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Woman's Hour: Zeinab Badawi, Singing and periods, How is the debate over abortion shaping the US election?

Zeinab Badawi, Singing and periods, How is the debate over abortion shaping the US election?

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Zeinab Badawi, Singing and periods, How is the debate over abortion shaping the US election?

Zeinab Badawi on her book, An African History of Africa, how do periods affect singing?

Zeinab Badawi talks about her new book, An African History of Africa, and the women who shaped history across the continent.

The broadcaster Zeinab Badawi joins Krupa Padhy to discuss her first book, An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence.  The book has taken her seven years to research, travelling across 30 countries.  She explains how the female African leaders that shaped their countries have often been written out of history. 

At the start of the year, acclaimed opera singer Sophie Bevan took to Twitter to ask if other female singers also had voice struggles around the time of their periods. This led to her discovery of premenstrual vocal syndrome, which is when hormone changes cause vocal issues. She talks about the impact this has had on her career, alongside Dr Alan Watson, specialist in the biology of performance at the University of Cardiff.

Democrats in the US state of Arizona are attempting to repeal a law from 1864 that bans nearly all abortions. Also the US Supreme Court will hear arguments in an Idaho hospital case, on whether hospitals can override state abortion restrictions in order to save a mother’s life. New York Times correspondent Elizabeth Dias explains how abortion rights are shaping this year’s presidential election and which camp could benefit from the abortion debate.  

Presenter: Krupa Padhy
Producer: Olivia Skinner

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