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Woman's Hour: Young Grandmotherhood, Best Place to be a Woman: Northern Ireland

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23/11/2017

Young Grandmotherhood, Best Place to be a Woman: Northern Ireland

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Young Grandmotherhood, Best Place to be a Woman: Northern Ireland

Young grandmothers, accessing child benefit, Colombian women, and Elske Rahill.

Being a young grandmother, accessing child benefit when escaping domestic violence, women's rights in Colombia, Elske Rahill, and life for women in Northern Ireland.

Mothers who leave a violent partner can find they have significantly less money to provide for their children for months because they can't prove to the HMRC that they are the responsible parent, due child benefit. The Child Poverty Action Group says that the process of assessing child benefit claims is too long and inflexible and the system needs to be changed. Jenni speaks to Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of CPAG. 

The Labour MP and Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner has shared her joyful news of becoming a grandmother at 37 years old. What is it like to be a young grandma, and how does it affect the family dynamics? Elisa Vasquez-Walters became a grandmother at 42. Sarah Cassel-Gerard at 45.

Almost a year on from a peace accord to bring decades of violence to an end in Colombia, we hear from campaigners for women's rights who fear that hard won agreements to give women a voice are being side-lined. Louise Winstanley from ABColombia and Rosa Emilia Salamanca from a Colombian based NGO discuss. 

From the isolation of a custody battle to the pain of estrangement from a child, Elske Rahill's new book of short stories brings together the experiences of women in their role as 'mother'. She discusses In White Ink, and the inspiration behind it.

As part of our look at 'Best Place', what makes Northern Ireland a good place for women to live? We speak to Kellie Turtle - Women's Sector Lobbyist - Women's Resource and Development Agency, the journalist Anne Hailes and Rosa Thompson. 

Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Kirsty Starkey.

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