http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshourLatest news from Woman's Houren-gbFri, 6 Nov 2009 01:00:00 GMTCopyright: (C) British Broadcasting Corporationhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/syndication/BBC Radio 4http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/images/radio4_165x83.gifhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshourhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2009_44_fri.shtml?rsseducationIt’s the time of year when sixth formers are filling out their UCAS forms deciding which universities to apply for. Last year changes to the UCAS application process allowed a student to nominate someone to act on their behalf if they were away during the application process, for example on a gap year. UCAS recommends that person is a parent or guardian, who’s not allowed to complete the form but who would subsequently have authority to discuss the young person’s application with UCAS and make decisions on their behalf. It’s estimated that about one tenth of applicants have taken up this option and it’s led to critics saying it gives parents permission to meddle in their kids’ lives at a time when they should be making a bid for independence. So how involved should parents be in choosing and applying for higher education? Is it legitimate to offer help and guidance, especially if you’re covering all or some of the cost of university, or is it the time when teenagers should be left to their own devices, to make their own mistakes, grow up and prepare themselves for the world of work? Dr Tim Westlake, Director of Student Recruitment & Admissions at the University of Manchester and Dr Suzanne Franks, Lecturer in Journalism at the University of Kent & author of "Get out of my life, but first take me and Alex into town: a parent’s guide to the new teenagers" join Jenni to discuss the issues. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2009_44_fri.shtmlFri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/02/2009_44_fri.shtml?rssinternationalLast month in Indonesia a branch of the controversial Malaysian Polygamy Club was formally launched. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation but is a secular state. Polygamy is not common in Indonesia but under Indonesian law, a man may take a second wife provided both women agree and his first wife is either disabled, infertile or terminally ill. Anecdotally, polygamous marriages are growing in popularity and some prominent political and religious figures are known to have more than one wife. Jenni is joined from Jakarta by journalist Karishma Vaswani to discuss the issues.http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/02/2009_44_fri.shtmlFri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/03/2009_44_fri.shtml?rsshealthThe UK’s first Fertility Show will be held at London Olympia this weekend. A new initiative will be a cordoned off section dubbed the ‘Ideal Home Exhibition for making babies’ offering men on the spot sperm tests at a cost of £100 along with advice from experts on any issues which may arise. To discuss why men find it so much harder than women to discuss issues of infertility, Jenni is joined by one of the country’s leading andrologists Dr Allan Pacey and by male infertility sufferer Nigel Dawson.http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/03/2009_44_fri.shtmlFri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/04/2009_44_fri.shtml?rsshistoryFilming is about to begin at Shibden Hall near Halifax in West Yorkshire on a new BBC costume drama - this time the subject is Anne Lister who owned and lived at Shibden Hall at the beginning of the 19th century. Anne was a prolific writer and left behind a fascinating record of her unconventional life in her letters and diaries. When these diaries were published almost 20 years ago they led to a flurry of feminist scholarship and a reassessment of what we thought we knew about same sex relationships in the 19th century. The word ‘lesbian’ would not have been in Anne’s vocabulary, but in the diaries she talks frankly about her liaisons with women and towards the end of her extraordinary life, she lived openly with another woman, Ann Walker, in a same sex partnership that pre-dated the Civil Partnerships Act by almost 200 years. To discuss her life and diaries Jenni is joined by her biographers Helena Whitbread and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, Dr Jill Liddington. Image of Anne Lister of Shibden Hall by Joshua Horner , copyright courtesy of Calderdale Museumshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/04/2009_44_fri.shtmlFri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/05/2009_44_fri.shtml?rsshistoryLychees tend to be associated with Chinese restaurants, tinned and sweet and served at the end of a meal. But in fact this fruit has a history and a culture all of its own, there are lychees called the Imperial Concubine’s Laugh, love stories and poems written in praise of its smooth translucent skin and its scented flavour. As a refreshing fruit lychees are hard to beat as Clare Jenkins has been discovering.http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/05/2009_44_fri.shtmlFri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT