Woman's Hour - Nour Swirki in Gaza, Baroness Falkender's secrets, Divorce, Alzheimer's, Hot flushes

Nour Swirki in Gaza, Baroness Falkender's secrets, Divorce, Alzheimer's, Hot flushes

Download Nour Swirki in Gaza, Baroness Falkender's secrets, Divorce, Alzheimer's, Hot flushes

We have been bringing you women's voices from Israel and Gaza since the start of the war. Yesterday, you will have heard on the programme Rachel Goldberg, mother of a 23-year-old hostage Hersh Goldberg Polin, kidnapped by Hamas from a music festival in Israel. Today, we hear from a mother in Gaza. Nour Swirki is a journalist with two children living in Khan Younis, a city in the southern strip of Gaza, with her husband, mother and sister - they have had to leave their home in Gaza City for safety reasons and relocate to the south - a fraught journey many more Palestinians are expected to make. Due to the difficulties in speaking live to guests in Gaza, we asked Nour to record for us voice notes explaining the situation she and her family are currently in. She and her husband continue to work as journalists while her wider family look after her children - a son and daughter aged 10 and 12.

The ABC News Breakfast guest host Imogen Crump has been praised for helping to normalise symptoms of perimenopause, after she experienced a severe hot flush on live television. Emma Barnett asks her about what happened.

Research from the University of Bristol demonstrates that women can lose out financially when they divorce. The number of couples seeking legal advice during divorce proceedings is falling, and old-fashioned procedures that disadvantage women are being used. To find out more, and get advice on how to make sure you are not penalised financially, Emma speaks to financial planner Megan Jenkins and family lawyer Amanda McAlister.

The NHS is launching a new study into Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, which affects around twice as many women as men. The study, a joint project with Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s Society, will use a blood test to detect for the disease at an early stage. There is currently no single test for Alzheimer's and patients can wait years for a diagnosis. Dr Susan Mitchell, Head of Policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, one of the charities leading this study talks to Emma.

Emma talks to journalist Linda McDougall about her new biography of Marcia Williams, who went on to become Baroness Falkender. Linda hopes to shift public perception of the Baroness as a Svengali figure who influenced Prime Minister Harold Wilson during the sixties and seventies, and gain recognition for her achievements for the Labour Party. Linda's alternative history is called Marcia Williams, The Life and Times of Baroness Falkender.

Presenter: Emma Barnett
Studio manager: Duncan Hannant

Published on Thursday, 9th November 2023.

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