The Conversation

Nigeria is a country where women take leading roles in business, media and the arts yet for many, feminism is a filthy word. The country recently went to the polls and out of a list of 73 presidential candidates just eight of them were women. One of them, Eunice Atuejide sparked a fierce debate when she announced, “I am not a feminist”. She went on to say, “And who is a feminist? So what is Nigerian feminism? This is a country that has a history of legendary women, from the warrior Queen Amina of Zazzau to the 1929 ‘Women’s War’ where thousands of women came out in protest against British tax collections. Yet according to a recent UNICEF report, one in four girls in the country have experienced sexual violence, while 23% of women between the ages of 18 and 24 have experienced physical or sexual violence in the home. The Conversation has come to Lagos to meet a panel of successful and outspoken women, each leaders in their field, to challenge pre-conceptions and break some myths about what it means to be a woman in Nigeria. They discuss the highs and lows of their experiences with an audience of some of the sharpest young minds of the future, students from the University of Lagos.Fatima Zahra Umar is a lawyer, writer and gender activist behind the popular blog #DivorceDiaries. Ijeoma Umebinyuo is described as one of the top ten contemporary poets from Sub-Saharan Africa. Ijeoma says "I am always sharpening the blade of my pen". Bisola Aiyeola is a Nollywood actress, singer and Reality TV star. Oluwaseun Osowobi is the founder and Executive Director of 'The Stand to End Rape Initiative'. She is also 2019's Commonwealth Young Person of the Year for her role in fighting gender based violence.There is also a special ‘anonymous’ guest appearance by storyteller, blogger and cultural commentator ‘Diary of a Naija Girl’.Presented by Kim Chakanetsa and produced by Andrea Kennedy.Image (L-R): Fatima Zahra Umar (Credit: Ami Mansur), Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi (Credit: Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi), Ijeoma Umebinyuo (Credit: Ijeoma Umebinyuo), Bisola Aiyeola (Credit: TMPL)

Empowering women with self-defence skills is the aim of our two guests, who have both adapted traditional martial arts to create classes for women. They tell Celia Hatton about the transformation they see in their students when they first realise their own strength, and the power of self defence to change lives. They also discuss the potential danger of putting the onus on women to deal with violence, rather than tackling the problem of the perpetrators.Catalina Carmona Balvin runs The School of Self Defence for Women in Bogotá, Colombia, a country which has high levels of street harassment and domestic violence. Catalina teaches a form of Hapkido, a Korean martial art characterized by its emphasis on deflecting an opponent’s attacks instead of on forceful blocking, but she makes sure her classes provide a fun, safe environment, more inspired by salsa dancing than by hard-core, macho moves.Susie Kahlich runs an organisation in Berlin called Pretty Deadly, which teaches self-defence courses tailored for women. Originally from the US, Susie turned to martial arts after she became a victim of violent crime in Los Angeles nearly 20 years go. Susie invites her students to wear whatever clothes they would usually wear, from long skirts to headscarves, in order to make the moves easily adaptable to everyday scenarios.L: Catalina Carmona Balvin (credit: Andrés Epifanio Becerra García) R: Susie Kahlich (credit: Sahand Zamani)

Protecting lions in Kenya and grizzly bears in the US - two women tell Kim Chakanetsa about their experiences and achievements in the male-dominated field of wildlife conservation.When Shivani Bhalla realised that lions - her country's national symbol - were in trouble, she established a project in northern Kenya to protect them. She works with the whole community to prevent lion deaths. This includes the traditional Samburu women, who are leading their own conservation efforts under the title of Mama Simba, which means Mother of Lions.Louisa Willcox has spent the last three decades battling to protect the grizzly bear population in the US. In 2018 she helped get the bears back onto the endangered species list, meaning that planned trophy hunts on state lands had to be cancelled. There are around 700 grizzlies left in the Greater Yellowstone area, and Louisa says the females count the most, because they hold the key to recovery.L-Background image: Lion Credit: Ewaso Lions L-Image: Shivani Bhalla Credit: Nina Fascione R-Image: Louisa Willcox Credit: Louisa Willcox R-Background image: Grizzly bear Credit: Richard Spratley

Ireland voted in two ground-breaking referendums in the last five years. The same sex marriage referendum and Irish abortion referendum have changed the lives of many women in the country forever. And the campaigns continue. The Irish people are expected to go the ballot again to vote on removing a clause from the Irish Constitution that effectively says a woman’s place is in the home. The Conversation has gone to Dublin Castle to meet a panel of successful and outspoken influencers, each a trailblazer in their field and responsible for pushing the boundaries of what women are allowed to have and achieve. They discuss life after the referendums, and what’s next in the fight for equality in Ireland in front of a lively audience. Ailbhe Smyth is a veteran feminist activist who led the Repeal the 8th Campaign and founded ‘Marriage Equality’ to fight for the rights of same sex couples to marryStefanie Preissner is a best-selling author, screenwriter and playwright and the creator of Ireland’s hit TV series ‘Can’t Cope Won’t Cope’Nicci Daly is an Irish Hockey star, Motorsport engineer and founder of ‘Formula Females’, a campaign to promote women in motor racingDil Wickremasinghe is a ground-breaking broadcaster in mainstream Irish media who publically called out sexism in the workplace in 2017Presented by Kim Chakanetsa and produced by Sarah Kendal and Andrea KennedyImage (L-R): Ailbhe Smyth (Credit: Paul McCarthy/GCN), Nicci Daly (Credit: Morgan Treacy/Inpho), Stefanie Preissner (Credit: Emily Quinn) and Dil Wickremasinghe (Credit: Dena Shearer)

Two female scientists won Nobel Prizes in 2018, which was unprecedented in a single year. They join Kim Chakanetsa to discuss the whirlwind that followed their wins, their ground-breaking research, and how they believe more women can be recognised for their work.At a glittering ceremony in Stockholm in December 2018, Canadian Donna Strickland became the first woman for 55 years to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. One of the world’s leading laser physicists, based at the University of Waterloo, she was recognised for her co-invention of Chirped Pulse Amplification, a technique that has since been used as part of laser eye surgery and in the creation of smartphone screens. Donna is honoured to become one of just three women to ever win this award, but says she can't speak for all women.At the same ceremony, Frances Arnold became the fifth woman, and the first American woman, to win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. From her lab at Caltech, Frances pioneered the directed evolution of enzymes, which has led to a wide range of more cleanly and cheaply made products, from laundry detergents to biofuels and medicines. She says that change for women in science cannot come fast enough, and she hopes that these two wins are 'the beginning of a steady stream' of recognition for female scientists.L-Image: Donna Strickland Credit: University of Waterloo R-Image: Frances Arnold Credit: Caltech

How do women handle high stakes hostage crises and complex conflicts? Kim Chakanetsa brings together two women who have successfully worked with some of the most dangerous men in the world in order to diffuse a kidnap situation or to try to rehabilitate them back into the community. Sue Williams is a British hostage negotiator who, over a career spanning almost three decades, has overseen the successful resolution of hundreds of hostage crises. During her time with the UK's Metropolitan Police, she was in charge of both the Kidnap and the Hostage Crisis Negotiation Units. She now works independently, mainly for NGOs and charities operating in dangerous parts of the world. Fatima Akilu is a Nigerian psychologist whose work centres on the fall-out from the brutal Boko Haram insurgency in the country’s North East. Since 2009, the militant Islamist group has inflicted a relentless stream of suicide bombings, beheadings and kidnappings in the region. As Director of the Neem Foundation, Fatima works with victims as well as perpetrators in an effort to reintegrate them into the community.L: Dr Fatima Akilu (credit: Dr Fatima Akilu) R: Sue Williams (credit: BBC)

How do you tackle cyber bullying? Do feminists hate men? And what has #MeToo done for Pakistan? These are just some of the questions tackled by the all-female panel brought together for this special edition of The Conversation, recorded in front of an audience of Karachi University Students from the Institute of Business Administration.Pakistan is placed second to last in the latest Global Gender Gap Index, beaten only by war-ravaged Yemen, and yet it has also voted in a female Prime Minister, had female generals within the armed forces and a strong feminist movement ever since its birth in 1947. Many of the issues women face here are the same as those faced by women across the world but the stakes can be very high. How a woman behaves in public can, in extreme cases, be a matter of life or death.On the panel are:Faiza Saleem – pioneering comedian and founder of the first female stand-up group in the countryHajra Khan – The first Pakistani, male or female, to have been signed by a foreign football club and captain of the women’s national football teamMahira Khan – Pakistan’s biggest female film star the award winning actressNighat Dad - set-up Pakistan’s first cyber bullying helpline and lawyer involved in Pakistan’s first #MeToo casePresented by Kim Chakanetsa and produced by Andrea KennedyImage: Faiza Saleem, Mahira Khan, Hajra Khan and Nighat Dad (L-R) Credit: Faiza Saleem, Huma Akram, Shakeel Bin Afzal and Nighat Dad (L-R)

What is it really like to go undercover as a woman? Our two guests set out to better understand the sex trafficking trade, and to gain deeper insight into life in North Korea. Suki Kim and Mimi Chakarova talk to Kim Chakanetsa about how they did it, and the challenges they faced.Suki Kim is an investigative journalist and novelist who was born and raised in South Korea. Her bestselling 2014 book, 'Without You, There Is No Us', describes the six months she spent undercover in Pyongyang, teaching the sons of North Korea’s elite at a private university, in the final days of Kim Jong-il’s reign. She says that when the book came out she was surprised by the reaction of her fellow journalists, who chose to focus on what they saw as her 'deception and lies' rather than the unique insights she had gathered on this highly secretive society.Bulgarian-American photographer and filmmaker Mimi Chakarova posed as a sex worker to investigate how women are trafficked in Europe and the Middle East for her 2011 documentary, 'The Price of Sex'. She says going undercover was terrifying, but it was the only way as a woman she could access brothels and sex clubs. Her brief forays covertly filming in those places gave her some idea of what life was like for the women who had been sold into that world. Mimi's most recent project, Still I Rise, celebrates people who persevere in spite of their struggles.Image: L - Mimi Chakarova Credit: Stefania Rousselle R - Suki Kim Credit: Ed Kashi VII

What difference does it make when women run universities? There are many higher education leaders who champion the idea of diversity, but few of them truly embody it, so the view from the top is still largely pale and male. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women who are shaking things up in their institutions in the United States and Ecuador.Ana Mari Cauce is the first woman, the first Latina and the first openly gay president of the University of Washington in Seattle, US. She says it’s important to remember that universities began as monastic institutions built with men in mind, and she often finds that they still struggle to adapt to the presence of women.Cecilia Paredes Verduga is the first female Rector of the highest-ranking public university in Ecuador, ESPOL (Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral). With a background in the male-dominated field of engineering and in a country with a culture of machismo, Cecilia feels it's important to be herself in the role and to say things as they are.L Cecilia Paredes Verduga (credit: Jose Javier Roldos) R Ana Mari Cauce (credit: University of Washington)

What’s it like to grow up away from your family? Two women who spent part of their childhoods in care tell Kim Chakanetsa how they look back on that time, and how the experience has shaped them as adults.As a child, Rukhiya Budden experienced terrible neglect and abuse growing up in an orphanage in Kenya. Today she campaigns for orphanages to be abolished worldwide, as she believes such institutions can never provide the level of care that children really need.Following her mother’s death, Hayley Kemp was left at a children's home by her father, who had told her they were going to the dentist’s; she was eight years old. She remembers her year in the home as the happiest time in her childhood. She says that growing up in care has drawn her to work with refugees, as she finds it easy to empathise with their sense of displacement.(L) Image and credit: Hayley Kemp (R) Rukhiya Budden (credit: Hope and Homes for Children)