Woman's Hour

Over the past few years we have seen a number of high profile men being publically accused of sexual abuse and assault. It’s become a pinnacle aspect of the #MeToo movement. So why is the act of speaking out still met with so much resentment? Why is it so difficult to criticise male celebrities who have large followings? And how much more complex does this issue become when it intersects with race? Jacqueline Springer is a contemporary black music and culture journalist and lecturer. Leanne Levers has a PhD in politics and international studies, focusing on sexual violence and justice reform in minority communities. Jennifer M. Gómez is an Assistant Professor for the Department of Psychology at Wayne State University in Michigan.

How do you prepare your family in the event of a coronavirus lockdown? What plans should you make to keep your children entertained if the schools shut and they are stuck at home, how can you make home working work for you and how can you stop petty arguments with your partner or loved ones if you’re stuck in each other’s company for an indefinite period of time? Beverly Ramsey is living in Parma in Italy and tells us about the realities of coping with three children in a city in lockdown and Laverne Antrobus a Consultant Child and Educational Psychologist offers advice on we can best deal with this unusual situation.

On Sunday it was International Women’s Day and one of the events to mark the occasion took place at the Roundhouse in North London. It was part of the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival and featured an all female line up including Jehenny Beth on going solo and her relationship with PJ Harvey.

Presenter: Jane Garvey

Jessie and Lennie Ware on their relationship since making their Table Manners podcast

BBC Young Reporter Competition is in its second year. More than 2000 young people suggested an original story idea that they wanted the BBC to report on and it was Kay from Bristol who won gold this year. She's 19 now but when she was 12 she was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. She's now volunteering at a hospital and it's been life-changing. Our reporter Ena Miller met Kay and her mum, Eileen, at home in Bristol.

March is a big month for women. We have International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, but that gets less attention. Why? Jenni talks to two historians, Professor Selina Todd and Professor Krista Cowman, about it's importance and significance.

Leftover Women is an unflattering term used in China to describe women who aren't married. China has 30 million more men than women, leaving single women under pressure to marry quickly or risk being rejected by society. Jenni hears from Shosh Shlam, writer and co-director of the film Leftover Women, and Qui Hua Mei who's a lawyer.

Lost is a tale of two siblings living in extreme poverty. It's told through the eyes of Lola. She's a resourceful, brave and loyal teenager who’s desperately trying to find her way home. Jenni talks to the author, Ele Fountain, about what inspired her to write the book and why she hopes it’ll start a conversation about friendship, family and finding a sense of belonging.

We’re celebrating women in music with this special collaboration between Woman’s Hour and BBC 6 Music, recorded at the 6 Music Festival in Camden, North London. Presenter Georgie Rogers goes backstage at the historic Roundhouse venue to speak to some of the brilliant female artists on the line-up about the women that inspire them and their experiences of the music industry.

All music featured in this podcast was recorded live at the 6 Music Festival and broadcast on BBC 6 Music.

Presenter: Georgie Rogers

If you are man and own a cat, you are a man with a cat. If you are a woman with one, you are a crazy cat lady. Recently the term crazy cat lady has been reclaimed in a positive way on social media but many say it is a pejorative term used against women who break from tradition. Alice Maddicott is the author of Cat Women and writer Kat Brown has two cats, Ambridge and Genevieve and has written about the support they gave her during fertility treatment.

Presenter: Jenni Murray

Friendship can be one of the most powerful and important aspects of any woman’s life. We explore what sisterhood means to different women at different points in their lives. Kelechi Okafor, Danielle Dash and Seyi Akiwowo all met online. They all have large social media followings and talk about the importance of digital sisterhood.

Foreign correspondent Christina Lamb has reported on wars for over thirty years. She has now written a major book, Our Bodies Their Battlefield, exposing how in modern warfare, rape and sexual violence are used to humiliate, terrify and carry out ethnic cleansing.

Last week saw the launch of the Black Swimming Association, which aims to turn around the fact that 95% of black adults and 80% of black children in England do not swim. It’s a trend echoed more widely in the UK – with Swim England reporting that almost a quarter of all children leave primary school without being about to swim 25 metres. So what are the barriers to learning to swim? And how can they be overcome? Jane speaks to Carina White from Dope Black Mums and Ali Beckman, the technical director and lead teacher of the swim school, Puddleducks.

Popstar turned podcaster Jessie Ware and her mum Lennie Ware discuss working together in their hit podcast Table Manners where they cook dinner for a different celebrity every week.

Presenter: Jenni Murray

The power of crying - Keith Brymer-Jones, one of the judges on the Great Pottery Throw Down, the psychoanalyst and psychotherapist Susie Orbach, and voice coach Joanna Cross discuss.

Kathryn Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space, was an astronaut in the team that launched the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990.

After mastectomies the aim is to make breasts look and feel as they did before but sensitivity tends to suffer. Sarafina Nance is leading a campaign to increase understanding of sensitivity and talks about an experimental nerve-preserving procedure she received in the USA last year. We also hear from the breast surgeon Dr Ayesha Khan on treatments available in the UK.

Composer Emily Hall on the inspiration behind her piece for the Seven Ages of Women, a new commission by Radio 3 to mark International Women’s Day.

Coronavirus – how do you reassure children when everyone is talking about it, and how can they best protect themselves? We hear from Professor Trudie Lang, Director of the Global Health Network at the University of Oxford and Emma Citron, consultant clinical psychologist.

Vogue Williams, TV presenter and Instagram influencer on the rise of parent shaming.

Celebrating 10 years of the Women of the World Festival - two young activists Eunice Mwende and Dajanaa 'Dexi' Stosic on working to empower young girls and women in Kenya and Serbia.

Presenter: Jenni Murray

Jenni Murray presents Woman’s Hour live from the Southbank Centre in London where the Women of the World Festival will be celebrating their 10th anniversary this weekend. Founded by Jude Kelly a decade ago, Jenni will be speaking to her about what inspired her to create an organisation that has involved two million people in 30 locations on six continents. What have been her stand out moments and where does the conversation need to go now?

Initially offered for free following an Instagram challenge, #MeAndWhiteSupremacy is set across 28 days, with each day focusing on a different manifestation of white supremacy, including white privilege, cultural appropriation and tokenism. The workbook was downloaded by nearly ninety thousand people around the world in the space of six months, and is now a book. The woman behind the challenge, Layla Saad, joins Jenni to talk about why she’s passionate about helping people answer the question ‘how can I be a better ally to people of colour?’ Journalist and author, Yomi Adegoke joins them.

We’ll hear from Eunice Mwende and Dajanaa 'Dexi' Stosic, two young activists working to empower young girls and women in Kenya and Serbia, two winners from 'With and For Girls,' who recognise girl-led and girl-centred groups and organisations around the world through an annual awards process.

Jenni is joined by intimacy co-ordinator Ita O’Brien and actor Jemima Rooper. Why is a framework for intimate scenes in film, television and the theatre so important? Is it only to protect actors? And how much impact has the #TimesUp movement had since it started in January 2018?

And Pretty Loud is the first Roma girl band. Traditionally, Roma women are homemakers, encouraged to leave school early and marry young. Blending rap and hip hop with their traditional Roma music, Pretty Loud are passionate about putting an end to stereotypes about both Roma people and women through their lyrics. They’ll be performing live from the Southbank Centre.

Presenter: Jenni Murray

Interviewed Guest: Jude Kelly

Reducing anxiety in children, and helping them protect themselves and others.