Woman's Hour

Some women and trans men are reporting unusual symptoms after having their Covid vaccinations – ranging from menstrual irregularities to bleeding post menopause. We talk to the reproductive immunologist Dr Viki Male from Imperial College in London to find out what’s behind these symptoms and also consider the issue of vaccine hesitancy amongst young women, vaccination during pregnancy and the impact of Covid and the vaccine on breast feeding mums. Of the twelve judges on the Supreme Court – the highest court in the land – all are white and only two are women. So what needs to be done to increase diversity within the UK judicial system, and what obstacles remain in place today? Vicky Fox, the Chief Executive of the Supreme Court, and Stephanie Boyce, President of the Law Society discuss. Paris Lees is a journalist, anti-bullying campaigner, and a Contributing Editor at British Vogue. She was the first openly trans woman to present on BBC Radio 1, and also the first to appear on Question Time. She’s written a memoir called What it Feels like for a Girl, which covers the period aged 13 to 18 – a turbulent, heady time full of adventure and disaster. Nero was the 5th Emperor of Rome and one of its most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty, debauchery and eccentricity. He ruled at a time of great social and political change, overseeing momentous events such as the Great Fire of Rome and Boudica’s rebellion in Britain. He allegedly killed his mother and his two wives, only cared about his art and had very little interest in ruling the empire. The writer and classicist Natalie Haynes has been to see a new exhibition of Nero at the British Museum in London and tells us how the women in his life shaped his reign.We asked listeners to tell us about the groups of friends they were desperate to meet up with when Covid regulations allowed. Chris from Cardiff wanted to celebrate the women she's known for more than 50 years as they planned a big night out together and our reporter Jo Morris eavesdropped on the banter and the memories.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed

Karen Hadaway was one of two little girls murdered in the Babes in the Wood case. Her mother, Michelle, tells us about giving her daughetr's clothes to Martin Bashir in 1991 to get DNA tested. She still hasn't got them back. He says he can't remember the exchange. Michelle describes her feelings in light of the Dyson investigation. Should the mass destruction of nature, also known as ecocide, be a crime? At the moment there are four crimes covered by the International Criminal Court - genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. Now campaigners are pushing to have ecocide added to the list. We're joined by Jojo Mehta, the co-founder of Stop Ecocide International and barrister Philippe Sand. Seven years ago “Eva Carter” saved her partner's life. She tells Emma how the experience of that night and her feelings at the time and afterwards fed into her novel How To Save A Life.In recent days there has been a huge outpouring on social media of women sharing their experiences of sexism working in the craft beer industry. An online conference will be held next month to discuss he problem. Emma is joined by Charlotte Cook, head brewer at Coalition Brewing and Melissa Cole, beer writer and author of The Little Book of Craft Beer.Note: This podcast has been edited from the original programme. In this programme reference was made to a journalist called Eileen Fairweather, who Michelle Hadaway says witnessed the handing over of her daughter’s clothes to Martin Bashir. Eileen worked with him for several months in 1991, researching a possible BBC documentary. Eileen Fairweather has confirmed to us that her contract ended immediately after that meeting and she never saw Bashir again. She repeatedly tried to find out from Martin Bashir and his team what happened to the clothes and has previously tried to alert the BBC to this issue. She has raised this issue in several newspaper articles and supports Michelle’s fight for the truth about what Bashir did with this evidence. Eileen Fairweather is an award-winning freelance journalist who has specialised for decades in exposing child abuse and institutional cover-ups, including the mass abuse in Islington's children's homes. Her ground breaking work has won the Catherine Pakenham Award for women journalists and two British Press Awards.

Gemma Arterton’s latest acting role is in a play called Walden. It's on in London’s West End and it's the story of estranged twin sisters: one's a botanist for Nasa and the other's a former architect for Nasa. They meet up in a remote cabin in the woods sometime in the future, when the earth’s situation is looking bleak.We take a look at some of claims made yesterday by Dominic Cummings about care homes with Gisella Casciello Rogers whose 85 year old father died in one last year. And we also have Helen Wildbore from The Relatives and Residents Association. Prof Catherine Heymans, astrophysicist and world-leading expert in the so-called dark universe, is now the Astronomer Royal of Scotland. She's the first woman to hold this prestigious role, but the problem is she's still not entirely convinced she should have the job. She suffers from impostor syndrome, but we know she shouldn't! She talks to Emma about challenging the status quo and dealing with aggressive criticism.And we have Annie Macmanus (formerly known as Annie Mac, the DJ) and Esther Freud talking about their new novels which have common themes: motherhood and the risk of losing yourself.

A former senior Army officer is calling for the military to have a “#MeToo moment” and is claiming that hundreds of female troops have been raped and sexually abused by colleagues. Lt Col Diane Allen, who served for 37 years, says the Armed Forces are being run by “a toxic group of privately-educated white senior officers” We talk to Diane Allen and also hear from the Defence Minister Baroness Goldie. Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s former chief advisor, will today face questions from senior MPs over the government’s response to the pandemic. Cummings is a controversial figure in Westminster, and since leaving his position as Boris Johnson’s top aide, he has not gone quietly, making a series of damning claims against the Prime Minister and government. But would the media and political coverage have been the same had he been a woman? Caroline Nokes, the Conservative chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, joins us to discuss. Art historian Catherine McCormack has just published an impassioned book, Women in the Picture: Women Art and the Power of Looking. She argues that women's identity has long been stifled by dodgy narratives and a limited set of archetypes. For art history to remain relevant, she says, we need to look again and reconsider many of the classics displayed in art galleries.What generation do you define as? The term 'geriatric millennial' went viral last week, after writer Erica Dhwan used it to describe the micro-generation born between 1980 and 1985. Erica believes they make particularly good employees due to their experience of life before the digital world. Rosa Silverman, a senior features writer at the Telegraph, says she is proud to self-define as one of the around 5 million UK geriatric millennials in the UK.

On Woman's Hour today Emma Barnett talks to the best selling author Holly Smale about being diagnosed with autism at age 39. The author of the "Geek Girl" series has said she feels relief that she now has an explanation for why she’s felt she’s never “ fitted in”.We speak to the journalist Rosamund Urwin about her scoop on the Martin Bashir story and also to the Digital Minister Caroline Dinenage MP about what’s in the new Online Safety Bill.In a few weeks, a French woman will stand trial for killing her husband, but she's got the support of thousands of people in France who've signed a petition and want her pardoned. Valerie Bacot was with her older husband for decades. Valerie's now 40, but she knew her husband since she was 12. From then on he molested her, beat her, raped her and used her as a prostitute. We talk to Ursula Le Menn is from Osez le feminisme! a French feminist campaigning organisation and she knows family and friends of Valerie and also to Anne-Elisabeth Moutet a journalist based in Paris.A new UK study suggests having Coronavirus around the time of birth may increase the chance of stillbirths and premature births. Scientists say while most pregnancies are not affected their findings should encourage pregnant women to have jabs as soon as they are eligible. We hear from Professor Asma Khalil who was the co-author of the research paper and also Dr Mary Ross Davie the Director of Professional Midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Engineers: Bob Nettles, Duncan Hannant.

A TV comedy series featuring funny and bold Muslim women – ‘We Are Lady Parts’ is a new six part comedy series for Channel 4. It follows the highs and lows of the female punk band Lady Parts. Anita speaks to Anjana Vasan and series writer Nida Manzoor.The Government has announced a range of measures to protect the environment, from banning peat in garden centres to increasing the rate of tree planting and reversing the loss of species diversity. A 10p charge on single-use plastic bags came into force in England on Friday. But what difference will these policies - and others made in the run-up to COP26 - make to the crisis facing nature and the climate? Emma speaks to Environment Minister Rebecca Pow.Listener Clementine Baig was diagnosed with Primary Ovarian Insufficiency last year, and got in touch to share her experiences with infertility. She's joined by the Podcaster Noni Martins, whose husband was diagnosed with Male Factor Infertility in 2019, to explore how an infertility diagnosis can impact families, relationships and self-image.Since a supercomplaint was made last year about domestic abuse by police officers, dozens more women have come forward to say they are affected. The centre for women's justice is still waiting for an outcome to its complaint. But wants the way these cases are dealt with to be drastically changed. We talk to a woman who suffered abuse from her police officer husband. The terms polyamorous and consensually non-monogamous are increasingly normalised when it comes to relationships and dating. For some people, monogamy just doesn’t work for them. We hear from three people who all describe themselves as non-monogamous.Twenty year old Griff is the recipient of this year’s prestigious BRITs Rising Star Award, following past winners such as Celeste, Sam Smith and Adele. Griff has also been nominated for an Ivor Novello award and ended 2020 by singing the sound-track for Disney's Christmas advert. She performs a special version of her song Black Hole for Woman’s Hour.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

New research shows that girls face unique and escalating risks as they turn 18. The transition from girlhood to adulthood could be an opportunity to get things right, but with little to no specialist support for young women as a group, it becomes a missed opportunity to prevent young women’s needs becoming more complex and entrenched. Anita is joined by Prisons and Probation Minister, Alex Chalk, Jessica Southgate, CEO of Agenda and by 21 year old, Dani, who, despite a chaotic childhood and being left with no support from 16, turned her life around.A new anthology has just been published called Women on Nature. It includes women from the 14th century to the present day, fiction writers, poets, biographers, gardeners, farmers, theologians, artists and many more. Anita talks to the editor, writer Katharine Norbury, about her selection and why she thinks her anthology provides a fresh vision of the natural world and an alternative to conventional nature writing.A TV comedy series featuring funny and bold Muslim women – a rarity you might say on our screens. Well ‘We Are Lady Parts’ is that rarity: a new six part comedy series for Channel 4 which began last night. It follows the highs and lows of the female punk band Lady Parts. We speak to Anjana Vasan and series writer Nida Manzoor.On Woman's Hour, we are always keen to hear your stories. One listener, Clementine Baig was diagnosed with Primary Ovarian Insufficiency last year, and got in touch to share her experiences with infertility. She's joined by the Podcaster Noni Martins, whose husband was diagnosed with Male Factor Infertility in 2019, to explore how an infertility diagnosis can impact families, relationships and self-image.Presented by Anita Rani Producer: Frankie Tobi

Since the beginning of the pandemic, shed sellers have seen a surge in demand - especially those that can be used as home offices. And existing summerhouses and garages have been commandeered, particularly by women, as a growing number expect to be working from home. Instagram is awash with images of so-called "She Sheds". Emma discusses the attraction with Joanne Harris who writes from her shed and Gill Heriz, author of A Woman's Shed.What does it say about society when protestors threaten to rape their enemies’ mothers and daughters? This is what happened in North London at the weekend when protestors waving Palestinian flags passed through a Jewish community in Finchley. Four men have now been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offences. We look at the wider issue of how rape is threatened as a common insult, used for revenge in gangs and in the wider context of war. Emma talks to the writer and feminist activist Julie Bindel and to the historian Sir Antony Beevor.This week the government has announced a range of measures to protect the environment, from banning peat in garden centres to increasing the rate of tree planting and reversing the loss of species diversity. A 10p charge on single-use plastic bags will also come into force on Friday. But what difference will these policies - and others made in the run-up to COP26 - make to the crisis facing nature and the climate? Emma Barnett speaks to Environment Minister Rebecca Pow.Five years after China scrapped its one-child policy in favour of allowing families to have two children, the country's population growth has slumped to the lowest levels seen since the early 1960s. What's behind China's falling birth rate? We hear from Dr Ye Liu, a senior lecturer in international development at Kings College London.Presented by Emma Barnett Producer: Louise CorleyImage by Nicolette Hallett © CICO Books, taken from A Woman's Shed by Gill Heriz

Since the first publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865, the books have never been out of print and remain one of the most influential texts in the world. The Victoria and Albert Museum are opening their show Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser this Saturday, which explores why Alice is the ultimate female icon for our times, and how she continues to be such an enduring inspiration. The curator, Kate Bailey and artist and designer Kristjana Williams join Emma to discuss her appeal. In the past, open-relationships might have conjured up the vision of keys in a bowl at the end of the night. But today, the terms polyamorous and consensually non-monogamous are increasingly normalised when it comes to relationships and dating. They describe people who are involved in, or are looking for relationships with more than one partner, with the understanding that one person cannot always be expected to meet all of your needs. And for some people, monogamy just doesn’t work for them. We hear from three people who all describe themselves as non-monogamous, about whether as a society we are accepting of open-relationships. Since a supercomplaint was made last year about domestic abuse by police officers, dozens more women have come forward to say they are affected. The centre for women's justice is still waiting for an outcome to its complaint. But wants the way these cases are dealt with to be drastically changed. We talk to a woman who suffered abuse from her police officer husband. And to Nogah Ofer, the solicitor, woman who is leading the complaint.

Despite a long and courageous history of female spies, the UK's secret intelligence agencies - MI5, MI6 and GCHQ - are still overwhelmingly dominated by men. The head of GCHQ, Jeremy Fleming, has committed his agency to up its efforts to 'attract talented women' as part of a wider focus on increasing diversity and inclusion. But will more women in the intelligence services make us safer? Not necessarily, says Sally Walker, who was until recently one of the most senior women at GCHQ and the creator of the UK's National Cyber Force. She talks to Emma about her take on diversifying the world of spies, and what's really needed to keep us safe from the constant, often invisible threats to the UK's national security. This week we're allowed to do more and more, as lockdown eases further. Hug with caution, have a meal inside a restaurant, a drink inside a pub and go to the theatre. One theatre that pulled up the curtain last night is the Bush Theatre in London with a play called Harm. It's a monologue, and the actress who carries it is Kelly Gough. She joins Emma to explain how it felt after such a long imposed break from treading the boards.A 29 year old Scottish law student says she’s being investigated by her University because of comments she’s made about men and women. In her University lectures - done online - she's said women are weaker than men, and women are women because they have reproductive organs. Lisa Keogh is in her final few days at Abertay University in Dundee where she's been studying law for four years. She speaks to Emma.The number of children in care in England is at its highest since 1985 and it's rising. A mother's addiction to drugs and alcohol is often one of the issues and domestic violence is a factor in many cases. The reporter and DJ Milly Chowles became a mum at 40 last year, she’s in recovery from addiction and feels she was given lots of chances to change. Her fear is that women now aren’t getting those opportunities and the impact on them, their children and society is devastating. Today, the story of a woman who has come full circle - there are references to suicide.Back in March 2020, during the first lockdown, abortion regulations were relaxed in England, Scotland and Wales to allow telemedical early medical abortion care, before ten weeks’ gestation. This has meant that women have been able to continue to access abortion care during the pandemic by having medication posted to them following a telephone consultation with a qualified nurse or midwife. And more than 100,000 women have done so. Before this women had to go to a clinic for a face-to-face consultation before an early abortion. Charities and medical bodies working across sexual and reproductive health have now signed an open letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, calling for these temporary measures to be made permanent in England. Lesley Regan, Past President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and signatory to the letter, joins Emma to discuss.