With just over a week to go until the UK heads to the polls for the general election, what’s the situation for women voters in Northern Ireland? BBC Northern Ireland political correspondent Jayne McCormack joins Nuala McGovern to discuss what political candidates there are offering women. Days ahead of a UN summit on Afghanistan, which is set to exclude Afghan women, reports are surfacing from teenage girls and young women arrested by the Taliban for wearing 'bad hijab' that they have been subje...
Jun 25, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rachel Stevens was one of the founding members of S Club 7, the pop band that took the world by storm in the early 2000s. She joins Anita to talk about her memoir Finding my Voice: A story of strength, belief and S Club, which covers her time in the hit-making band, her solo career and what it's been like being in the public eye. In a special extended 90 minute programme, Nuala McGovern hosted the Woman's Hour Election Debate. Senior women from the main political parties of Great Britain outline...
Jun 24, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Novelist Helen Heckety joins Nuala to talk about her debut work, Alter Ego. It’s about a young woman who decides to leave her old life behind and move to a new place where no one knows she is disabled. Helen, who has a physical disability that can sometimes be invisible, was compelled to write about a disabled character she had never seen represented in literature. According to The Times, Labour – if elected – would make it easier for people to legally transition by removing the need for them to...
Jun 24, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Paloma Faith is an award-winning singer, songwriter and actor. She has released six albums, including her most recent The Glorification of Sadness, received a BRIT Award, been a judge on The Voice UK as well as an actor in films such as St Trinian’s and TV’s series Pennyworth. She is also the mother of two daughters. She joins Clare to discuss her book – MILF - in which she delves into the issues that face women today from puberty and sexual awakenings, to battling through the expectations of pa...
Jun 22, 2024•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Stealthing is the crime of removing a condom during sex without consent and is a form of rape. Clare McDonnell discusses why this is an under-reported crime with Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Local Policing, Helen Millichap, who leads the Met’s focus on violence against women and girls, and Gemma Lindfield, Barrister at Five St Andrew's Hill Chambers. Actor Jill Halfpenny has starred in popular TV series such as Byker Grove, Coronation Street, EastEnders and The Cuckoo. S...
Jun 21, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rachel Stevens was one of the founding members of S Club 7, the pop band that took the world by storm in the early 2000s. She joins Anita to talk about her memoir Finding my voice: A story of strength, belief and S Club, which covers her time in the hit-making band, her solo career and what it's been like being in the public eye. Anita is joined by Ella Janneh who has won a civil case against her former therapist, over claims he raped her during a therapy session at his clinic in London. She has...
Jun 20, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast A survey published today by Women in Football shows that 88% of women working in the industry believe they have to work harder than men to achieve the same recognition and benefits - the research also found that 74% of men agree with them. It also found that 89% of women working in the game have experienced discrimination in the workplace. Nuala speaks to Yvonne Harrison, Chief Executive Officer Women in Football. Can you ever really be just best friends with the love of your life? Laura Dockril...
Jun 19, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a special extended 90 minute programme, Nuala McGovern hosts the Woman's Hour Election Debate. Senior women from the main political parties of Great Britain outline their priorities for women and answer your questions. Taking part are: Scottish National Party spokesperson for Consular Affairs and International Engagement Hannah Bardell; Reform UK candidate Maria Bowtell; Green Party spokesperson for Housing and Communities Ellie Chowns; Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper; Con...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last week, listener Charlotte got in touch with the programme to share her story. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer in April and was told she might only have months to live. She talks to Nuala about staying optimistic, juggling the admin of an illness with childcare, and the impact it’s having on her family. Adrienne Betteley, Strategic Advisor for End of Life Care at Macmillan Cancer Support, discusses dealing with a terminal diagnosis, how best to tell your children, and the support that'...
Jun 17, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Earlier this month, the British Olympic Association announced the 42 athletes selected to represent Team GB in rowing at 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Among them is the two-time Olympic gold medallist Helen Glover competing at this level for the 4th time as part of the Women’s four. In 2015 Helen was ranked the top female rower in the world and went on to become the first mother to row for Team GB in 2021. Now having had three children she has her sights set on the podium once more - joining the ...
Jun 14, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Up until the 1980s, stillborn babies were swiftly taken from their mothers who weren’t always told what had happened to them. Now one of those mothers is calling for an apology after finding the grave of her stillborn son more than five decades after he was born. Gina Jacobs talks to Anita about how she found where her son Robert had been buried and how she’s working to help other women do the same. In April the European Court of Human Rights passed a landmark ruling saying that Switzerland was ...
Jun 13, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Paloma Faith is an award-winning singer, songwriter and actor. She has released six albums, including her most recent The Glorification of Sadness, received a BRIT Award, been a judge on The Voice UK as well as an actor in films such as St Trinian’s and TV’s series Pennyworth. She is also the mother of two daughters. She joins Clare to discuss her book – MILF - in which she delves into the issues that face women today from puberty and sexual awakenings, to battling through the expectations of pa...
Jun 12, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thornaby Football Club’s committee is facing criticism after they announced that the Teeside-based club would be dropping all of its women’s section. First team manager Abbey Lyle tells Clare McDonnell what this means for the women and girls in the club, the support they’ve received since, and what it says about grassroots women’s sport. Clare also discusses the issues with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, former Paralympian and Chair of Sport Wales and the CEO of Women in Sport, Stephanie Hilborne...
Jun 11, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nearly 300 rapes and sexual assaults reported by sex workers during the Emma Caldwell murder investigation were not dealt with by police at the time, the BBC has learned. 276 reports of sex crimes made by sex workers working in Glasgow during the murder inquiry were filed away and not acted upon. Investigate journalist Sam Poling, whose work was pivotal in bringing Emma Caldwell’s killer, Iain Packer, to justice in February of this year, joins Clare McDonnell to discuss, along with former Detect...
Jun 10, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Scotland's most senior law officer has asked nine of the country's judges to overturn an 87-year-old rule on evidence in cases involving rape and other sexual offences. Since she became Lord Advocate in 2021, Dorothy Bain KC has often spoken of her desire to improve the criminal justice system for victims, particularly women and girls. She is now seeking radical changes which would allow more rape cases to reach court. Anita Rani talks to David Cowan, BBC Scotland's home affairs correspondent. A...
Jun 07, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast The singer-songwriter Natasha Khan, known by her stage name Bat for Lashes, joins Anita to talk about her new album, The Dream of Delphi. Named after her daughter Delphi, her new music explores motherhood through lush orchestral sounds. She discusses having a baby during the Covid lockdown and how the experience informed her song-writing. Vengeance is award-winning journalist and writer Saima Mir’s second novel, and the sequel to her crime thriller debut The Khan. The book continues the story of...
Jun 06, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tina Fey, a colossus of the comedy world for more than two decades, is also the creative force behind Mean Girls. The original movie in 2004, starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, spawned a Broadway musical in 2018, and many of the songs were featured in this year’s modern movie remake. Tina is now bringing an updated stage version of Mean Girls The Musical to London, opening at the Savoy Theatre this week. She joins Nuala. The youth organisation Young Farmers has been accused of having a p...
Jun 05, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast A newborn baby found earlier this year in East London is the third child abandoned by the same parents. That’s the story being reported by the BBC’s Sanchia Berg, who has been given permission to share the details by a judge at East London Family Court. Sanchia joins Nuala McGovern to tell us more about the story, alongside freelance journalist Louise Tickle, who has previously reported from family courts. Following on from our special phone-in on boys last month, author Ruth Whippman speaks to ...
Jun 04, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Claudia Sheinbaum will become Mexico's first woman president after an historic election win. BBC Journalist Laura Garcia joins Nuala McGovern to discuss what this moment means for the women and girls of Mexico. A new immersive exhibition, Connecting Hearts, by Swansea University, the Human Milk Foundation and artist Leanne Pearce, shows the impact of donating and receiving human milk. One of the paintings is of Claire-Michelle Pearson - a 'snowdrop' donor. She donated over 300 litres of milk aft...
Jun 03, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ruth Jones joins Nuala McGovern to talk about playing the Mother Superior in a West End production of Sister Act. She discusses getting out of her comfort zone by appearing on stage for the first time since 2018 and working on her fourth novel. Plus what can fans of Gavin and Stacey expect from the Christmas special? This week, the Netball Super League, the UK's elite level domestic competition, relaunched and embarked on what it calls a "new era of transformational change". Anita Rani speaks to...
Jun 01, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donald Trump has been convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his criminal trial in New York. It is the first time a former or serving US president has been convicted of a crime. Anita Rani is joined by New York Times journalist Amanda Taub and political commentator Julie Norman to talk about the woman at the centre of the case, the prosecution's star witness Stormy Daniels. Amanda Ross is one of the most powerful women in publishing who doesn't even work in publishing. She'...
May 31, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast On 28 July last year the British cyclist Lizzy Banks received an email from UK Anti Doping to say she had return two Adverse Analytical Findings. The letter stated she faced the prospect of a two-year ban unless she could establish the source. Thus began a ten-month journey investigating, researching and writing submissions to establish how the contamination event occurred. Absolved of any blame, having proved on the balance of probabilities that her test was contaminated, Lizzy speaks to Nuala ...
May 30, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast As prescriptions for weight loss drugs in the UK increase, Woman’s Hour explores how safe online prescriptions for things like Ozempic and Wegovy are. Fashion stylist Jeannie Annan Lewin tells us how she buys the drugs and how they have helped her. Anita Rani is joined by Alima Batchelor, from the Pharmacists Defence Association, and Professor James Kingsland, Chair of Digital Clinical Excellence. Cassidy Janson won an Olivier Award for her performance as Anne Hathaway in the musical & Julie...
May 30, 2024•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Top perfume brands may have the “worst form of child labour” in their jasmine supply chains, a BBC Eye investigation reveals. Jasmine is considered to be one of the most valuable ingredients in some of the world's most iconic perfumes. Nuala McGovern is joined by BBC Eye correspondent Heba Bitar and producer/director of the documentary: Perfume’s Darkest Secrets, Natasha Cox. Grammy and Tony award-winning songwriter Anaïs Mitchell is the creator of the musical Hadestown – a genre-defying retell...
May 29, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ruth Jones is live in the Woman’s Hour studio to talk about playing the Mother Superior in a West End production of Sister Act. She discusses getting out of her comfort zone by appearing on stage for the first time since 2018 and working on her fourth novel. Plus what can fans of Gavin and Stacey expect from the Christmas special? What happens in relationships when one person wants a family and the other definitely doesn’t? Is missing out on the chance to have children a deal-breaker? Or do some...
May 28, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast From the Pre-Raphaelites to Picasso, Vermeer to Freud, some of the most famous Western artwork involves an artist’s muse. So who are the muses who have inspired great art? How do they embody an artist’s vision? And why has the muse artist relationship led to abuse of power? Nuala speaks to art historian and author Ruth Millington and to writer, curator and podcaster Alayo Akinkugbe. Penelope Tree was one of the most famous models of the 1960s and the muse of her then boyfriend, the photographer ...
May 27, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast As India goes to the polls in the penultimate round of voting in their general election, Anita speaks to the BBC’s Divya Arya in Delhi. They discuss what political issues are most important to women in this election, and how the main parties have been wooing them. Valérie Courtois was recently announced as the winner of the 2024 Shackleton medal for her work revolutionizing climate conservation in the Canadian arctic, most notably for her vision connecting Indigenous Guardians as ‘the eyes and e...
May 24, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast There will be a general election on 4 July. Campaigning will start at the end of next week, but already some of the key players are speaking out. What are women's top concerns in this election? What do women want addressed? Anita Rani speaks to Professor Rosie Campbell, professor of politics and director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London, who has been looking at women's voting behaviour for many years. Head teachers who are a part of St Albans Primary School...
May 23, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast The endurance runner Imo Boddy has smashed the 45-year-old world record and become the fastest known woman to complete the UK Three Peaks. She joins Nuala McGovern live on the programme. Do you know what love bombing is? One of our Woman’s Hour listeners Lynn got in touch to say it’s something we should be discussing. She joins Nuala alongside relationship therapist Simone Bose to explain more about what love bombing is, and how we can all look out for the warning signs. Nuala is joined by the a...
May 22, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast A new documentary on BBC Two is looking at how new forensic techniques can help police re-examine old cases involving sexual assault and rape, helping to convict perpetrators from decades ago. Cold Case Investigators: Solving Britain’s Sex Crimes tells the story of three cases that were re-examined. One is that of Karen, who was raped in 1983. She joins Nuala McGovern alongside Detective Constable Hayley Dyas, who helped work on her case and finally get a conviction. On 28 July last year the Bri...
May 21, 2024•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
