Woman's Hour

Two women have told a BBC Panorama investigation they were raped during the filming of one of Channel 4's biggest shows, Married at First Sight UK, while a third has described an allegation of a non-consensual sex act. Channel 4 has now removed all episodes of the programme from its streaming and linear services and commissioned an external review of welfare on the show. The programme makers CPL have said its welfare system was ‘gold standard’. Nuala McGovern is joined by BBC News' Lizo Mzimba and Helen Wood, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Aston in Birmingham.
Many women live with fibromyalgia for life - chronic pain, exhaustion, brain fog - with no clear cure. But some doctors say that for women with breast implants, the story may be different. Rheumatology Professor Jan Willem Cohen Tervaer from the University of Alberta explains why some patients improve after their implants are removed, and why he believes the condition of Breast Implant Illness deserves recognition from the medical community. Nuala is also joined by Professor Lynda Wyld, President Elect of the Association of Breast Surgeons in the UK to explain the position currently held by the medical profession in the UK.
We discuss a new play that unfolds entirely in the ladies loos. April Hope Miller wrote and performs in ‘Flush’, it was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe and it’s just opened at the Arcola Theatre in London. April and co-star Jazz Jenkins tell Nuala why the real drama on any night out is always to be found in the women’s toilets. And why it took an ensemble cast of five, playing no less 16 different characters between them, to capture something universal about women's lives.
School closures in England may be disproportionately affecting children with special educational needs and disabilities. File on Four Investigates has been looking into this in the run up to government reforms of the SEND system, and Nuala is joined by BBC education reporter and former primary school teacher Hayley Clarke.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Helen Fitzhenry

The England Rugby team now has 38 straight victories, 8 Six Nations titles, the Rugby World Cup title and a world number one ranking after their latest victory in the Six Nations yesterday. The BBC pundit Ruby Tui said they may just be the best team ever, in any sport. But is their dominance hurting the game at large? Nuala is joined by Katy Daley-McLean, who was captain of the England team when they won the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup.
Folk and classical singer-songwriter Olivia Chaney has collaborated with some of the biggest names in folk music, including Shirley Collins and Richard Thompson, and her The Queen of Hearts collaborative album with the Decemberists was Grammy nominated. She discusses her current album and how it felt to have her music included in the box office hit film Wuthering Heights.
Vocal Break: On Women, Music and Power is the title of the new book from Lauren Elkin. For millennia women singing were cast as sirens: mythical creatures who lured sailors to their death. But in this part memoir, part feminist manifesto, Lauren Elkin explores how women from Cyndi Lauper to feminist punk rockstar Kathleen Hanna to Beyonce have used their voices as women to defy convention, genre, capitalism, racism and sexism.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Andrea Kidd

Women are being forced to turn to loan sharks due to a "hidden" but devastating form of economic abuse, according to new research. Scottish Women's Aid has published a study on the problem of coerced debt – where an abusive current or ex-partner builds up debt in their victim's name, either without consent or knowledge or through force, threat or coercion. Anita Rani is joined by Dr Jenn Glinski, author of the report and the national policy lead for economic abuse at Scottish Women's Aid, to talk about the report findings.
Menopause can be challenging for many women, but for those with ADHD, the experience can often feel like life is completely unravelling. For some women in their 40s, 50s and 60s it can also be the first time they realise they may have ADHD, as fluctuating hormones amplify their challenges with sleep, mood, attention and overwhelm. GP and Menopause expert Dr Helen Wall joined Anita to talk about her new book Menopause and ADHD, which aims to debunk some of the myths and support women navigating the combination.
A new medical device to assist at birth is now in use in eight NHS trusts in the UK and 40 hospitals in the whole of Europe. The OdonAssist can replace forceps in many situations and is a much gentler way to deliver a baby which is stuck in the birth canal. NHS Specialist registrar Dr Emily Hotton has worked on the UK clinical trials. She describes how the device works and why it can give a much better outcome for both mothers and babies.
M&S has announced that following a successful trial they are ditching the measuring tape for bra fittings. Other underwear retailers have done this for years, but how does it work fitting a bra by eye? Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, Professor of Biomechanics at Portsmouth University, and virtual bra fitter Katie Weir join Nuala McGovern to discuss.
Canwen Xu was born in China and moved to the US when she was two years old. She grew up in predominately white areas – North and South Dakota and Idaho. When she was 18 she gave a TEDx talk, titled, I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype, which has been watched more than 3.7 million times. Canwen joins Anita to discuss her debut novel - Boring Asian Female – and its themes of identity, ambition, failure, and obsession.
Love it or dread it, flat-pack furniture tests us all. But for Hayley McAuley from Wigan, it’s a sport - she’s just defended her title as Flatpack World Champion and tells Anita about the win.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Dianne McGregor

Menopause can be challenging for many women, but for those with ADHD, the experience can often feel like life is completely unravelling. For some women in their 40s, 50s and 60s it can also be the first time they realise they may have ADHD, as fluctuating hormones amplify their challenges with sleep, mood, attention and overwhelm. GP and Menopause expert Dr Helen Wall joins Anita to talk about her new book Menopause and ADHD, which aims to debunk some of the myths and support women navigating the combination.
A "cunning" and "manipulative" former imam in east London has been given a life sentence with a minimum prison term of 20 years for a series of sexual attacks on women and girls as young as 12. Abdul Halim Khan, 54, was described as having abused the trust and authority that came with his position to carry out attacks against seven victims from the local Muslim community between 2005 and 2014. Presenter Anita Rani is joined by BBC Religion editor, Aleem Maqbool, and Aisha K Gill, a professor of criminology at the University of Bristol and expert witness in the case.
Love it or dread it, flat-pack furniture tests us all. But for Hayley McAuley from Wigan, it’s a sport - she’s just defended her title as Flatpack World Champion and tells presenter Anita Rani how she did it.
The Government wants to change how women are sentenced, with new courts designed to keep them out of prison and stop them reoffending. Instead, women must commit to change and have regular check ins with a judge. They are called intensive supervision courts and the first is already running in Birmingham, now ministers want to roll them out more widely. We hear from Joy Doal of the women's centre Anawim, who helped set up the pilot, and criminologist Professor Simon Pemberton on whether they really work.
We meet the award-winning farmer running free workshops where food starts in the field, not a packet. Milly Fyfe has just been named Farming Woman of the Year at the National Women in Agriculture Awards. Her business, Countryside Kitchen, provides free workshops to show children how to shake cream to turn it into butter and teaches them exactly where their burgers and chicken nuggets come from.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Women are being forced to turn to loan sharks due to a "hidden" but devastating form of economic abuse, according to new research. Scottish Women's Aid has published a study on the problem of coerced debt – where an abusive current or ex-partner builds up debt in their victim's name, either without consent or knowledge or through force, threat or coercion. Anita Rani is joined by Dr Jenn Glinski, author of the report and the national policy lead for economic abuse at Scottish Women's Aid, to talk about the report findings.
Canwen Xu was born in China and moved to the US when she was two years old. She grew up in predominately white areas – North and South Dakota and Idaho. When she was 18 she gave a TEDx talk, titled, I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype, which has been watched more than 3.7 million times. Canwen joins Anita to discuss her debut novel - Boring Asian Female – and its themes of identity, ambition, failure, and obsession.
The Government is consulting on an outright ban of social media for under-16s, as well as other measures designed to stop teenagers accessing addictive and harmful material. In March in the US, a Los Angeles jury handed down an unprecedented win for a young woman who had sued Meta and Google over her childhood addiction to social media. So, what is social media addiction and how do you identify it in children? What’s the tipping point between a ‘keen interest’ and an addiction? Anita is joined by Dr Bernadka Dubicka, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, and Jenny Afia, a privacy and reputation lawyer for the law firm Schillings, who contributed to the UK Children’s Commissioner’s Digital Task Force.
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s musical production of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind has just transferred to London’s West End. Based on the true story of 13-year-old William Kamkwamba who, in drought-stricken Malawi, and despite the lack of support from those around him, dreamt of saving his village. Anita is joined by the director Lynette Linton, and Madeleine Appiah, who plays William’s mother.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Rebecca Myatt