The Conversation

The weaker sex? The fairer sex? The female body has often been viewed as less strong and less powerful than that of men. Datshiane Navanayagam meets two female scientists who are challenging that assumption. They reveal the ways in which women’s bodies actually come out on top.
Starre Vartan is an Australian science journalist, based in America. In her book The Stronger Sex she explores the different areas where women have the physical edge over men, from endurance events to immune response.
Marlo Möller is Professor of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Her research explores why women appear to be better at fighting off and surviving diseases like tuberculosis.
Produced by Hannah Sander
(Image: (L) Starre Vartan, credit Starre Vartan. (R) Marlo Möller, credit Annecke Vermeulen.)

Statues in parks and city centres are meant to celebrate history and inspire for the future. But it's thought that in nearly every country in the world, women only make up 2-3% of the public statues. Datshiane Navanayagam talks to sculptors from the US and Nigeria who are working to redress the balance.
Meredith Bergmann is an American sculptor creating giant bronzes of significant female public figures for parks and historical sites around the United States. Her “Women’s Rights Monument” was unveiled in 2020 for the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. It was the first statue of a woman, joining 22 statues of historical men in Central Park in New York.
Sokari Douglas Camp makes steel sculptures that vary in size from 30cm to 5m tall. Influenced by her Nigerian heritage, her latest exhibition, Fashion and Fortune, explores clothing, commerce and emblems of wealth using elaborate headdresses and the incorporation of coins to highlight both oppression and creativity.
Produced by Jane Thurlow
(Image: (L) Sokari Douglas Camp, credit Jonathan Greet. (R) Meredith Bergmann, credit Michael Bergmann.)

The film industry is massively dominated by men. But women-only film festivals are shaking things up, celebrating the female directors, producers, cinematographers and editors behind the camera. Datshiane Navanayagam meets two women who run female film festivals.
Bina Paul in India is the director of the Asian Women's Film Festival in New Delhi. As a film editor with decades of experience, she recently saw one of her films celebrated at the Cannes film festival in France.
Amal Ramsis in Egypt founded and runs the Between Women Filmmakers’ Caravan (BWFC), which showcases films directed by women from the Arab world and Latin America. She is also a documentary filmmaker.
Producer: Hannah Sander
(Image: (L) Bina Paul, courtesy Bina Paul. (R) Amal Ramsis, credit Rania Zahra.)

Tourette syndrome is a motor disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. Characterized by movement tics and at least one vocal tic, it's often portrayed as unrestrained swearing. However, coprolalia only affects ten percent of people with Tourette’s. Datshiane Navanayagam talks to women from Argentina and the UK about their mission to talk about this widely misunderstood condition.
Lauren Wyatt says the most difficult part of having Tourette's is the public perception and reaction. Lauren says she experiences harassment almost every time she goes out with people mimicking tics, threatening her, or sometimes even throwing things. She's part of a campaign by Tourette's Action in the UK – #NoChoice – which is highlighting Tourette’s as a medical condition. Lauren says she lives in constant pain due to her tics which are out of her control and have damaged her body beyond repair.
Belén Prieto is an Argentinian psychologist currently living and working in Spain. She has Tourette's and is a volunteer with TTAG (Tics and Tourette's Across the Globe), an umbrella organisation for Tourette's Syndrome, raising awareness and supporting those with the condition.
Produced by Jane Thurlow
(Image: (L) Belén Prieto, credit Miguel Pereda. (R) Lauren Wyatt, credit National Diversity Awards.)

There has been a marked increase in enrolment in early childhood education globally, but access and approaches differ hugely around the world.
What impact does quality early years education have on children’s future outcomes and why is ‘playing’ so pivotal in helping them prepare for school?
Professor Nirmala Rao researches ways of measuring the impacts of early childhood development and education particularly within the Asia-Pacific context, at the University of Hong Kong. She believes that it is essential to push research to the forefront to inform social policy relevant to children and their families.
Jessica Blom is the Deputy Director of The Centre for Early Childhood Development in South Africa - a national resource which provides training, support and advice in the field of early childhood development with the aim of improving the education and care of the country’s youngest citizens from disadvantaged communities.
Produced by Hannah Dean
(Image: (L) Jessica Blom, credit Barry Christianson. (R) Prof. Nirmala Rao, WAL-PHOTO courtesy of Faculty of Education, HKU.)