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Woman's Hour Politics Poll, Joan Armatrading

What do women think about the general election? And why is the NHS is their main concern? Plus Joan Armatrading and child-free holidays. Presented by Jane Garvey.

We reveal the findings of new research the programme commissioned into what women make of British politics and we hear a group of women in South London discuss politics and politicians. And as the NHS is the top area of concern for women voters we hear from GP Catherine Glass and Jennifer Dixon from The Health Foundation.
Joan Armatrading, the first black female singer-songwriter to gain prominence on the British music scene, on finding inspiration and making it in the music industry on her own terms.
Should a woman in her 20s be given a sterilisation on the NHS if she has decided that she never wants children? We discuss.
Zarqa Nawaz is a British -Canadian writer and broadcaster. She tells us how she's managed to mix comedy and issues in Islamic culture. From childhood Roma Agrawal dreamt of building sky scrapers she tells us how she ended up designing the top of the London Shard. Beverley Turner and Siobhan McNally on going on holiday without children.

Presented by Jane Garvey.
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Jane Thurlow.

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58 minutes

Last on

Sat 7 Feb 2015 16:00
大象传媒 Radio 4

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What Do Women Think About The General Election?

Woman's Hour discusses the results of research it has commissioned into what women make of British politics and their lives. We hear about the issues women care about, how they're feeling as the election approaches - and what the differences are between men and women. We ask what it might mean for the political parties who are after women's votes.

Joan Armatrading

Joan Armatrading was one of the first black female singer-songwriters to gain prominence on the British music scene in the 1970s.听 This month she starts the British leg of a major world tour 鈥� her last of such scale and first performing solo.听 She talks to Jane about the inspiration behind her music, being a woman in a male dominated industry, and why privacy means so much to her.

Sterilisation in Your Twenties

Should a woman in her 20s be offered a sterilisation on the NHS if she has decided that she never wants children? 听Holly Brockwell, 29, has been refused sterilisation four times since she first asked her GP for it, aged 26. Helen Kara now 50 was sterilised aged 32 and has never regretted it. Susanna Starling thinks that the NHS is right to discourage sterilisation in young women. NHS guidelines leave the ultimate decision on whether or not to grant a non-medically necessary sterilisation up to the discretion of the surgeon responsible, but is their general reluctance to perform them on young women justified?

Election Issue 1: NHS

A poll for Woman鈥檚 Hour to look at how women voters are feeling ahead of the general election put the NHS as their top area of concern. Jenni looks at what that means for patients, their relatives, people working in the NHS and policy makers. With Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of The Health Foundation; G.P. Dr. Catherine Glass and Branwyn Jeffreys 大象传媒 Health Correspondent.

See the poll results in full at:

Zarqa Nawaz

Zarqa Nawaz is a British-Canadian writer and broadcaster. She is most well-known for creating the first comedy about a Muslim family living in the West. Her work focuses on the issues in Islamic culture, such as sexism, often in a comical fashion. Her comical memoir 鈥淟aughing All the Way to the Mosque鈥� will be available in the UK from 5th February.

Women in Construction

From childhood structural engineer Roma Agrawal dreamt of building sky scrapers. She talks to Jenni about how she ended up designing the top of the London Shard.

Going on Holiday Without your Kids

Next week is the start of half term for many families with many using the week to set off on holiday with their children. But is ever ok to plan and book a child-free break and jet off without your children? Jenni speaks to journalist Siobhan McNally about the negative reaction she often gets when she tells people she takes a holiday every year without her young daughter and to broadcaster Beverley Turner who says she can鈥檛 face the shock and condemnation of her family and friends when suggesting of a child free holiday.听

Credits

Presenter Jane Garvey
Interviewed Guest Catherine Glass
Interviewed Guest Jennifer Dixon
Interviewed Guest Joan Armatrading
Interviewed Guest Zarqa Nawaz
Interviewed Guest Roma Agrawal
Interviewed Guest Beverley Turner
Interviewed Guest Siobhan McNally
Producer Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor Jane Thurlow

Broadcast

  • Sat 7 Feb 2015 16:00
    大象传媒 Radio 4

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  • Woman's Hour

    Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.