Woman's Hour

The Offbeat Sari exhibition will include 90 examples of innovative saris – including the first ever sari worn at the Met Gala and a foil jersey sari worn by Lady Gaga. Krupa Padhy talks to the exhibition's curator Priya Khanchandani. BBC Journalist Faranak Amidi brings us the latest from Iran and we look at LOAB, the internet character created by artificial intelligence. Described as having the 'e...

One hundred years ago Edith Thompson and her lover Frederick Bywaters were hanged for the murder of her husband Percy, even though there was no evidence that she was involved with the killing. What condemned Edith were the letters that she had written to Freddy, which were interpreted by the law as incitement to murder. Laura Thompson has brought the letter together in a book Au Revoir Now Darlint...

Last week we reported how 22-year-old Eleanor Williams who claimed she had been trafficked and raped by an Asian grooming gang was convicted of perverting the course of justice. She will be sentenced in March but we consider the possible impact her conviction could have on how rape is reported, how it’s handled by the police and whether women are believed. We hear from the former chief prosecutor...

The author and environmental activist Vandana Shiva has released a new book, Terra Viva to coincide with her 70th birthday. She discusses her life campaigning for climate justice and equality, as well as what she thinks of the current climate situation. According to reports in the Telegraph this week, Rishi Sunak has shelved plans to reform childcare services put forward by his predecessor, Liz Tr...

You might have spent this first week of January planning where you want to go, what you want to do and who you want to be in 2023 But have you made any financial new year’s resolutions. Statistics show that more than a third of us will make a financial new year’s resolution this year. Will you be ‘manifesting’ money in the year ahead? Anita Rani is joined by the consumer editor of the Financial Ti...

The author and environmental activist Vandana Shiva has released a new book, Terra Viva to coincide with her 70th birthday. She joins Anita Rani to discuss her life campaigning for climate justice and equality. Eleanor Williams, a 22 year old woman from Barrow-in-Furness, who claimed she had been trafficked by an Asian grooming gang has been convicted of perverting the course of justice. Her false...

What is it like to be the only woman in a group of men? Is it isolating? Intimidating? Or, can there be a certain, maybe shameful, thrill of being included as ‘one of the lads’? To discuss, Nuala speaks to Immy Humes, a documentary filmmaker who has spent years gathering archive images of all-male groups including exactly one woman, which she published as a collection in her book ‘The Only Woman’....

There’s a growing trend in women not wearing bras. To talk about this Nuala McGovern is joined by the Fashion Editor of The Times, Harriet Walker. She’ll talk about bra trends up to now, and why this might not be the best of them. According to reports in the Telegraph, Rishi Sunak has shelved plans to reform childcare services put forward by his predecessor, Liz Truss. The plans were looking at in...

Are you harbouring a dream of turning your passion into a business? Today we hear from women already doing it and find out what support's out there for women taking up the challenge. Deborah Meaden, Dragons Den investor, entrepreneur and host of the Big Green Money Show joins Krupa Padhy to discuss #Passionintobusiness Sam Jackman is the creator and founder of a post-mastectomy breast form. She de...

Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth joins Krupa Padhy to talk about the new figures released by the National Police Chiefs Council which say there were nearly five thousand cases of needle and drink spiking recorded by forces across England and Wales between September last year and August this year. Do you remember the first time you really felt ‘seen’? For a special bank holiday programme, all ab...

Dame Vivienne Westwood died yesterday at the age of 81 but she has been called the ‘undisputed Queen of British Fashion’. She made her name with her controversial punk and new wave styles in the 1970s and went on to dress some of the biggest stars in fashion. She was well known for her androgynous designs, slogan T-shirts and irreverent attitude towards the establishment and would use her platform...

If 2022 was the year of talking about menopause could 2023 be the year of looking at life beyond it? Joining Krupa to discuss the positive side of life after menopause is Caryn Franklin, fashion and identity commentator. Her latest audio book is SKEWED: Decoding Media Bias, which explores why women and girls are educated to fear ageing. And Supriya Nagarajan who made a life-changing decision durin...

When did you realise you you had something to say or something you want to stand up for. In the first in our series "Find My Voice" Jessica talks to Milly Johnson the author of 20 novels which have sold over 3 million copies worldwide. She’s the winner of the Romantic Novelist Association's Outstanding Achievement Award, as well as Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me – Barnsley edition. But all that suc...

What does it mean when you are the first to 'be seen'? In 2018, Constance Wu received a Golden Globe Best Lead Actress nomination. She was the first Asian woman in 44 years to be named in the category for her historic role in Crazy Rich Asians, the first Hollywood film in 25 years to feature an all-Asian cast. After a tweet bemoaning the hit Chinese American sitcom Fresh Off The Boat, which launch...

This is your time to rest.. you have permission. Lie on the floor, or sit on a chair, get yourself comfortable... close your eyes if you'd like... take a deep breath in... and exhale... How much do you rest? Do you prioritise it? Maybe you feel you don't have time to rest! Or maybe you feel guilty for taking time out? Jessica Creighton discusses the theme of Rest with her guests. The presenter and...

Photo credit: John Wilson/Netflix The Grammy nominated singer and actor Janelle Monae joins Krupa to discuss playing the role of Andi Brand in Netflix's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. They also discuss politics, including Janelle's thoughts on the rights of marginalised groups in the US as well as fashion and Janelle's love of dressing in the nude on holiday. In the early hours of June 26 this...

Over the festive period, many people will be returning to stay in the home they grew up in. But when is the right time to clear out a childhood bedroom after its occupants have left home? Should you turn it into a study, pottery studio, or holiday rental the moment the kids have stepped out the door? Or preserve it as a shrine filled with old A Level notes, soft toys, and 90s posters? The protests...

The number of female patients being prescribed medication for ADHD has more than doubled in recent years. The reasons for this include time spent at home during lockdown really getting to know ourselves and, increasingly, videos on social media sites. #ADHDinwomen has 2.3 billion views on TikTok. To discuss this Hayley is joined by Dr Jo Steer, a Clinical Psychologist and Josie Heath-Smith who dis...

Two nurses, Heather who is a Specialist Community Nurse for a London NHS Trust and Mary, who works as an A&E nurse in Leeds, explain why they are joining the picket line today. Cally Beaton had a high-flying career as a TV executive. But she swapped the boardroom for the comedy club after receiving career advice from none other than Joan Rivers. Cally joins Jessica Creighton to describe how sh...

Actor Jane Horrocks joins Krupa Padhy to discuss her new Radio 4 drama about her relationship with the singer-songwriter and actor Ian Dury. Jane had been looking back at her early adulthood, coming across old love letters from Ian and her own diary entries which inspired her to create the drama about their tumultuous one year relationship. We speak to Frances O'Grady, the outgoing General Secreta...

How to hang the loo roll to where to store the mustard - TV presenter Claudia Winkleman on the domestic tasks that need to done a certain way in the home. The Health Minister Helen Whately on what the government is doing to resolve the row over nurses' pay. The latest on the online harms bill with Baroness Beeban Kidron, the founder of the 5Rights Foundation which campaigns to make the digital wor...

Sarah de Lagarde was commuting home on the London Underground when she slipped through the gap between the platform edge and the train at High Barnet station. She was run over by two tube trains. She lost her right leg and arm as a result and spent two months in hospital before being discharged on December 1st. She is now learning how to walk again and is fundraising for a new bionic arm. Sarah jo...

Strictly Come Dancing’s Claudia Winkelman in conversation with Emma Barnett about the domestic tasks that need to done a certain way in the home; starting with how to hang a toilet roll. Health Minister Helen Whately is questioned about the historic strike by members of the Royal College of Nursing. Dame Kate Bingham the woman who led the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce talks about her concerns regarding o...

Two and a half years ago Baroness Cumberlege wrote a report looking at two drugs and a medical device which caused women or their babies harm. She made a list of recommendations to support victims and prevent future, avoidable damage. Yesterday she appeared in front of the Health and Social Care Select Committee and expressed her frustration at the slow progress of the Department of Health on this...

Hilary McGrady, the Director General of the National Trust, one of Britain's biggest heritage organisations and the custodian of hundreds of our finest castles, great houses and beaches and countryside. They’ll be discussing some of the recent controversies that’ve left to criticisms that it’s become too politicised in recent years. Critics say that in its pursuit of becoming more accessible to mo...