The Kitchen Sisters

In a country with millions of orphans and widows, officials say it’s tough to make women who are seen as criminals a priority, which means they’re basically ignored by everyone. Reported by Kelly McEvers and Isra’ al Rubei’i.

Although gays and lesbians can be imprisoned for life in Pakistan, rarely are such charges brought to court. Pakistani lesbians say it is often easier for them to engage in a sexual relationship because society simply doesn’t perceive women to have sexual desires. Produced by Habiba Nosheen.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service there are some 300,000 female hunters under the age of 16. We travel to Wayne Country, Mississippi to meet a girl who hunts. Reported by Tamara Keith and produced by Leah Scarpelli

Within the walls of the Afghan-Canadian Community Center in Kandahar, girls and young women throw off their burqas as they laugh and study together. Many of them want careers. But they know the danger in the Taliban heartland is real. “We want to be brave,” says student Tahira Sadisaidi. Reported by Renee Montagne and Produced by Jim Wildman for NPR's Morning Edition and The Hidden World of Girls.

We take a look at the life of Theresa Sparks, the former San Francisco Police Commissioner who last year ran for a seat on the SF Board of Supervisors.

Brook Spotted Eagle called us from the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. She told us about the Brave Heart Women’s Society and invited The Kitchen Sisters to their Isnati Coming of Age Ceremony for Girls.

A look into the created characters of today’s rising pop artists. Produced by Zoe Chace for NPR Music and The Hidden World of Girls.

Young brides in Northern Sudan have been performing the Bride Dance on, or near, their wedding nights for thousands of years. Today, plenty of Sudanese women reject it, saying they don’t want to debase themselves. Produced by NPR's Gwen Thompkins for The Hidden World of Girls

After the violent murder of her mother, photographer Deborah Luster takes thousands of haunting formal portraits of men and women incarcerated in Louisiana’s prisons. Working with poet CD Wright, she creates a project called One Big Self.

Science fiction writer Pat Cadigan sent us an email that inspired this story about her secret life with her best friend Rosemarie. It also includes selections from The Hidden World of Girls phone line.

Nigerian writer Chris Abani’s story about his English-born mother enlisting him at age 8 to be her translator in Nigeria as she travels door to door through the villages teaching women the Billings Ovulation Method of birth control.

Travellers. The people of walking. Sometimes called the gypsies of Ireland. They speak of non-Travellers as “the settled people.” Mistrusted for the most part and not well-understood. Nomads, moving in caravans, living in encampments on the side of the road. We listen to the stories of young Traveller women and explore some of the ancient and modern rituals clinging on the edge of the Celtic Boom.

Every culture has its idealized woman, its standard of beauty that is valorized. And everywhere around the world women are altering themselves in small and major ways to achieve the celebrated look. History is full of body altering cosmetic methods, both medical and homegrown, that help women attain this ideal — foot binding, corseting, liposuction, face lifts… In this story we travel to Jamaica,...

Groundbreaking writer, actress and comedian, Tina Fey comes to Public Radio to host The Hidden World of Girls, two new hour-long Specials inspired by the NPR series heard on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. From the dunes of the Sahara to a slumber party in Manhattan, from the dancehalls of Jamaica to a racetrack in Ramallah, Tina Fey takes us around the world into the secret life of gir...

Groundbreaking writer, actress and comedian, Tina Fey hosts The Hidden World of Girls, two new hour-long specials inspired by the NPR series heard on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. From the dunes of the Sahara to a slumber party in Manhattan, from the dancehalls of Jamaica to a racetrack in Ramallah, Tina Fey takes us around the world into the secret life of girls and the women they be...