The Conversation

Nora Fakim talks to two women about the health benefits of swimming in the wild.

Rachel Ashe is the founder of Mental Health Swims, a peer support community organising wild swimming or dipping events in the UK. Rachel first tried cold water swimming in 2019, shortly after being diagnosed with mental health conditions, and during the pandemic she went from organising a monthly gathering at her local beach in Wales to running a social enterprise with over 80 groups across the country.

Ilse Theys Woodward is an open water swimmer, a nurse, a swimming instructor and a lifeguard. She’s based in Cape Town, South Africa and she has recently taken part in the Freedom Swim, one of the world’s toughest cold water sea swim races. She’s also a member of the Phoenix Open Water Swimming (POWS), a swimming club working with underprivileged youths in Cape Town.

Produced by Alice Gioia

(Image: (L) Ilse Theys Woodward, credit Ilse Theys Woodward. (R) Rachel Ashe, credit Laura Minns)

Women from Brazil and the UK tell Nora Fakim how assistance dogs are improving both their mobility and wellbeing.

Maria Villela lives and works in Brazil. She has glaucoma and was blind by the time she left university. As guide dogs are rare in Brazil, ten years ago Maria decided to email every international guide dog school she could to try and get an assistance animal. She was finally partnered with her dog Spirit through Guide Dogs of the Desert, USA. She says although she lived an independent life before getting her dog, Spirit has given her peace.

Alice Moore-Simmons has brittle bones, a rare condition called Ehlers Danlos syndrome and Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) which causes her blood pressure to drop very suddenly. Alice was given her first assistance dog, Bella, through the charity Dogs for Good, when she was 15 years old. More recently she’s been partnered with Winter who’s trained to look out for signs of Alice passing out, makes sure she has her medication, helps her get dressed, fetches and picks things up. Alice says Winter helps calm her anxiety and gives her confidence.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

(Image: (L) Maria Villela and her dog Spirit, credit Maria Villela. (R) Alice Moore-Simmons and her dog Winter, courtesy Dogs For Good)

Rich families around the world employ butlers and maids to look after their expensive properties. These houseworkers have access to every aspect of their employers’ lives: they get to know their habits and their deepest secrets. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two former maids who worked for wealthy families in the USA and the UK.

Stephanie Land is the bestselling author of Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, a poignant memoir highlighting the plight of overworked and underpaid domestic workers in the USA. Her story has recently been turned into the successful Netflix series, Maid.

When she was 19, Sara Vestin Rahmani moved from Sweden to London to work as an au pair for a rich family. She thought she would only stay for a year, but she quickly became embedded in the family’s life, and was exposed to a lifestyle she never imagined was possible. She is now the director of Bespoke Bureau and the British Butler Academy, a high-end recruitment and training agency of domestic and elite service staff.

Producer: Alice Gioia

(Image: (L) Stephanie Land, credit Ashley Farr. (R) Sara Vestin Rahmani, credit Bespoke Bureau)

There are many thousands of people around the world trying to protect endangered species in their natural habitat – around one in ten of them are female but that number is growing. In Africa alone 18 different countries employ female park rangers. Kim Chakanetsa is joined by two women from South Africa and Zambia to talk about what they do.

The teams are funded with money from government, non-government organisations and charity. They’ve both been recognised by World Female Ranger Day which is supporting women wildlife rangers around the world.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

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It’s understood the climate crisis will disproportionately disrupt the lives of women around the globe. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two academics about the work they do and the impact of changing weather patterns on women.

As the primary food growers and water collectors, women are hardest hit by floods and droughts. They’re also less financially equipped to flee when natural disaster strikes, and vulnerable to gender-based violence.

Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a biogeochemist – a soil scientist – at the University of California, Merced. Her research is focused on understanding how disturbances in the environment affect the cycles of essential elements such as carbon and nitrogen through the soil system. While extreme weather events often result in the degradation of soil, she says effective land restoration could play an important role in sequestering CO2 and slowing climate change.

Dr Katharine Vincent is a British geographer working in southern Africa. Her research has focused on vulnerability to climate change and the adaptations that can be made. She’s particularly interested in how these changes impact men and women differently, investigating institutional aspects of climate change, adaptation, food security and social protection.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

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A man is twice as likely to rise to the top of an international non-governmental organization (INGO) than a woman. Kim Chakanetsa meets two exceptions to this rule.

Amanda Khozi Mukwashi is the CEO of Christian Aid, an INGO that works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. She’s also the author of But where are you really from?

Produced by Alice Gioia.

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The stereotype in the entrepreneurial world is that women are too risk averse to lead companies. But is that true? Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women who turned their start-ups into successful enterprises.

Monica Musonda is a Zambian lawyer who decided to quit her high-flying corporate career to start her own company. She’s now the CEO of Java Foods, a food processing company providing affordable nutrition to the southern African market. She is one of the few Zambian women involved in manufacturing and agro-processing and she is a member of the UN Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.

Produced by Alice Gioia

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What does it feel like to fall through the sky? Two women who have broken barriers and mastered the art of skydiving from India and the United States tell Kim Chakanetsa the answer.

The very first time Rachel Thomas flew in an aeroplane, she jumped out of it at 4,500 feet. Fast forward to 2002 and she became the first Indian woman to skydive and set foot on the North Pole. In her 25-year career she has completed 650 skydives in 11 countries, has been a judge at skydiving competitions and has received many awards including the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award.

Produced by Emily Naylor and Alice Gioia.

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There are many different routes to parenthood. For a growing number of women that route does not involve waiting for a partner to start a family. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two mothers by choice about the joys and challenges of single parenthood.

Produced by Alice Gioia

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Street artists from Switzerland and Uganda talk to Kim Chakanetsa about creating public art to enrich lives and bring about change.

The Swiss artist Mona Caron is best known for her multi-story murals celebrating the rebellious resilience of weeds. She first became a muralist in her adoptive hometown of San Francisco, and creates images on a massive scale in public spaces. She blends her artivism with social movements, and enjoys working in collaboration with kindred-spirited artists and activists.

Fatuma Hassan is a painter, graffiti artist and muralist who lives and works in Jinja, Uganda. She says she's never met another female street artist in the country and people are sometimes shocked that she's climbing ladders to paint her murals on buildings. She likes projects that raise community awareness and celebrate the African woman. She's part of the Afri-cans festival and has created murals in Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

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