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Woman's Hour

Iran hijab bill, BMX champion, CIISA, Doon Mackichan, Maternity in Sierra Leone

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 21 September 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Iran’s parliament has approved the Hijab and Chastity Bill, under which women will face up to 10 years in prison if they defy the country’s mandatory hijab rules. This comes a year after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who was detained by Iran's morality police for allegedly violating rules requiring women to cover their hair. Emma Barnett speaks to Samaneh Savadi, an Iranian feminist activist who specialises in international law.

A new independent standards body, the Creative Industry Independent Standards Authority, is being set up in the UK so that concerns over behaviour can be raised and investigated confidentially. Emma talks to its CEO, Jen Smith.

Sarah-Jane Nichols, former BMX racing world champion, talks to Emma about qualifying for the world championships 36 years after she first retired from the sport.

Since the 1980s, the comedian and actor Doon Mackichan has been a TV regular, starring in programmes like Two Doors Down, Smack the Pony and Brass Eye. She has also played plenty of roles on stage. Doon talks to Emma about her recollections of those parts and dissects how today’s culture still expects women to adhere to stereotypes, some of which she refuses to act out, as described  in her memoir, My Lady Parts.

Isata Dumbuya is a midwife who is striving to reduce maternal mortality rates in Sierra Leone, a country where 717 in 100,000 women die in childbirth every year. She has dedicated her career to helping mothers-to-be and joins Emma to talk about the new maternal centre she is setting up.

Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Rebecca Myatt Studio manager: Steve Greenwood

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

0:05.2

Hello, I'm Emma Barnett and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4.

0:09.8

Good morning and welcome to the programme.

0:12.0

We're apparently living in a country that's unrecognizable

0:15.0

from 40 years ago in terms of our social and liberal attitudes.

0:19.6

This picture of dramatic change has been gleaned

0:21.7

from the annual British Social Attitude Survey,

0:24.6

which is marking its 40th year of mapping the country's cultural

0:28.5

and political landscape, on issues such as same-sex marriage through to

0:32.9

who does the housework.

0:34.6

And while there are many advancements, on that latter point,

0:38.4

still two-thirds of respondents to that survey say women do most of the cleaning and cooking.

0:44.7

That's despite the majority of people who responded saying household chores

0:48.1

should be better shared.

0:49.7

You may have something to say about that, you may.

0:52.5

But today I'm going to be joined by one woman who probably doesn't have much time

0:56.8

in the way for domestic chores as she's busy back on her BMX.

1:00.9

Today I'm going to be talking to Sarah J. Nichols,

1:03.2

the former World BMX champion about getting back on her bike competitively

1:07.7

now in her 50s and taking leave from her job at a school where she's usually cleaning there.

1:13.6

And instead, heading to try and get a podium spot to the world championships.

1:18.1

What a contrast.

...

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