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Weekend Woman's Hour: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Arooj Aftab, Reclaiming sexist language Jun 05, 2021

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How possible is it to actually earn a living from sport? The latest BBC Elite British Sportswomen’s Survey found that four out of five elite British sportswomen feel they are not paid enough compared to their male counterparts and more than 60% of UK’s top female athletes make less than £10,000 a year. On the other hand revenue generated by women's sport in the UK is set to grow to £1bn a year by 2030 – up from £350m a year currently – making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the sports industry. The Women’s Sports Trust says the key to unlocking this impressive growth will be the increased visibility of female athletes and teams. Emily Defroand is a Great Britain and England Hockey player, Zarah El-Kudcy is a Trustee at the Women’s Sports Trust and the Head of Commercial partnership development at Formula 1, and Dr Ali Bowes is a senior lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Nottingham Trent University.

Lord Michael Heseltine, who was Deputy Prime Minister in the mid-nineties, says he's had to attend a House of Lords course to do with what's right and what's wrong when it comes to conduct between colleagues, especially between men and women. The training is called "Valuing Everyone". The House of Lords has been very firm about this online course on inappropriate behaviour and prejudice, saying all peers must attend. Lord Heseltine was sent a reminder that he MUST complete it, which seems to have aggravated him a great deal. He’s here, and so is Wera Hobhouse, Lib Dem MP. In the House of Commons, the course isn't mandatory for MPs.

Language – and the way we use it – is forever changing. We explore how the word ‘bitch’ and other similar words with a sexist history are being reclaimed and reinvented by women to mean something positive. Chante Joseph is a social media creative and writer. Jacqueline Springer is a Black music and culture journalist. Helen Taylor is an Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Exeter.

Why, after decades of social progress is motherhood still so much harder than it needs to be? Why aren't we honest about the realities of being a mother? These are just two of the themes explored in a trio of books about motherhood that have just been published. It's not as if these questions haven't been asked before. There is a rich vein of literature from Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex through to Adrienne Rich's classic study Of Woman Born, Juliet Mitchell's A Women's Estate , Jane Lazarre's The Mother Knot and many more. And many second wave feminists fought hard for the rights of mothers on both sides of the Atlantic. And yet very little, if any progress, has been made according to this new crop of authors. Elaine Glaser is the author of Motherhood: A Manifesto, Pragya Agarwal is the author of (M)otherhood: On the Choices of Being a Woman, and Marina Fogle co-presents the podcast 'As Good As It Gets?'

Arooj Aftab is a Pakistani composer, based in Brooklyn. She joins Anita to talk about her music and influences from jazz and Qawwali to Jeff Buckley and Abidi Parveen. She explains how grief has shifted the tone of her music to ‘heavy metal harp’, and discusses her latest album, Vulture Prince, which honours and reimagines centuries-old ghazals, a form of South Asian poetry and music that she grew up listening to with her family.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the author of novels including 'Purple Hibiscus', 'Half of a Yellow Sun', which won the Orange Prize (now called the Women’s Prize for Fiction), and 'Americanah', which won the US National Book Critics Circle Award. Chimamanda has also delivered two landmark TED Talks: The Danger of A Single Story, and We Should All Be Feminists, which started a worldwide conversation about feminism and was published as a book in 2014. She has now written a more personal book. On 10 June 2020 her father died suddenly in Nigeria. A self-confessed daddy’s girl, she has now remembered her father in a tribute, 'Notes on Grief'. Her mother has since also died. How do you deal with double heartbreak?

Arooj Aftab, PIP implants, Race, trauma & culture, Reclaiming sexist language Jun 04, 2021

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Now the dust has settled on the recent court ruling on compensation for women with PIP Implants, it's become clear a group of women will miss out. The French court ruled that those who had implants pre 2006 will not get any money, as it decided the safety regulator who approved the implants for market couldn't have been aware of any problems before that date. Lawyers representing the women will go back to the French supreme court to fight this. Melanie Abbott has been looking into this.

Therapist and researcher, Guilaine Kinouni’s book Living While Black looks at the racial inequalities within the mental health system and their consequences for Black people. She is joined by author, academic, and broadcaster Emma Dabiri whose new book What White People Can Do Next looks at racial justice and how we demonstrations of support can be transformed into real and meaningful change.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Frankie Tobi

Author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

Lord Michael Heseltine, who was Deputy Prime Minister in the mid-nineties, says he's had to attend a House of Lords course to do with what's right and what's wrong when it comes to conduct between colleagues, especially between men and women. The training is called "Valuing Everyone". The House of Lords has been very firm about this online course on inappropriate behaviour and prejudice, saying all peers must attend. Lord Heseltine was sent a reminder that he MUST complete it, which seems to have aggravated him a great deal. He’s here, and so is Wera (pron: VERA) Hobhouse, Lib Dem MP. In the House of Commons, the course isn't mandatory for MPs.

Parm Sandhu grew up in the Midlands - a child of immigrants from the Punjab whose main ambition for her she says was to become an ‘obedient wife’. Forced into an arranged marriage at 16 she later fled to London and in 1989 joined the police. In her memoir ‘Black and Blue: One Woman’s Story of policing’ which is out next week, she tells her story of her thirty years in the Metropolitan police - rising through the ranks from a WPC to Chief Superintendent and becoming New Scotland Yard’s most senior ethnic minority woman in the force. She tells us her 30 year career was marred by repeated racism and sexism and a charge of gross misconduct which she was later cleared of. This led to her bringing an employment tribunal claim against the force and reaching a financial settlement with them last year.

The sun is out and if you’re looking out your summer dresses and skirts you might also be weighing up the state of your skin after months of slobbing at home in your lockdown comfies. Sales of personal grooming products like deodorant, skincare products and razors went down during the pandemic so will we be embracing the natural look? Or maybe you already do as a member of the hairy legs club? We talk to the stand-up comedian, Ashley Storrie about her beauty regime and also to George Driver, the acting Beauty Director of ELLE UK.

Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Interviewed Guest: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Interviewed Guest: Michael Heseltine Interviewed Guest: Wera Hobhouse Interviewed Guest: Parm Sandhu Interviewed Guest: Ashley Storrie Interviewed Guest: George Driver

The Politics of Motherhood, Big Night Out Reading, Women and environmental art. Jun 02, 2021

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You may have visited Kew Gardens and seen the incredible gallery of botanical art created by Marianne North - she is one of several female artists being featured at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum as part of Coventry's UK City of Culture Celebrations. The exhibition, called UnNatural History, explores not only the historical role of artists in the science of natural history - but also contemporary artists addressing the current climate crisis. But with so much focus on the environment how effective is art in grabbing the public's attention? Alice Sharp is the founder of Invisible Dust who have curated the exhibition and Frances Disley is an artist who examines the medicinal properties of plants and healing power of nature.

Why, after decades of social progress is motherhood still so much harder than it needs to be? Why aren't we honest about the realities of being a mother? These are just two of the themes explored in a trio of books about motherhood that have just been published. It's not as if these questions haven't been asked before. There is a rich vein of literature from Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex through to Adrienne Rich's classic study Of Woman Born, Juliet Mitchell's A Women's Estate , Jane Lazarre's The Mother Knot and many more. And many second wave feminists fought hard for the rights of mothers on both sides of the Atlantic. And yet very little, if any progress, has been made according to this new crop of authors. Elaine Glaser author of Motherhood: A Manifesto and Pragya Agarwal author of (M)otherhood: On the Choices of Being a Woman join Emma.

A few weeks ago as meeting up began to look possible again, we asked you to tell us about who you were desperate to see again and why. Last week we heard from Chris and her mates in Cardiff - this week listener Sally-Ann from Reading wanted to nominate 'the girls' - she's had a tough year and not seeing them face to face has been hard. Our reporter Jo Morris spoke to Sally-Ann as she prepared to host a garden get-together and popped into one of their regular Zoom chats to eavesdrop on their banter and memories.

Boric acid is a white powder that can do everything from get stains out of your clothes, to stop your fridge smelling, to acting as a pesticide. But apparently there's another use for this chemical remedy, and mentions of it have been popping up lately on social media threads and message boards: it can also be used as a treatment for chronic bacterial vaginosis. However, it is also being used for less serious vaginal infections. Dr Jen Gunter, American gynaecologist, obstetrician and author of the Vagina Bible says she has seen an increase in the use of boric acid vaginal pessaries among her patients over the past few years, paralleling an explosion of new over the counter boric acid products and heavy marketing from celebrities, influencers, naturopaths, and functional medicine providers. She explains her concerns.

Sinead O'Connor, Your returning to work manifesto. Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

It's one of the most unforgettable moments in pop. Sinead O'Connor singing Nothing Compares 2 U straight into the camera. Big eyes, shaved head, minimal make up - tears rolling down her cheeks. It catapulted her to fame whether she liked it or not. Sinead joins Emma to talk about her autobiography," Rememberings"

The ‘work from home’ guidelines are expected to be scrapped on June 21 - should the government’s current roadmap continue. If you were writing a manifesto for the best way for women to work post-pandemic what would it say? We hear from author and columnist, Elizabeth Uviebinené who argues in her new book ‘The Reset’ for a fundamental reset of our entire work culture, Danny Harmer, Chief People Officer for Aviva on how big companies are addressing the flexibility needs of their workforce and Mark Gatto, father of a two-year-old and research associate in masculinities and working parenthood,

Presenter Emma Barnett Producer Beverley Purcell PHOTO CREDIT; Donal Moloney

A Celebration of Women's Sporting Success May 31, 2021

Show notes

Over the last few weeks and months we have seen women make huge progress in the world of sport. It was just over a month ago that the jockey Rachael Blackmore made history by becoming the first female rider to win the Grand National in its 173 year history. Also last month Rebecca Welch became the first female referee to oversee an English Football League match in 134 years. And the former footballer Alex Scott has become the presenter of the BBC’s Football Focus, becoming the show's first permanent female host in its history.

It comes against a backdrop that has seen viewing figures for women’s football and rugby continue to grow despite a virtually invisible summer of competition last year. But a recent BBC Survey of elite sportswomen found that more than 60% earn less than £10,000 a year from their sport. So what still needs to be done when it comes to building on women’s success in sport and how can this upward momentum be maintained and include a variety of sports and not just football, cricket and rugby?

We have gathered some of the biggest influencers in the sporting world around a virtual round table. Zarah El-Kudcy a Trustee at the Women’s Sports Trust and the Head of Commercial Partnership Development at Formula 1, Emily Defroand a Great Britain and England Hockey player, Catherine Bond Muir the CEO of the W Series a motor racing championship for women, Kelly Simmons the FA’s Director of the Women’s Professional Game, Alison Kervin a writer and former Sports Editor for the Mail on Sunday (she was the first female sports editor on a national newspaper) and Dr Ali Bowes is a senior lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Nottingham Trent University.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed Editor: Beverley Purcell

Weekend Woman's Hour: Holly Smale, Paris Lees, #MeToo in the British Army, Hormones and vaccines May 29, 2021

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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.

The best selling author of the Geek Girl series Holly Smale has been diagnosed with autism at age 39. She said she feels relief that she now has an explanation for why she’s felt she’s never “fitted in”.

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 talks to us about impostor syndrome, challenging the status quo and dealing with aggressive criticism.

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.

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.

Covid vaccines and women, Paris Lees & Nero's women May 28, 2021

Show notes

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.

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

Babes in the wood, Ecocide, Sexism in craft beer, and How to save a life May 27, 2021

Show notes

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, Care Homes, The Astronomer Royal May 27, 2021

Show notes

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.

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