The Conversation

Newspaper cartooning has a long history of using satire and humour to provide social commentary on the issues of the day – but how do female perspectives inform the approach, themes and tone of newspaper cartooning?
Andrea Arroyo is from Mexico City. Her work as a dancer took her to New York in the early eighties. In the US, an exhibition of her visual art was picked up to feature in the New York Times and spawned a career as a newspaper cartoonist. Her influence as a dancer can be seen in her rhythmic, fluid line work. Her artwork about the Me Too movement won a United Nations award for Political Cartooning.
Sarah Akinterinwa is from Kent in the UK. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she created a comic about a millennial couple called Oyin and Kojo, hoping to create better representation of Black British people in cartoons. After posting a daily drawing to social media, the cartoon editor of the New Yorker discovered her work and asked her to become a contributor. Sarah is also a cartoonist at The Guardian. Her strips tackle women’s issues, gender dynamics, friendships, relationships, health and politics.
Produced by Elena Angelides and Jane Thurlow
(Image: (L) Sarah Akinterinwa, credit Sarah Akinterinwa. (R) Andrea Arroyo, credit Felipe Galindo.)

Rice nourishes 3.5 billion people worldwide with women providing the majority of agricultural labour – especially in poorer countries. Datshiane Navanayagam talks to women from India and Tanzania about their work improving the resilience of rice to climate change, and about the lives of female rice farmers.
Ranjitha Puskur is a socio-economist in India leading gender and youth research at the International Rice Research Institute. She's working on innovations that would lead to more equitable outcomes for women in agriculture. She says there would be no food without women. And yet women farmers across the world still face disproportionate barriers in their work.
Dr Pauline Chivenge is a Zimbabwean agronomist working in Tanzania. Her research is focused on management of natural resources for improved crop productivity in Africa and South-East Asia: issues such as soil and water management, and how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Produced by Jane Thurlow
(Image: (L) Ranjitha Puskur. Credit CGIAR. (R) Pauline Chivenge. Credit IRRI)

As war flares across the Middle East, and conflicts rage in other parts of the world, it is often said that women and girls are the hardest hit by war. But what does that actually mean in practice? What are the key statistics that tell us how conflicts impact women? And what role are women playing in peace processes too?
Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women who look at how war shapes women’s lives. Idil Absiye is a policy advisor on Women, Peace and Security at the United Nations, and is based in Kenya. Dr Laura Muñoz-Encinar is an archaeologist and forensic anthropologist at the Spanish National Research Council. Her main focus is the Spanish Civil War, a conflict from almost a century ago that offers many lessons for today.

Producer: Hannah Sander
(Image: (L) Laura Muñoz-Encinar, credit Laura Muñoz-Encinar. (R) Idil Absiye, credit Idil Absiye.)

From “deepfakes” to “stealth filming”, women around the world are having their image stolen and shared online. Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women tackling this problem.
Uma Subramanian works for an Indian helpline called Meri Trustline, run by RATI Foundation, which offers help for women whose image has been used.
Kirana Ayuningtyas had her image digitally manipulated and shared online. She uses her social media profile, @k.for.kirana, to help other women in Indonesia.
Warning: this programme contains details that some listeners may find disturbing.
Producers: Rebecca Moore and Hannah Sander
(Image: (L) Uma Subramanian, credit Sanghamitra SV. (R) Kirana Ayuningtyas, credit Kirana Ayuningtyas.)

It's thought that around one in ten women of childbearing age have endometriosis, yet it often takes years of excessively painful periods and struggles to conceive before a diagnosis. And while there's no cure, surgery can help relieve symptoms. Datshiane Navanayagam talks to women from Hungary and South Africa working to improve treatment and diagnosis.
Adrienn Salamon lives with endometriosis. She waited many years for a diagnosis, and surgery enabled her to get IVF treatment. She started Női Egészségért Alapítvány, a women's health foundation in Hungary that supports women suffering from the disorder. She is also on the board of the World Endometriosis Society and says no woman should go through the same struggle with the condition that she experienced.
Dr Lusanda Shimange-Matsose is a gynaecologist, reproductive endocrine and infertility specialist in South Africa. She is director of Medfem Fertility Clinic in Johannesburg and is also a member of the Pan African Society of Endometriosis, offering support for women across the continent.
Produced by Jane Thurlow
(Image: (L) Adrienn Salamon, credit Johanna Krivocenko. (R) Lusanda Shimange-Matsose, courtesy Lusanda Shimange-Matsose.)