The Sunday Times' Christina Lamb on the women involved in the war effort in Ukraine. We look at the trend of brides having their long hair cut into bobs before re-emerging with new hair at their wedding. Kyrelle Burton of Devon Wedding Hair, did her first mid-wedding chop for a bride last year. Molly Duane is the senior lawyer for the US-based Center for Reproductive Rights who are challenging Texas state law on abortion on behalf of more than a dozen women. The case is regarded as...

A woman who was stalked by her husband and then placed into witness protection with a new identity to escape him, says she feels like she's the one being punished. She's complained to the police about the way her case was handled after being told she failed an assessment and was no longer being supported by them in her new life. She spoke to our reporter Melanie Abbott, and says she felt completely cut adrift. We hear her story of how she had to uproot her two children and start a new life...

Two female journalists in Iran are on trial for covering the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini, the Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in custody last year sparking protests across the country and months of unrest and shocked the world. Mahsa was arrested and charged with not covering her hair properly and then reportedly so severely beaten she fell into a coma. Niloofar Homedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were among the first to report on her death; a photo taken by Niloofar for the Shargh daily...

A woman who was stalked by her husband and then placed into witness protection with a new identity to escape him, says she feels like she's the one being punished. She's complained to the police about the way her case was handled after being told she failed an assessment and was no longer being supported by them in her new life. She spoke to our reporter Melanie Abbott, and says she felt completely cut adrift. We hear her story of how she had to uproot her two children and start a new life...

When Rebecca Perry was growing up, she competed nationally and internationally as a trampolinist.  She went on to become a published poet and has now ventured into non-fiction with a beautifully written  memoir, On Trampolining.  She joins Nuala in the studio. A new report by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has highlighted a gender pension gap between what men and women are living on in retirement. The estimate it’s currently running at 40.5%, which is more than double the current gender...

As figures show more than a third of parents are using debt to pay for childcare, Nuala will be meeting two women who’ve gone deep into the red to pay nursery fees in order to maintain a career and discussing whether the financial risk has been worth it. The government has announced that it is set to close what it calls an ‘unacceptable’ loophole which allows e-cigarettes to be given to teenagers - a ban on nicotine free products to under 18s is also being considered. Research by NHS Digital...

Why do we lie? And what is happening in our brain when we do it? Nuala asks psychologist Dr Sharon Leal, Senior Research Fellow and Member of the International Centre for Research in Forensic Psychology at the University of Portsmouth and Professor Tali Sharot, director of the Affective Brain Lab. a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, and the author of The Optimism Bias. A 2019 study by Portsmouth University found that men were more than twice as likely to...

A recent survey of a thousand teenage girls has found that nearly half of them have struggled to access products at school. On Sunday a Period Parade will make its way through London to call for continued support to combat period inequality and shame. We hear from Emily Wilson - the International chief executive of I Rise, a period-equality charity. Dr. Katriona O’Sullivan grew up as one of five children living in dire poverty, surrounded by addiction. She is now an award winning lecturer,...

In the last two years Turkey has withdrawn from the Istanbul Convention which "creates a comprehensive legal framework and approach to combat violence against women" and at the same time international observers have raise concerns over femicide rates in the country as well as violence against women and girls. Anita Rani talks to the independent journalist Barcin Yinanc and Ravza Kavakci from Erdogan’s ruling AKP party. A recent survey of a thousand teenage girls has found that nearly...

Tributes are being paid to the Queen of Rock n Roll, Tina Turner, who has died aged 83 after a long illness. Turner became one of the world's most famous music icons, known for her smash hits What's Love Got to Do With It , We Don't Need Another Hero and The Best. To pay tribute to this music legend, Anita is joined by the music journalist Jacqueline Springer and Dhivya Kate Chetty, the director of When Tina Turner Came to Britain. More than a million people have been displaced over the last...

After more than seven years taking evidence, six months ago the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published their final report which put forward 20 recommendations for the government. This week the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, announced they had accepted 19 of those put forward. Professor Alexis Jay, who chaired the IICSA for seven years, joins Nuala to explain why she is deeply disappointed with their response. Dr. Katriona O’Sullivan grew up as one of five children living in...

According to a new report from Adoption UK nearly half of families with adopted children aged 13 to 25 say they are at ‘crisis point’ or ‘facing severe challenges’. Author, Becky Brooks, discusses her report alongside Clare, a parent of adopted children. Indian women wrestlers have been living on the streets of Delhi in protest after they accused their sport's federation's top official of sexual harassment and abuse. There is just three months until the World Championships and the Asian...

Starting on BBC Two, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer tonight, Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland gives voice to the people who lived through the Troubles, sharing intimate stories from all sides of the conflict. The series airs today on the anniversary of the referendum that ratified the Good Friday Agreement, on 22nd May 1998. Nuala is joined by two women, Denise and Bernadette, who chose to take part in the series to share their stories. As the Online Safety Bill progresses through...

Psychiatrists say they’re worried that some people with eating disorders are being offered palliative care. They say an eating disorder is not a terminal illness and most people can recover. Our reporter Carolyn Atkinson speaks to two women who currently have an eating disorder, and reports on what charities and professionals are saying about recover, and Hayley talks to mental health campaigner Hope Virgo about her experience. Karen Millen started setting up her fashion brand just after she...

The American singer/songwriter Kesha’s first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single "Right Round". She’s since had two number one albums and nine top ten singles including Tik Tok, We R Who We R, "Your Love Is My Drug," "Die Young, and "Timber" with Pitbull. She has earned two GRAMMY nominations. Today she releases her latest album – Gag Order. She joins Anita to discuss the themes of love, anxiety and spiritual awakening. In a new study...

Erika Lust makes adult films that focus on female pleasure, diversity and what she calls ethical production. She has big ideas about how to change the porn industry and joins Anita Rani in the studio to discuss them. Karen Millen, creator of the eponymous fashion brand has created a new collection over 40-years after she set up her first shop. She sold the business in 2004, but in later years she filed for bankruptcy. Now aged 61, Millen is returning to designing clothes. She joins Anita to...

Bafta-winning actor Suranne Jones is back on our screens with Maryland, a three-part drama about two sisters discovering that their mother was leading a secret life. Suranne, who plays the younger sister Becca, is also executive producer on the series. She joins Hayley to explain how the idea, which came to her in a dream, made it onto the small screen. A new law to be tabled in Parliament today would abolish no-fault evictions and make it illegal for landlords to refuse tenancies to...

Tanya Ednan-Laperouse and Emma Turay are two women who lost their teenage daughters due to severe allergic reactions to food they had eaten. They are calling for the government to put in a place an ‘allergy tsar’ to prevent what they say are unnecessary deaths and illnesses. They explain their demands to Hayley Hassall. 'Ejaculate Responsibly: The conversation We Need to Have about Men and Contraception' is a stirring manifesto by American writer and award winning parenting blogger Gabrielle...

In their book What I Wish I’d Known When I Was Young, they interview the likes of Ruth Davidson and Mary Portas and explore the psychology behind their experiences. Hayley is joined by Alice Thomson and also by the science writer David Robson, who investigates the potential issues with the psychological concept of Post-Traumatic Growth. The latest political workplace scandal centres around Plaid Cymru in Wales where the party’s leader Adam Price has resigned after a report described it as...

Masih Alinejad, Iranian American journalist, women's rights campaigner and a Time Woman of the Year 2023, is an outspoken critic of the Iranian government. She joins Anita to talk about her fight for women's rights in Iran. ‘Just Saying’ is a memoir by the bestselling author Malorie Blackman, former Children’s Laureate, best known for her Noughts & Crosses series for young adults. Malorie received eighty-two rejection letters before she finally found a publisher. Seventy published books...

In her latest stage role Dame Maureen Lipman plays Rose in a one-woman memory play with its Jewish heroine sitting Shiva – mourning for the many dead, and moving through Jewish twentieth century history. On stage alone for two hours, her performance has already sparked two sell out runs in London and Manchester, and now she’s back in the West End for a month. Maureen joins Anita live in the Woman’s Hour studio. Blended families are created for all sorts of reasons. Because of break-ups or...

Masih Alinejad, Iranian American journalist, women's rights campaigner and a Time Woman of the Year 2023, is an outspoken critic of the Iranian government. She joins Anita to talk about her fight for women's rights in Iran. The winners of Race Across The World on BBC1, where travellers made it to a destination, choosing any route they liked, but with no flights or phones allowed. For this third series, those involved travelled from West to East Canada. Cathie Rowe and Tricia Sail celebrate...

Just Saying’ is a memoir by the bestselling author Malorie Blackman, former Children’s Laureate, best known for her Noughts & Crosses series for young adults. Malorie received eighty-two rejection letters before she finally found a publisher. Seventy published books later it is no exaggeration to say that Malorie Blackman has changed the face of British literature forever. Malorie joins Nuala to discuss her life and works. Donald Trump says he will appeal the verdict of a New York...

Most of us are familiar with the story of Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl who wrote a diary while hiding from the Nazis with her family, in Amsterdam during the Second World War. You are probably less familiar with the name of the woman who agreed to keep them safe in those secret attic rooms. Miep Gies was Otto’s secretary, and when they were eventually located and sent to their deaths, it was Miep who found Anne’s diary and kept it. A new TV series tells the whole story from Miep’s...