麻豆约拍

Jo Swinson became a minister in the coalition government two years ago when she became Women and Equalities Minister and Minister for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs. She has worked on equal pay, flexible working and shared parental leave. Next May, when the Liberal Democrats fight in the General Election they will be doing so on the basis of what they鈥檝e done in government, as well as their own party鈥檚 political offer to voters. Jane talks to Jo Swinson about the party鈥檚 record in the coalition and asks why she thinks the Liberal Democrats have a distinctive appeal to women voters.听 听

How much do men and women approach household tasks differently?听听Is there a right or wrong way to do things?听听Do men and women have different standards?听听And who has influenced our cleaning knowledge?听听Jane Garvey invited Tim Samuels, from Radio 5 Live鈥檚 Men's Hour around to her house to give it a good scrub.听听He arrived with a feather duster and a pair of marigolds and they set to work.听

So what is a chore? Is childcare a chore? What about keeping in touch with family or running a social calendar? If someone enjoys doing something like cooking or gardening does that stop it being a chore?听 Becky Asher, author of 鈥楽hattered : Modern Motherhood and the Illusion of Equality鈥� and Imogen Thompson from discuss with Jane.

The birth of a daughter in Afghanistan is often seen as a disappointment. In a society ruled and dominated by men, a baby boy is much more a cause for celebration.听So when some families end up with just daughters, they go to astonishing lengths to deal with the problem. They choose one of the girls to bring up as a son: a boy鈥檚 name, boy鈥檚 clothes and all the freedoms that boys enjoy and their sisters don鈥檛.听These members of a third gender are known as Bacha Posh, meaning 鈥渄ressed up like a boy鈥�. Journalist Jenny Nordberg first wrote about the practice and has just published a book on the subject: 鈥淭he Underground Girls of Kabul鈥�.听Jane speaks to Jenny about how she first came across the Bacha Posh and what they tell us about modern Afghanistan.

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Happy Birthday to us!听Woman鈥檚 Hour was first broadcast on the 8th October 1946. Here is a classic interview from our Archive Collection with Olive Shapley who presented and produced the programme in the 1950s and 60s.