Woman's Hour Folgen

The Grammy award-winning Lainey Wilson is a country music trailblazer. She has made her way from Hannah Montana impersonator to performing at the Grand Ole Opry and she's been awarded seven Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year in 2023 and six Academy of Country Music Awards. As a prolific songwriter she’s scored seven No. 1 hits including: Watermelon Moonshine and Heart Like A Truck. Her latest album, Whirlwind, earned a Grammy nomination and she is currently on a world tour promoting the album. She will be headlining at the Country to Country Festival at the O2 in London this weekend. She joins Nuala McGovern to discuss why she thinks country is cool again.In 2021, the Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Grand National in the 182-year history of the race. The first woman to be leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival with six victories, including the Champion Hurdle, and the following year she became the first female jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Yesterday, she continued to make history winning the Stayers' Hurdle aboard Bob Olinger to complete a Cheltenham Festival double. All the more remarkable as she was sidelined for three months with a neck injury after a fall in September. We speak to Fern Buckley, BBC sports journalist, ahead of Blackmore's participation in Friday afternoon's Gold Cup race.In Bangladesh, there's been shocking news that an eight-year-old girl who was raped last week, has died from her injuries. Fierce protests have erupted in the country following the girl's death yesterday with people demanding that the government expedite justice for rape victims and reform laws related to women and children's safety. We hear from the BBC's South Asia Correspondent Samira Hussain who is based in Delhi, India.In the next of our Women’s Prize discussions, we hear from Clare Mulley on her book charting the life of Agent Zo – a courageous Polish female resistance fighter in World War Two, and VV Ganeshananthan about her novel Brotherless Night set during the Sri Lankan Civil War – winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction last year. What can these writers in very different genres tell us about the experience of women in war?Catherine Cox from Nottingham was one of thousands of women who took the epilepsy drug sodium valproate while pregnant, something which is now advised against. She’s been campaigning for compensation for more than 20 years. Her son Matthew, who’s now 23, was born with a range of conditions, including autism, ADHD, epilepsy and several learning disabilities. At 18 months old, he was diagnosed with foetal valproate syndrome, indicating the medication Catherine took was the cause of his problems. Catherine joins Nuala alongside Dr Henrietta Hughes, Patient Safety Commissioner, whose report, released just over a year ago, recommended the need to compensate those harmed by valproate.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Kirsty Starkey Editor: Karen Dalziel

The first daily pill for treating endometriosis symptoms has been approved for use on the NHS in England - but only for patients who have tried all other options. Endometriosis affects 1.5 million women in the UK. Kylie Pentelow is joined by Emma Cox, Chief Executive of Endometriosis UK, and Emma Collier, who was diagnosed with endometriosis aged 18, to discuss what this could mean for women.Sister Midnight is a new, Bafta-nominated, Hindi-language film that looks at what it's like to be a misfit. This dark comedy follows an oddball couple thrown into a newly arranged marriage in a small Mumbai shack. Indian actor and Bollywood star, Radhika Apte plays Uma, one half of the couple, who does her best to cope with her new role as a housewife in the heat of Mumbai. Radhika joins Kylie in the Woman's Hour studio.The holy month of Ramadan is underway, which means millions of Muslims around the world are fasting, no food or drink from dawn until dusk - not even water. At the end of each day, friends and families celebrate the breaking of the fast with a meal together. But for those with current, or past eating disorders, this period of fasting can bring challenges. So, how can they be best supported during Ramadan? Kylie talks to fitness trainer Nazia Khatun, who has struggled with anorexia and bulimia in the past, and counselling psychologist, Dr Omara Naseem, who specialises in eating disorders.Journalist and broadcaster Julia Raeside has just published her debut novel, Don't Make Me Laugh. Looking at the world of stand-up comedy often dominated by men - it's described as celebrating women who speak truth to power, find solidarity with each other and then decide to fight back. Julia explains to Kylie why she chose to focus on the world of comedy for her first foray into fiction.Presenter: Kylie Pentelow Producer: Melanie Abbott

The government has said it supports bereavement leave for couples who experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks gestation. Business Minister Justin Madders told MPs he "fully accepts" the principle of bereavement leave for pregnancy loss and promised to look at adding the right to the Employment Rights Bill. Nuala discusses the issues with national baby loss campaigner and founder of George’s Law Keeley Lengthorn and the BBC's Employment Correspondent Zoe Conway.A couple of days ago the owner of a Welsh Rugby club put up a social media post to promote an upcoming match against a local rival. He hoped a few thousand people would maybe ‘like’ it and ‘share’ it and some would come along to watch the match. What he didn’t expect was that the post would get more than a quarter of a million views, generate outrage and condemnation and become national news. Accompanying the text was an image of rugby players, with the words, ‘Not For Girls’ stamped across the top. Nuala discusses the idea behind the tweet and the reaction with Matthew Young from Neath Rugby Football Club and the sports broadcaster, Stella Mills, one of the first people to see the post and comment. Yesterday the Education Committee heard evidence from professional membership organisations, charities and young people with lived experience of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, as part of its inquiry into solving the SEND crisis. One teenager invited to address the committee was 17-year-old Katie. Katie is autistic and was a member of the panel for Woman’s Hour’s SEND: Mums Bridging the Gap programme that was broadcast in September 2024. Katie, her mother Ruth Nellist and Helen Hayes MP, Chair of the SEND Education Committee all join Nuala to discuss the committee’s work so far and the importance of the cross-party MPs who make up the committee hearing the experiences of children and young people with SEND.Have you heard of the ‘Attagirls’? They were pioneering women pilots who flew RAF planes throughout the country during World War Two, and achieved equal pay in 1943, but their work as part of the Air Transport Auxiliary has often been overlooked. A new play ‘Spitfire Girls’ is inspired by the true stories of these women. Nuala speaks to cast members Katherine Senior and Laura Matthews to find out more about what it was like for women pilots and why it’s important to celebrate their stories.Presented by Nuala McGovern Producer: Louise Corley