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Woman's Hour: Nubya, Justyna Wydrzynska, Ramadan and Parasocial relationships

01/04/2022

Nubya, Justyna Wydrzynska, Ramadan and Parasocial relationships

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Nubya, Justyna Wydrzynska, Ramadan and Parasocial relationships

Anita speaks to the cartoonist Robyn Smith about Nubia the first Black superwoman.

Anita speaks to the cartoonist Robyn Smith about Nubia the first Black superwoman and to Justyna Wydrzynska the first pro-choice activist to appear in court in Poland.

Have you heard of Nubia from the DC comic books? She’s the adopted sister of Wonder Woman and is DC’s first Black superwoman introduced in the 70s before disappearing from comics for decades. Nubia returned last year in the new comic book Nubia: Real One, which is set in modern day America and tells the story of her teenage life. Anita talks to the cartoonist, Robyn Smith who illustrated the book about the importance of representing Black women and their stories in comics.

Next week, Justyna Wydrzynska from Poland will be the first pro-choice activist to appear in court, charged with breaking the country's strict abortion law. On the 27th January 2021 Poland enforced an near-total abortion ban. It is now only allowed in cases of rape or incest or when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother.  Justyna provided miscarriage-inducing tablets to a pregnant woman. Unlike in other countries where abortion is banned, women in Poland are not criminalised for illegal termination of pregnancy; instead it is those who order or carry out an abortion that face penalties. Anita is joined by Justyna and Dr Sydney Calkin, from Queen Mary University.

Are you familiar with parasocial relationships? It’s a psychological term to describe when someone thinks they have a friendship or bond with a person they have never met before or spoken to face-to-face. The most common parasocial dynamic exists between celebrities and their fans. But is it healthy? And do women often pay the price? Anita explores this with Gretchen Robertson, a psychotherapist whose clients include influencers and vloggers, and Flossie Clegg - a YouTuber and Digital Content Creator with over 700,000 subscribers.

Ramadan begins this weekend.   It’s the month when Muslims refrain from eating or drinking between dawn and sunset to give more time for self-reflection, prayer and identify with the hungry.  Statistics from Dubai show that women spend twice as much time in the kitchen during this time in Muslim communities around the world, which is a paradox given that it’s also a time of eating less.  Much of the pressure comes from the preparation of the Iftar meals which end each day of fasting;  an important time for families and communities to come together in homes and mosques.  To discuss the issues are Shelina Janmohamed, Vice President of Islamic Marketing at Ogilvy and best selling author of Love in A Headscarf, and journalist and broadcaster Remona Aly.

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