The Conversation

BBC World Service•www.bbc.co.uk

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

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Episodes

Activists: Ericka Huggins and Nomboniso Gasa

Ericka Huggins attended the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 and decided then to devote herself to social action. She was 19 when she became a leader in the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s. In its own words the Party wanted "the power to determine the destiny of the Black and oppressed communities." As well as the political struggle Ericka had to cope with becoming a widow and the lone parent of a 3-week-old baby when her husband, also a Black Pan...

Dec 22, 2014•27 min

Advertising Execs: Nunu Ntshingila and Vasudha Narayanan

As the chair of one of South Africa's largest agencies, Ogilvy and Mather, Nunu Ntshingila is among the highest ranking women in world advertising. Born in Soweto in the 1960s, she learned her trade under Apartheid, when both the working environment and the marketplace were racially divided. Later she had the job of marketing the 'new South Africa' as a tourist destination and has since overseen campaigns for some of the world's biggest brands. Nunu says she moved "from the struggle between blac...

Dec 15, 2014•27 min

Scientists: Minal Rohit and Dr Tara Shears

What is the universe made of? Is there life on Mars? And how do you get more women interested in science? These are the big questions which preoccupy today's guests. Minal Rohit is a systems engineer with the Indian Space Research Organisation, currently working on India's Mars mission, and Dr Tara Shears is a particle physicist who works for the European organisation for nuclear research, known as CERN. They discuss what it's like to be involved in ground-breaking experiments and how a desire t...

Dec 08, 2014•27 min

Fighting Ebola: Dr Ngozi Kennedy and Fredanna M'Cormack McGough

Dr Ngozi Kennedy works as a health specialist for UNICEF which is one of the organisations supporting the Government's response to Ebola in Sierra Leone. From her home city of Freetown she talks about its impact on women, children and adolescents and how just as her workload increased, her children have to be at home, bored and frustrated, as a result of the school closures. Sierra Leone-born Fredanna M'Cormack-McGough is professor of Public Health at Coastal Carolina University. She was in Sier...

Dec 01, 2014•27 min

Triathletes: Shirin Gerami and Paula Newby-Fraser

A triathlon is a three-part sport that requires competitors to swim, cycle and run. This week we speak to two triathletes who are at opposite ends of their careers. Paula Newby-Fraser seemed unbeatable in the 1980s and 1990s, and was nicknamed the 'Queen of Kona', home to the ultra-triathlon the Ironman, and Shirin Gerami is the first female triathlete to represent Iran in a world championship. Paula shares her advice and experience with Shirin. Paula Newby-Fraser grew up in South Africa doing s...

Nov 24, 2014•27 min

Fashion Bosses: Rubana Huq and Kim Winser

Bangladeshi clothing manufacturer Rubana Huq, who employs over 5000 women in eight factories, talks to British retailer Kim Winser who has been responsible for some major fashion brands. What do two women leaders in the global fashion industry have to say to each other? From how they got into the world of fashion to factory-floor culture and leadership, Bangladeshi factory boss Rubana Huq and British fashion retailer Kim Winser compare their experiences. Kim Winser has been described as one of E...

Nov 17, 2014•27 min

Explorers: Sarah Marquis and Reena Dharmshaktu

Kim Chakanetsa hosts a conversation between two explorers who both grew up in the mountains - Sarah Marquis in Switzerland's Jura mountains and Reena Dharmshaktu in the foothills of the Himalayas. Both women felt the pull of the outdoors from an early age and knew they couldn't be confined to an office. Sarah Marquis recently walked 10,000 miles in three years from Siberia to the Australian outback. She is also one of this year's winners of the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Awards. ...

Nov 10, 2014•27 min

Comics: Hatoon Kadi and Njambi McGrath

Kim Chakanetsa hosts a conversation between one of Saudi Arabia's only female comedians and a Kenyan comic who performs her stand-up routine in the UK. Both love to laugh and to make people laugh. Hatoon Kadi took up comedy when she got bored of her office job. At the time she says the internet in Saudi Arabia was booming with comedy shows, but they were all fronted by men, so she decided to fill a gap in the market. Now Hatoon, and her comedy alter ego 'Noon al-Niswa', have attracted millions o...

Nov 03, 2014•27 min

The judges

Kim Chakanetsa hosts a conversation between Judge Khalida Rachid Khan, Pakistan's first woman judge, and Justice Mandisa Maya, the first black woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa. Judge Khalida Rachid Khan was appointed to the bench in Peshawar in 1974, a place still known for its conservative values. She describes how people would try to get into court to witness the 'spectacle' of a woman judge and how she dealt with male lawyers refusing to appear before her. ...

Oct 27, 2014•27 min

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