan. We hear from our BBC corespondent in Kabul, Secunder Kermani. Also Larissa Brown who's Defence Editor at The Times tells us about women soldiers in Afghanistan, and we speak to Zarghuna Kargar who used to present Afghan Woman's Hour and this week found herself translating a Taliban press conference. It was her voice telling us what a Taliban spokesman said.We hear from Andrea Leadsom, MP who's the government's Early Years Adviser.Two women who've adopted talk to us about the ups and downs. And we've also got Lesley Manville on talking about her new TV drama called I Am, which is about a woman called Maria who's 60 and bored.