Weekend Woman’s Hour: Nelly Furtado, Woman in Myanmar, Woman’s Hour from Lord’s, Taking children out of school

Woman's Hour

The Portuguese-Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and won awards including a Grammy. Her upbeat, genre-defying pop music dominated the charts in the 2000s, from her break out hit I’m Like A Bird to her 2006 album Loose and its stand out hit Maneater. After finding that her music had been rediscovered by a whole new generation of fans on social media, she’s back with 7, her first album since 2017.In February 2021, a coup returned

Myanmar to military rule, overthrowing the democratically elected government. Under the regime, violence against civilians has escalated, with thousands jailed, tortured and killed – although the numbers are believed be much higher. At least three million people have been displaced. Just two weeks ago, a UN Report outlined the gendered impact of the coup: It found that military forces have committed widespread forms of sexual violence. However, despite the coup's devastating impact, women and girls are taking on key roles within the resistance movement. Also this month, there have been separate news reports that women are being conscripted into the military. Nuala discussed the situation with Tin Htar Swe, the former head of The BBC's Burmese Service.

Woman's Hour broadcast from Lord's Cricket Ground as England faced New Zealand for the culmination of a five-match T20 International series and to mark 25 years since the Marylebone Cricket Club, that runs Lord’s, allowed women to become members. During the programme she spoke to World Cup winning cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent and the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Head of the Women’s professional game, Beth Barrett-Wild. She also spoke to girls about why they love playing cricket. Nuala was also given a tour of Lord’s – taking in the spots of most significance to women’s history at the ground. She heard about Baroness Rachel Heyhoe Flint and Martha Grace, the mother of a player who is considered one of the all time greats, W. G. Grace. Her tour guide Rachel Pagan met her just outside the ground.

Taking children out of school during term time was in the news this week as the new Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said there "will have to be consequences" for parents who fail to keep their children in school. It’s illegal to take children out without the school’s permission. Minimum fines, imposed by local authorities, for taking children out of class without permission for five school days will rise from £60 per child to £80 per child from August.. In her first interview since taking up the post, the education secretary spoke to the BBC's education correspondent Branwen Jeffries. We hear from parent, Laura Melling who recently went viral on TikTok for discussing a fine she'd received after taking her young daughters out of school for a holiday during term time and we spoke to journalist and parenting author Lorraine Candy.

Annie Garthwaite’s second novel, The King’s Mother, tells the story of historical figure Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV and Richard III. Annie believes Cecily’s role in the Wars of the Roses has been hugely underestimated by historians and her novel places her firmly at the heart of the action. Essie Fox has written five historical novels and her most recent, The Fascination, is set in the world of Victorian theatres and travelling fairs. They join Nuala to discuss the challenge of writing the stories of women who have been overlooked by the history books.

Adele, one of the world's best-selling music artists, has revealed in an interview ahead of her concerts in Munich next month, that she will be stepping back from music temporarily after growing tired of the slog of fame and missing her old life. She talks about her "tank being empty" and the author and broadcaster Emma Gannon joined Anita to talk about when it all gets a bit much.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Rebecca Myatt