Thrust onto the public stage at 15 years old after the Taliban’s brutal attack on her life, Malala Yousafzai became an international icon for resilience and bravery. Described as a reflection on a life of a woman finally taking charge of her destiny, her memoir Finding My Way has just been published. She joins Anita Rani in the Woman’s Hour studio.
There's a call to compensate women caught up in the scandal of faulty breast implants manufactured by a French company. The PIP scandal happened in 2012 when it emerged that the implants were filled with industrial silicone instead of medical grade silicone. The implants are far more likely to rupture than others. MPs on the Women’s and Equalities Committee have been hearing calls for compensation during their inquiry into the health impacts of breast implants and other cosmetic procedures. Jan Spivey from PIP Action Campaign and Professor Carl Heneghan from The Centre for Evidence Based Medicine join us to discuss this.
What if all your dreams come true and you still find yourself a bit grumpy? That’s the brilliantly blunt question at the heart of Laura Smyth's stand-up tour, Born Aggy. Laura’s journey into comedy wasn’t exactly textbook. She left behind a career in teaching, was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer that same year and - just two weeks after finishing treatment - was on stage in Live at the Apollo. She joins Nuala McGovern in the studio.
Choreographer and artist Amina Khayyam tells Anita about her new dance-theatre work, Bibi Rukiya’s Reckless Daughter, which opens soon in London after a national tour. It explores how patriarchy is enforced not only by men, but across generations of women, within family structures.
Singer, actor and performer, Petula Clark’s career has spanned over eight decades. She sang to wartime troops in the 40s, was a 1950s child star, became a European musical icon before conquering America with her No 1 hit Downtown. She starred in Hollywood movies alongside Fred Astaire and performed on stage in musicals including The Sound of Music, Sunset Boulevard and most recently Mary Poppins. Her autobiography - Is That You, Petula? is out now and she joins Nuala to look back at her long career.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Simon Richardson
