Joan Armatrading, Spare Rib and Virago at 50, Defra Minister Victoria Prentis MP, Mermaids

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture, Health & Fitness, Personal Journals

4.2 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 7 June 2022

⏱️ 57 minutes

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Summary

The singer songwriter Joan Armatrading received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection in 1996. Best known for hits such as Love And Affection, Me Myself I and Drop The Pilot, she has released more than 20 studio albums. Later this week Joan will receive The Music Producers Guild Outstanding Contribution Award. She joins Emma to discuss her music and this latest achievement. 50 years ago this month the first edition of the iconic feminist magazine Spare Rib was published. It set out to offer an alternative to existing women’s magazines at a time when the women’s liberation movement was challenging women’s secondary place in society. Also in that year - 1972 – and inspired by its founders, Rosie Boycott and Marsha Rowe, Carmen Callil founded Virago – the book publisher which still gives a voice and platform to female writers today. Tonight a party is being held at the British Library in celebration, and Emma is joined by all three women. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won the backing of a majority of Tory MPs in a confidence vote despite a significant revolt against his leadership. He won 59% of the vote, meaning he is now immune from a Conservative leadership challenge for a year. In all, 211 Tory MPs voted they had confidence in the PM's leadership while 148 voted against him. We've since heard from a number of male MPs, but where are all the female MPs? Vanishingly few women from the Conservative Party have spoken publicly on this - especially from the rebel side. Emma is joined by Victoria Prentis, Minister of State for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. Every year HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria kill more than 5 million people. Much has been done to try to eradicate these diseases, and international donor funds are intent on curing them by 2030. The UK has historically been one of the main donors, but due to the covid-19 pandemic, priorities have shifted and some funds have been redirected. The Kenyan campaigner Maurine Murenga, who lives with HIV herself, is asking for the international community to bring their attention back to these deadly diseases. She joins Emma in the studio. If you happened to be strolling along the seafront at Plymouth at the start of the Jubilee weekend you may have looked down and spotted a very large gathering of mermaids sunning themselves. Pauline Barker organised the event to kick off celebrations in the city by the sea, and to try and break a Guiness world record - she tells Emma how it went.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:05.3	Hello, I'm Emma Barnett and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4.
0:10.8	Good morning, welcome to the programme. Welcome to Woman's Hour, where women who are seen
0:16.1	labelled as rebellious or difficult are always welcome. In fact, actively encouraged and
0:21.0	we have a number of them as guests today. Or certainly, that's what others have labelled
0:25.2	them. I'm joined by Rosie Boycott and Marsha Roe, the founders of the iconic feminist
0:29.6	spare rib magazine and Carmen Collille, who founded Virago, the book publisher which gives
0:34.4	a voice and platform to female writers. Because this year marks 50 years since both were
0:40.6	created and as a party this evening. Perhaps in contrast, it's also striking to note
0:45.9	how few of the conservative rebels speaking publicly since the result of that no confidence
0:51.2	vote last night, which the Prime Minister won, are female. You could be forgiven for thinking
0:56.7	it was only men making up the 148 rebels who voted against the Prime Minister who have
1:02.1	been dominating their waves ever since. We have invited a number of women on this morning
1:07.7	from that side of it, if you like. But none have said yes. But you will hear from one of Boris
1:12.7	Johnson's supporters, female supporters, I should say, a Minister of Victoria of
1:16.8	Prentice shortly. But my question to you today, staying with the idea of rebellious women
1:22.4	or women labeled as difficult, has that happened to you? Why? Have you had to own it? Do
1:29.7	you want to own it? How have you styled it out if you've had to? And what was it for?
1:34.5	Tell me some of those stories because I bet you weren't being that difficult at times.
1:38.0	That's an educated guess. You can text me here on Women's Hour at Women's Hour rather
1:42.1	on 84844. Text will be charged to your standard message rate on social media at BBC Women's
1:48.2	Hour. Is how you need to get in touch or email me through the Women's Hour website. I may
	...

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