'Molly vs the Machines' doc, Female Afghan Ambassador, Maternity care, Cleopatra re-imagined
Woman's Hour
BBC
4.1 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2026
⏱️ 59 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
An interim report from Baroness Amos, who is leading a government-commissioned review into NHS maternity care in England, says maternity services are failing "too many" families, with problems "at every stage" of the maternity journey. Six factors were highlighted including racism, staffing and accountability issues. To give their reactions, Anita Rani is joined by the film-maker and activist Pippa Bennett-Warner and Theo Clarke, parent and campaigner and formerly a Member of Parliament, who suffered from birth trauma and gave evidence to Baroness Amos' investigation this week.
Molly vs the Machines is a new feature-length documentary that tells the story of Ian Russell and his fight for online safety, after his daughter Molly took her own life in 2017 following months of viewing content relating to self-harm and suicide on social media. The film recreates the inquest where Ian was told the online images were safe and follows twin narratives – the story of what happened to Molly in the lead-up to her tragic death, and the broader economic logic behind AI and giant tech companies as they continue to shape and influence lives. Molly’s friends Charlotte Campbell and Sophie Conlan tell Anita why it was important for them to take part in the film.
Last week the Taliban published a new penal code and women's rights groups have said that women and girls in particular are set to suffer at the hands of the courts in Afghanistan. Anita is joined by Mahjooba Nowrouzi, a senior journalist for the BBC’s Afghan Service and Manizha Bakhtari, who was the Afghan Ambassador to Austria until the Taliban took control in 2021. She continues to be an Ambassador, but without a country, representing the Afghan people against the Taliban's order. She remains accredited in Vienna, and works with a renewed focus on advocating for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. She's the subject of a new documentary The Last Ambassador.
Fantasy fiction author Saara El‑Arifi’s new novel Cleopatra is a bold re-imagining of one of history’s most iconic women, Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt from 51 BC - 30 BC, a woman celebrated for her beauty and her love affairs with the Roman warlords Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. El-Arifi's Cleopatra is not confined by the limits set by men or society. She reclaims Cleopatra’s story through the perspective of a Black woman and gives voice to the queen behind the myth.
Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rebecca Myatt
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | I'm no longer ravenous. I'll no longer eat until I fall asleep. |
| 0:11.0 | The Hunger Game, a new five-part series exploring the meteoric rise of weight loss drugs. |
| 0:16.0 | It's been an incredible story with these drugs. |
| 0:18.1 | The uptake, the amount of product that's been sold, the amounts of |
| 0:20.9 | money is cost. What the drugs do, how they work, and the knock-on effects of their widespread use. |
| 0:26.5 | We'll be sitting here in three years' time going, oh, it caused problems that we're now going |
| 0:31.3 | to have to fix. The Hunger Game with me, Professor Gilesio. Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:38.2 | Hello, I'm Neula McGovern, and you're listening to The Woman's Hour podcast. |
| 0:43.1 | And while you're here, I wanted to let you know that the Woman's Hour Guide to Life is back. |
| 0:49.0 | You might have listened to some of the episodes from the first series, including ambition without burnout, or turning |
| 0:55.4 | aging into your superpower. Well, we've got six new episodes for you over the coming |
| 1:00.9 | weeks that will give you practical tips on issues like self-promotion without feeling awkward, |
| 1:07.1 | caring for aging parents, navigating infertility with family and friends, and also how to love your face, |
| 1:15.4 | whatever your age. I'm really excited about this series of The Woman's Hour Guide to Life, |
| 1:21.3 | so I really hope you'll join us. You will find the episodes in the Woman's Hour podcast feed on Sundays. |
| 1:27.4 | It's only on BBC Sounds. But now, back to in the Woman's Hour podcast feed on Sundays. It's only on BBC Sounds. |
| 1:29.7 | But now, back to today's Woman's Hour with Anita Rani. |
| 1:34.3 | Good morning and welcome to the program. |
| 1:36.9 | We'll be turning our attention to Afghanistan, where the Taliban have introduced a new penal code. |
| 1:43.0 | I'll be finding out how this will impact the lives of women and girls. |
| 1:46.2 | And I'll be joined by Manizya Bhaktari, who was the Afghan ambassador to Austria |
... |
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