Woman's Hour - Bronwen Lewis, Football Racists Ban and 'The Three Hijabis', Pregnancy & the Covid Vaccine, The Joy of Skating

Episode Date: July 16, 2021

Bronwen Lewis is a Welsh singer songwriter whose style sits between Country, Pop, Folk and Blues. She starred in the BAFTA Award Winning and Golden Globe nominated film ‘Pride’ where she sang the theme song ‘Bread and Roses' and brought Tom Jones to tears during her time on BBC’s The Voice in 2013. Proudly bilingual, this year her TikTok following grew as she went viral for her Welsh language covers of famous Pop songs and singing the Welsh National anthem in the lead up to the Wales v Denmark Euros game. She joins Anita to discuss her passion to promote the Welsh language and the inspiration behind her new music. Three female football fans – hashtag ‘The Three Hijabis - set up a petition calling for racists to be banned for life from all football matches in England. This was in response to the shocking levels of racism that was directed towards Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka on social media after their missed penalties resulted in England losing to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. Within 48 hours Shaista Aziz, Amna Abdullatif and Huda Jawad had more than a million signatories and on Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced that he would ensure the football banning regime was changed and that people guilty of online racist abuse towards players would be banned from football matches. And yesterday it was announced that people have been arrested after the English footballers were racially abused online. Like many others our reporter Ena Miller took up a new hobby over lockdown - skating. As a form of socially distanced, COVID -compliant exercise it's boomed over the last 18 months and manufacturers of skates are struggling with demand. Ena is still learning and for us she put on her beautiful new roller skates and gingerly joined the legions of women who skate in car parks, on the streets and in halls all over the country. Pregnant women are facing a “perfect storm” of risks according to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM). They’re concerned that the combination of restrictions easing from next week, an increasing prevalence of COVID-19 in the community and hesitancy to get vaccinated will lead to a further increase in infections among pregnant women. We talk to Asma Khalil Professor of Obstetrics at St George’s Hospital, University of London. She is also the Obstetric lead for the national maternity and perinatal audit with the RCOG. Presented by Anita Rani Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. I'm Natalia Melman-Petrozzella, and from the BBC, this is Extreme Peak Danger. The most beautiful mountain in the world. If you die on the mountain, you stay on the mountain. This is the story of what happened when 11 climbers died on one of the world's deadliest mountains, K2, and of the risks we'll take to feel truly alive. If I tell all the details, you won't believe it anymore. Extreme, peak danger. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

BBC Sounds. Music, radio, podcasts. Hello, I'm Anita Rani and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4. Good morning, we've made it to another Friday. Now, you might be one of the 1.2 million people and counting who've signed a petition this week to ban racists for life from all football matches in England. I'm really looking forward to speaking to the masterminds behind it, three women in hijabs or the three hijabis as they

call themselves who felt so passionately about the subject they were proactive and did something about it. Now we're living in a time where a lot of us are speaking our minds, are involved with different causes and are trying to implement change, whether it's footballers right down to five-year-olds who might be passionate about climate change. We seem to be a very switched on, outspoken society. So this morning, I'd like to hear from you about any subject or issue you felt so strongly about. You've acted to do something about it

and it can be absolutely anything. Maybe you're litter picking locally. Maybe it's to do with the meals your child is getting at school. Have you stopped buying plastic? Maybe you've emailed your local MP about a bugbear. Have you been on a march, held a placard, stuck a poster in your window? Or have you made a decision, like Gillian Anderson, to never wear a bra again? Maybe you burnt your last bra in the 60s and never looked back.

Whatever is going on in your life that you feel so passionately about, it's made you get up and actually do something. We would love to hear about it this morning. You can text us on 84844. Your text will be charged at your standard message rate. You can email us by going to our website or you can contact us via social media. It's at BBC Woman's Hour.

I'll be talking to one of our listeners who did get in touch with us to tell us about how after being abused by an elder in her religious organization as a child she felt she needed to do something to help others who may be in a similar situation and don't know where to turn we'll be hearing from her shortly then 58 percent of pregnant women have not been vaccinated the restrictions are easing up next week and the royal college of obstetricians and gynecologists and the royal college of midwives are calling it a perfect storm so i want to hear from you are you pregnant have you had the vaccination have you been reluctant to take it what advice have you been given by your health care professional what are your concerns and what is preventing you from getting it?

If you have any questions, then please do send them in because shortly I'll be speaking to a professor of obstetrics, Asma Khalil, who will hopefully be able to answer some of them for us this morning. And it's Friday, so we thought we'd treat you to some sweet, sweet music from Welsh singer-songwriter Bronwyn Lewis who's roped in her family to singing backing vocals

on this beautiful new single. Your heart's my home Your heart's my home Nowhere comes close Your heart's my home nowhere comes close your heart's my home your heart's my home Something to look forward to. All of that and of course we need to hear

your thoughts and opinions on everything we are discussing. Text us 84844 or social media at BBC Woman's Hour. But first, three friends who also happen to like football hashtag the three hijabis, as they've called themselves, set up a petition calling for racists to be banned for life from all football matches in England. This was in response to the shocking levels of

racism that was directed towards Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukaya Saka on social media after they missed penalties, after their missed penalties resulted in England losing to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. Within 48 hours, Shaista Aziz, Amna Abdul-Latif and Huda Jawad had over a million signatories on Wednesday. The Prime Minister announced that he would ensure the football banning regime was changed and that people guilty of online racist abuse towards players would be banned from football matches. While the Olympian, world and European champion, Somo Farah, was at Wembley to see England lose to Italy, and he says the abuse some players received and the racist comments aimed at him during his career are shocking.

It's not really worth to describe these people, in my opinion. I've, like enough, you know, travelled around the world, seen many people, and they're just people who ignorant who doesn't I don't even know who they are as a sportsman when you achieve something you obviously there's a lot of stuff comes with it and you learn to move on and to continue because you can't respond to every each one but this comments I think it is it's shocking and and I think it's a lot lots needs to be Well, three women who are doing something about it are Shaisa, Amna and Huda, and they join me now.

What a few days it's been for the three of you. Shaisa, I'm going to come to you first. So the Prime Minister has said that he is going to implement some of what you've said in the petition. So who takes the credit for this? Well, Anita, good morning, first of all. Thank you for having us on. The credit goes to the one million

plus people who have shown solidarity we are a collective of anti-racist now we want to build this movement so we give credit to them we are three individual women who came together to start start this ball rolling but they've run with it and we're so incredibly proud of everyone involved and we're very grateful that they've shown solidarity this is what we need up and down this country this petition and what's happened in 48 hours and the subsequent announcement from boris johnson shows what happens when we come together and throughout history anti-racist movements civil right movement civil rights movements this is how they've been built um and we're in a very precarious situation in our country

right now where sadly hate has been thriving for too long and the fact that so many people have come together we don't even know who these people are we don't know their names we don't know anything but we're extremely humbled so we give credit to them and thanks big love and thanks to them basically i mean you uh you're also part of the fa's refugees and asylum seekers football network does what he said go far enough because you're asking for something very specific, aren't you? Online and offline.

Absolutely. Now, as we know, we're women of colour on this programme today. We understand the realities of racism. Racism doesn't just flourish online. It obviously flourishes offline as well. Very horrifically, there's been a rise in hate crime

across this country and indeed Europe in the last few years. And it's not enough to just ban racists offline. Our petition was about drowning out the racists. And as my sisters here have said this week, we wanted to throw our arms around the England football team, particularly these three young black players. I mean, we know what it's like to be dehumanised and to be minimised through racism. It's devastating. It impacts your confidence, it impacts you and it impacts your family and friends. We know that. And so we were unwilling to let those three amazing young men be left there to like take this on board for themselves. So

yeah, this is a beginning, Anita, we're building a movement. We're very stubborn women. I think most people have worked that out about us. So we're not going anywhere. And and we're here we're committed to making change with everyone well let's hear from the other two stubborn women then Huda what what have people said to you directly what's the response been people are really just genuinely surprised at how quickly everything happened how inspired they are they feel heard they feel seen they feel finally that something is being done and just are very grateful to be kind of able to be heard and be mobilised. So we're all so grateful for every single one of you who signed the petition.

Please continue signing. We won't let the racists win. And football is not only for the racists. Football is ours. And this is who we are. You know, people of colour, women, Muslim women, black and brown men and women of all genders, of all races. And we're really keen to make sure that the government and tech companies and the FA follow through. You mentioned, you know, that the three of you are Muslim women. Amna, talk about smashing stereotypes.

The three of you are quite an image talking to you this morning, but the fact that you are the ones leading this and have set this up. Yeah, how bizarre it is for me anyway. I mean, I think all three of us have been breaking stereotypes for a while now in our own kind of professional networks, in our own spaces and continually kind of coming up across obstacles, but also coming across a lot of surprise. You know, the number of people who always seem surprised that we are articulate, that we are intelligent,

that we can speak English, is always, you know, I was like, God, do you take it as a compliment that somebody thinks you're articulate? Or is it a bit of an insult I you know you never know um how to take it um so yeah I think you know the image of the three of us has been had a huge impact um and you know I was I was in a separate call doing my kind of day job type thing um talking about gender equality in the curriculum and a head teacher that was speaking there he said to me you know he said something really profound to me. And I thought, God, you know, and he was talking about how he when he saw the image of the three of us in the Guardian the week before, actually, the year of the final match, when the shyster's tweet went viral, he said when he saw it, he felt so empowered because he thought that at least now things are shifting so that his daughter, he can feel safe that his daughter can travel around this country and not feel that she would be singled out

as a young black woman in this country. And I thought, wow, okay. So this, you know, so it's incredible how people have kind of, you know, taken on, you know, what it means to have visible women of color on that kind of platform and in this arena. So, yeah, really incredible. And huge thanks to everyone for providing us with space. You too, Anita, being able to be here and talk about the work that we've been doing

over the last few days has been incredible. What's changed? Why now? Why now are people feeling that they can speak out? And why now is there this big groundswell of support? Because racism has existed in football for years and years and years. Huda?

I think people have just had enough. They've really had enough. And I think they really, pardon me, understand how racism has been normalised. Like we're supposed to be this progressive society in the West that we are human rights based, that we are liberal, but actually what's happened in the last 10 years is a real kind of regression into this idea that racism is just a blip, it's just a thing that happens individually, that we're all somehow educated

and we can all move beyond that. It's a post-racial society. Well, actually, it's not. The pandemic has shown that. You know, the Black Lives Matter movement has shown that. The incredible, you know, look at this week. The EU has enabled employers to ban,

you know, ban women from wearing the hijab in employment. That's absolutely disgusting. The EU was founded as a rights-based kind of project so that discrimination could never happen again. So I think people are increasingly tired of the disconnect between the leaders and those with power and ordinary people's lives and what what this um petition does is articulate that voice and say we're not on our watch no thank you very much and there was a very good reason why this was your passion we're asking people this morning to talk about what has got them up to do something to act and that's you shyster because you are a huge football fan.

Talk about possibly being one of the bravest women I know, a Muslim woman in a hijab that went to football matches on your own. Let's talk about how passionate you are about football. When did your love of football start? Well, Anita, my love of football started when I was very young.

Like a lot of women up and down this country, you know, women are passionate about football. So it started very young. I vividly remember a guy coming to our patio asian people love past years we know about that don't we anita so yeah a guy came through our patio he's a big everton fan i remember that very vividly and and my brother and i were hanging out with him and by the end of the afternoon he decided he wanted to watch the football i think it was the fa cup final and so my brother and i watched it with him and by the end of that match I was an Everton fan right easily persuaded

Anita and then years later when I left my home city of Oxford where I used to go and watch football at Oxford United I ended up living very close to Spurs football ground so I watched football there I used to go there by myself as well it wasn't always a very pleasant experience I remember going to a North London derby wow wow wow I'm a woman who's done some intense things in my time but that was extremely intense let me tell you that much and I remember feeling very intimidated but at the same time I've said this quite a lot I've said it in my Guardian piece as well I'm one of those people I'm my mother's daughter okay I come from a strong generation of women who are activists and fighters as we all do and you know they taught me, my family, that you've got to be yourself wherever you are.

Be yourself. And if people don't like who you are, that's on them. So that's kind of like my philosophy in life. But yes, I'm a big football fan. When I used to go watch England play in the 1990s as well at Wembley, I vividly remember one match. I begged the steward at halftime. I said to him, please, can I go and sit with the opposing fans? Because I did not feel safe at all. And I vividly remember one Scottish guy, he said, leave the lassie alone.

Leave her alone. It was actually apparently between England and Brazil. And he said, we're all Brazilian in this house. And I thought, yeah, we are. We're football fans. So I'm not glossing over any of this, Anita. It's terrifying to be with a group of people who are chanting racist misogynistic homophobic bigotry basically there's nothing

acceptable or right about it but as amna and huddev said things are changing and part of our reason for doing this is to reclaim the narrative back from the racist and to tell them that football belongs to all of us it does not belong to you well it's very empowering hearing your story but what guts because actually for a lot of us um we just turned off and thought well football's not for us and that we can't enter those spaces but it is remarkable that you have the guts to just go for it um and badass that's what she is she is absolutely and huda and amna, she got the two of you into football as well. What was the first match she took you to see? I went to see the Lionesses,

near Germany, two years ago. And what was that experience like? I mean, I'd never been in Wembley Stadium and I lived like 10 minutes away. And so it was brilliant, really hooked and really, the atmosphere, I really can understand

why people think football is a religion. It's totally like mesmerising and the sense of community that you have and the energy of the stadium. It was brilliant. But also imagine that mob turning. And that's exactly what we're really cognisant of. No, because we want football to be safe. We want society to be safe.

And if we start with football, then we can carry on doing it everywhere else. So Amna Shaisa, I mean, I imagine if she was my mate, she'd rope me into doing anything probably, but she got you to watch the Lionesses. You converted to football. You saw the light. And then when did the conversation start about this petition? So the petition actually,

so we were watching the final England game at Hudders' home in Wembley and the three of us, so I'd come down from Manchester and Shais had come down from Oxford and it was a nice gathering, you know, we had some great food, you know, big spread and so we were sat and watched the game together and then as we got into the final penalties, I think all of us kind of felt this real dread and knew. And the first conversation we had afterwards was, this is going to be a huge racist backlash against these young players. And I think, you know, we went to sleep that night

and none of us slept very well that night because it was really hanging over our heads about, you know, what this team has done and, you know, none of us slept very well that night because it was really hanging over our heads about, you know, what this team has done and, you know, incredible things that they have done, how they've inspired us. I mean, I've got two young girls and they were they were into the football this time. And I thought, God, you know, it's attracted these young girls that have never been particularly interested in football. But this team is the one that did it. And they talk about the team, the individual team members all the time about things that they've been on and things that they've done and so on. So they've inspired new generations of,

of people to love the game because of the things that they do on and off the pitch. And so when we, when I got up the next morning, it was Shais the kind of Anna, come on, get up. I'm always the last stop by the way. So it's like, get up. I'm now we're, we've, we've got to discuss something and already Shais does kind of, come on, get up. I'm always the last stop, by the way. So it's like, get up, Anna. We've got to discuss something. And already Shaisa has kind of put together a text for this petition. And she was like, what do you think? Let's just read it quickly and let me know what you think. And we're like, yes, yes, yes. Let's let's do this. Let's see what comes from this.

And then by, I think, 9.30ish or something, the petition was up and and we thought okay yalla let's go for uh let's go for breakfast um let's get out went to down to wembley and uh we took some pictures and had breakfast and then it was suddenly starting to jump and i was like wow okay and chrysta's like oh do you think you know what's going to happen with this and i'm like well let's see we're going to go back to oxford at that time so but it was jumping by 10k literally every minute on the first day um and we were like oh wow this this is insane um I think we were at least for myself I thought you know 5k reaching 5k would be great um and then everyone was like oh no if we reach 30k that would at least give us something to work with um but it was well beyond 30k within the first hour. 1.2 million and counting?

Yeah, still counting. Yeah, so it's insane that it's, you know, just gotten so big so quickly. But I think it has touched so many people. And, you know, lots of people are saying what happened in that game was embarrassing for everyone. What happened, you know, in terms of, you know, the trashing of, you know, the Wembley

or the violence that erupted, the interruptions during the game itself, you know, kind of, you know, people of colour, but everyone kind of joining in and saying, this is not, this is not England, this isn't, we don't want to be associated to this, we want to be associated to something positive. And I think this petition gave people the opportunity to see something better about what future England can hold. So yeah, it's been incredible to see that. And three of you are speaking to lots of people this morning. Three amazing women, says someone who's messaged in. In all of them, white male entitlement to football is deep-rooted.

Keep up the fight. And Jane says, so good to hear the three of you talking about the impact of racism and why football is for everyone. More voices like this please so let's hope you've instigated a change in UK football culture I feel like the three hijabis need to move on to another cause now

I need to there's plenty out there let's be honest we're in a bit of trouble in this country so let us know we can be freelance if you want yeah absolutely great and come back and talk to us about the next cause. And well done. And keep us posted.

We'll see what we're keeping an eye on it. Huda, Shaisa and Amna, thank you very much. 84844 is the number to text if you would like to talk about anything that we're talking about this morning or tell me what has motivated you to get up and act. We've had a message here from saying, I was fed up of lazy dog walkers not picking up the dog's mess. I then proceeded to install plastic bottles with poo bags inside them with a slot cut out in the lid

to pull bags through. Dog fouling in Rockfield Park, Monmouth has been reduced by 85% and have the backing of the local council. The group I formed on Facebook is called Monmouth DBB. Drop it, bag it, bin it. it very good and in the early 90s i went to glennis kinnock um went to glennis kinnock give the emily and pankhurst memorial lecture her basic message was if you don't like something get

up and do something about it i want to tell people make things better at work so the following day i volunteered as a union rep at work and went on to make it my career. Still doing it today. Very good. You can also message via our social media. It's at BBC Woman's Hour. Now, like many others, our reporter, Enna Miller, took up a new hobby over lockdown, skating. As a form of socially distanced COVID compliant exercise, it's boomed over the last 18 months and manufacturers of skates are struggling with demand. Enna is still learning and for us,

she put on her beautiful new roller skates and gingerly joined the legions of women who skate in car parks, on the streets and in halls all over the country.

Breathe deeply. It's all about the breath. Shake it out. All right, let's skate. Why did I start skating? During COVID, I had a baby. What can I do that's fun, doesn't feel like exercise, that's's social and I can look cool the last time I put skates on

was when I was about 10 or 12 I think maybe it always takes me ages to put on my skates but they're beautiful they're pretty stiff you can hear them, listen so I think I have to skate a little bit more to try and soften them up a bit.

I must admit, this is the first time I've actually come out skating on my own. I've always been far too nervous to sort of embarrass just in case I fall over or people think she's rubbish. When you put your skates on, what is it that you just love about it i feel the suede of the boot the softness of the wheel i know that it can take me anywhere my name is joy i am definitely a non-traditional type person i've got my shaved head on the left side i've got my you know my braids that are piled on my head with you know know, the silver ends. May I ask how old you are? You can ask. In two weeks, I'll be 47. And I've been skating since I was, oh goodness, five years old. So you're good. I'm excellent. I think it's a wonderful, wonderful sport. And it's inclusive to everyone. You use the word sport. I would say play.

It is play, but that's the best kind of sport because you don't think about the sport in it. You don't think that you're working hard because you're having so much fun playing, laughing, falling over, having a good time. Were you ever me? Were you ever rubbish? Yeah, I think. Well, no. No, I think we all have to start somewhere. And I don't like the term of being rubbish or bad at things. It's just that you haven't learned yet. That's it. Any tips?

Don't be afraid to play. Don't think you have to do it any way that anyone else is doing it. Find your own vocabulary and enjoy doing it. Someone has just taught me how to go backwards. Oh, God, I feel scared. Skate, skate, skate, head turn, body turn, woohoo! I did it! So Carol, tell us where we are right now. Friday evening, 6 o'clock, and it's the start of the skating session.

The music really helps because instead of focusing on your body and not falling, you just start moving, you just start dancing. So you've created this community. Why? When I started skating two years ago, I just find it really hard to go and meet other skaters. So I think it was really to make people happy, you know, to create a bond between each other and to really create friendship and to have support. I'm 56 today. Happy birthday! Thank you. When people see me skating in a park, some are really intimidated because it's not something

we do when you are a grown-up. And I proved it wrong, so it's like, wow, can we join? Yes, of course you can. Right, so how am I going to do this? Because I haven't learned how to turn yet so how am i going to do this because i haven't learned how to turn yet so i'm going to do it manually holding on to the railings i've only met you leticia through a whatsapp group and today we've met so what i love about you is we're going around the hall and i saw you and you're practically holding on to the wall this is completely new to me so

this is the first time i've skated in a hall in I don't know how many years. So I'm trying to gain my confidence. I am a very sporty person. I was the person at school that was in every sports club. Even if I wasn't great at that particular sport, I was in it. I got a personal challenge to be able to do ramps and tricks at some point. I want to be part of those trains of people skating across you know beach promenades and stuff like that yeah. We're the only two that

are wearing helmets in the hall. Until I get to the point where I feel like okay I can fall professionally I'm going to keep wearing this helmet and it's a pink helmet so it looks kind of cute. That's me doing a lemon it's called so you put your legs out in the shape of a lemon and back in. Out, back in. Out, back in. Glide. Ooh. From side

to side. Okay. Get your stopper down girl. Get your stopper down and you look so cool what's your name my name is zona and i am actually now 54 i'm wearing orange shorts orange top fluorescent i was nicknamed highlighter because i look like a highlighter i love how you're so proud of that. I take it as my roller skate handle. I'm the highlighter.

I highlight the day with my bright outfit. I've got a yellow one at home, so you'll see that one day. When you're skating and you're in a zone, and you're flowing maybe backwards, or you're just chilling and jamming and you're dancing, you feel so liberated. You can let go of the cares of the world, the cares of being an adult, and you can just be.

Roller skating brings that confident side out, yeah, definitely. And of course, it's good for your body. My other favourite one is called the Saving the Beyonce move. So I'm going to go right, left. So I'm going to go left. You put your hand out to the left. You look to the left and you reach out as if you're trying to save Beyonce from the sea. You reach out and you automatically turn.

I love that. I'm going to try again. Phoenix, where are we? Oh, we're in my art studio. So this is where I make games, engineer things. I've spoken to some people who I would use the word obsessed by skates. You've taken it, I think, a bit further. Safe to say I have gone one step beyond. I have an engineering background and I've gotten really into making my own stuff because it really makes a huge difference when you skate. And it makes me

feel like I've got a control over what I'm doing and I'm understanding the craft and I've gotten just so into plates and wheels. And what is this doing for you? I have a disability in my body. And for years, that's meant I've had a very timid way of moving through the world because I'm afraid I'm going to break. But it actually brought my pain levels way down. And it made me feel like lighter and also it let me find the limits of my body in a new way I've been like going through my life oh I can't do that I've just done it all with roller skating it's like you can go out and throw yourself around on the ramp like you're a six-year-old child yes you can totally do that The sounds of street skating. That's where I live very late at night,

so everything's quiet and silent and empty. I feel exhausted already, and we've literally gone a couple of minutes. It happens at the beginning. Last year I did three kilometres and I was tired, and now I can last 20, 30. We're staying on the sidewalk for a little bit because we have all these building works. Careful with the mist level. It is not flat, it is not smooth, it is not predictable and your feet are constantly tensing. Your body is

like oh what's coming? Especially the first time you do a route it is very very tiring. Bend your knees one foot in front of the other okay that's how you conquer the street so i've been doing this for a long time at night because the later it gets the quieter and more peaceful and basically there is a point at night where i'm almost completely alone. I can hear the cars from very, very far away. So I can adjust my position and my speed. Do you feel unsafe? Last year, there wasn't a night I didn't get interrupted by one or more men. Sometimes quite insistently and quite invasively.

Bend your knees, very good. I'm bending my knees, I'm bending my knees. You're doing amazing. Men are making comments, feeling unsafe. Then what keeps you going out every night? I just need it. It's just very good for me. A sense of freedom I rarely experience. I'm actually skating on the road with you.

And just listen to the sound of the road. Look at this look how smooth and how soft it feels amazing. My name is Karen McFarlane. I used to skate a lot in my teens but life got in the way and here I am in my 50s starting to skate again. I'm gonna put my bag down here because I need to get my boombox out. I can't do my skating without my music. I'm in my 50s, my early 50s. I've known Jean for years. Little did I know she was skating because she never told me.

Why car parks? We do love it out in the open. With the weather as it is, we need to find somewhere where we can shelter and where we can still skate. My state of mind with the music just makes me want to do so much more and practice. It feels like there's something inside you wanting to do more and wanting to move more and to get it right because the music helps you. As long as I've got my music and I've got my skates. And you've got Karen maybe? And I've got Karen as my mate behind me.

I won't stop skating, that's for sure, no matter what. I love that, a little girl's just shouting because she can see your skates. Oh, bless her, That's so sweet. You need to get mummy to get you some skates. I'll see you when you get your skates, OK? See you later. So joyful. I fully approve of middle-aged women

getting back on their roller skates or roller boots. I'm going to dust off mine. And middle-aged men back on skateboards. I've noticed quite a few of those with their children, which is all very sweet. I'd need to get shoulder pads and arm pads if I was going to get back on my roller boots, though. We've had a message in from Judy who says,

I'm 72 and four years ago got an adult scooter, not an electric one. I scoot everywhere, even taking it on holiday. Go Judy, get some Go Faster stripes on that scooter. And lots of you getting in touch to tell me what you feel so passionately about. You've had to do something about it, inspired by talking to the three hijabis

about their anti-racism petition. Margaret says, we are a group of local residents trying to save our seafront gardens from development. We've already lost tennis courts and are trying to save the remaining two courts and Bowling Green. We've taken photographs, both positive and negative, and displayed them on notice boards and printed banners to make people aware of what's happening in this lovely fishing village of mumbles on the gower peninsula and um another message here via uh our twitter says i began a local anti-tree felling campaign in north london as i'm passionate about saving mature trees in the city and someone else says i felt so strongly about the housing crisis and youth homelessness that i released a song about it it's called those kids and it's out today there you go you got a

plug on woman's hour 84844 keep your thoughts and passions coming in you can also email us via our website now pregnant women are facing a perfect storm of risks according to the royal college of obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives. They're concerned that the combination of restrictions easing from next week and increasing prevalence of COVID-19 in the community and hesitancy to get vaccinated will lead to a further increase in infections among pregnant women. Well, I'm joined now by Asma Khalil. She's a professor of obstetrics at St. George's Hospital in London, and she's done research on maternal health and COVID,

which we actually heard about on the programme a couple of months ago. So Asma, very good morning and welcome back. Just how worried should pregnant women be about the easing of restrictions? Well, as you said, it is potentially tricky because of next week we have in the UK easing of the restrictions. We know the number of COVID cases is rising, continue to rise. And also we know that more than half of pregnant women who were did not receive the COVID vaccine in pregnancy. So we certainly want to highlight this potential risk and encourage pregnant women to consider receiving COVID vaccine. And if not, to potentially maintain social distance,

particularly if they are in the latter third of the pregnancy, because we know from the data from the UK that if you get COVID in the third trimester that's a lack of surge of the pregnancy you're more likely to get severe COVID. This figure is really shocking isn't it? Around 58% of pregnant women haven't been vaccinated and that's what you've is that what you found at your hospital as well? And well in my hospital St George's Hospital in London, when we looked at the data,

we found that less than one-third of pregnant women who were eligible to receive the vaccine actually had the vaccine. So it's even less than that. So what's happened? Why is this number so high? What's the problem? Well, unfortunately, because I think we have mixed messages,

we have potential miscommunication, and we need to improve awareness. It is true that pregnant women were not included in the COVID vaccine trials. That's true. And that may be the reason why pregnant women are reluctant to get the vaccine. And also some healthcare professionals are cautious about actually encouraging women to get the vaccine. And also some healthcare professionals are cautious about actually encouraging women to receive the vaccine. But at the same time, we also know from data from the States on more than 130,000 pregnant women who received the COVID vaccine

and there was no safety concern. We also have data from Israel, where they have vaccinated the majority of their population, including pregnant women, and also there's no safety concerns. So I would encourage any pregnant woman listening to this programme that if you have not received the COVID vaccine,

I think you should seriously consider receiving the vaccine, particularly before the next few weeks. the COVID vaccine and that we should seriously consider receiving the vaccine, particularly before the next few weeks. I mean, you cite the studies and 130,000 women in America that have been in this trial. But the group Pregnant Then Screwed that gave evidence at the House of Commons this week said that their research suggests a lot of women are being actively discouraged from getting the vaccine by health professionals. Does that surprise you? To some extent, it does not surprise me. It saddens me because it is true, and I heard it

from pregnant women who I've come across myself, that they went to vaccine centre and they were told, actually, no, you're're pregnant you should not receive the covid vaccine or actually no you need to go and talk to your midwife or obstetrician so we really need to improve awareness and correct this miscommunication or avoid mixed messages because it does not really help our pregnant women and why why have we got such mixed messages within the healthcare system about something as important as pregnant women? I think, as I mentioned earlier, it's because of the fact that the initial COVID vaccine trials did not include pregnant women. And therefore, initially, we said, well, maybe we don't know really whether it's safe to give a GM pregnancy or not. And perhaps maybe we should just hold on.

And that maybe was true a few months ago. And don't forget, a few months ago, we were in a lockdown. We were having social distance. And therefore, pregnant women had less risk of exposure. That's not going to be the case from next week, where we have easing restrictions. And also, as more pregnant women have received the vaccine, mainly in the States, mainly in Israel, and the CDC data do suggest that actually the vaccine is safe for pregnant women. And therefore, the messages have changed. And the JCVI, which issued issue recommendation about giving COVID vaccine in the

UK have actually said that pregnant women should receive COVID vaccine the same as non-pregnant individuals. Our listeners are getting in touch Asma so I just want to kind of go to the emails and by the way if you do want to ask any questions then 84844 is the number to text you can email via the website um alex has said i'm currently 10 weeks pregnant through ivf i haven't had the vaccine i was told by the fertility clinic to wait until after pregnancy the gp has said wait until 12 weeks the antenatal clinic has said it's up to me to decide i'd like to have the vaccine but really unsure what to do what should she do i mean talk about mixed messages and at the

time you know on top of that you are probably in your most vulnerable state you're pregnant and you don't know what to do and the people you turn to are all saying something completely different well that's just a perfect illustration of what i was mentioning earlier is that pregnant women are getting mixed messages we We do have guidance and recommendation from the Royal College of Obstetrician and Gynaecologists, which obviously aligned with the guidance from the JCPI. And the guidance is quite clear, is that pregnant women can receive the vaccine. There's no restrictions about what stage in pregnancy, but it's not unusual that women want to wait until the first scan so about 12 weeks to make

sure that the pregnancy is is is fine and is viable and the baby's okay but it's what's what we know and it's really important that you ideally should get the two doses of the vaccine before the third trimester that's the latter third of the pregnancy because we know that if you get COVID in the latter third of the pregnancy this is when it that if you get COVID in the latter third of the pregnancy, this is when it's likely to be more severe. The data from the UK, one in 10 of pregnant women admitted to hospital with symptoms of COVID actually need intensive care. That's quite serious. We looked at data from England, very large number, more than 300,000 pregnant women of those more than 3,000 pregnant women with COVID and what we found is that they increase the chance of preterm birth that's prematurity

that's potential risk of disability twice the risk in women who had COVID compared to those who didn't again increased risk of stillbirth that means the risk of baby dying inside during the pregnancy so I think you know it's not just protecting the woman herself, but also protecting the baby. And what you've just said, for anybody who's listening, and is at the early stages of pregnancy or thinking about getting pregnant, might make them think we should go and get the vaccination. But someone who hasn't been vaccinated and is currently in her third trimester,

knowing that next week things are about to open up, it'd be a terrifying thought, really. So what advice would you give to somebody who is in that situation? Yes, you're absolutely right. And that's why this statement from the Royal College of Obstetrician-Vanacologists and the Royal College of Midwives

highlighting this risk. Most vaccine centres, if you are pregnant, particularly in the latter stages of the pregnancy, the search on this, you can just walk in and say that I'm pregnant, I want to get the vaccine.

So you've got a few days before next week. I would encourage you, go and get your first dose if you haven't had the vaccine during pregnancy yet. And any of the vaccines, should they pick a certain one

it's a very good question in the UK the recommendation is to get either the Pfizer or the Moderna these two vaccines we call them mRNA vaccines and they are really safe during pregnancy

there is no data that they are in increased risk of clots or bleeding, which is what we heard with the AstraZeneca vaccine. And these are the two vaccines that were used in the States and Israel. And therefore, these are the two vaccines that we have data on a large number of pregnant women showing safety. And just because we want to cover all bases, Asma, whilst we're talking to you, what about anybody listening who's pregnant,

who's had the AstraZeneca, who might have just heard you say that and is instantly panicked? No, I don't think you should panic because the risk is still very, very low. And it seems that the risk is mainly after receiving the first dose. So if you have already received the first dose, is likely to be um a few months ago i think you're absolutely fine and there's no need to worry and certainly if you are pregnant and you have received the vaccine in the last few months

in the uk it's gonna this is would have been pfizer or madame i've got an email another email that i want to put to something quite specific i'm 36 weeks pregnant i've been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and have a cesarean section booked the end of july because of the diabetes i've had my first jab and have my second booked for friday when i had my first dose they asked if i had any blood i was on blood thinners which i wasn't however i will be on blood thinners after my cesarean which will be a week after my second jab i can't seem to find any information about whether it's safe um yes you're right but my advice to you that it should be safe it should not really affect um your chance of you know bleeding or any complication from the vaccine so my recommendation to you is absolutely fine go and get your second dose

and i don't think that should be a problem so you're back with your with your sedation real life advice um is to go and get vaccinated uh even if you're in your third trimester to go and get vaccinated but what if uh as um Sue from Hastings has messaged in to say I'm pregnant and not having the vaccination why would I risk my baby what if someone still feels that way and is adamant they're not going to do it? What's your advice to them? I mean, we have to respect woman choice. And we also have to understand, yes, we don't have data on these babies

whose moms received the vaccine during pregnancy. These babies are still very young, so we don't have data on their two years and their development. So I do acknowledge that some women are concerned and not and we have to respect that so if you don't if you have not received the vaccine i really think that particularly if you're in the third trimester like i said of the pregnancy you really should keep social distance you should potentially keep wearing the masks indoors and if you advise get tested, you should test it appropriate and self-isolate when required.

Asma, thank you very much for speaking to us this morning. Thank you for having me. Thank you. Now, Bronwyn Lewis is a Welsh singer-songwriter whose style sits between country, pop, folk and blues. She starred in the BAFTA award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated film Pride, where she sang the theme song Bread and Roses, and she brought Tom Jones to tears during her time on the BBC's The Voice in 2013. She's proudly bilingual. This year, her TikTok following grew,

as she went viral for her Welsh-language covers of famous pop songs, including George Ezra's Shotgun, and singing the Welsh national anthem in the lead-up to the Wales-Denmark Euros game. She's got two new singles out and a forthcoming album, and she joins me now to discuss her passion to promote the Welsh language and the inspiration for her new music.

Bronwyn, welcome to Woman's Hour. I am delighted that we've got you on because I think you're great. And also, I watch The Voice and I often wonder what happens to all those incredibly talented people who are on it. Where do they go? What happens to their careers? So people who are on it? Where do they go? What happens to their careers?

So we can talk to you about that. Thank you so much for having me on the programme. I'm a big fan and, yeah, just so grateful to be speaking to you. Yeah, you know, The Voice is a lovely starting point. And, you know, it was run by the BBC at that point and they gave me so much sort of coaching and training and I learned a lot about the industry very quickly, right at the start.

And really touched a nerve with Sir Tom Jones. Yes, you know, he's Welsh through and through. You know, he's still got that accent, even though he's lived all over the world. And when I sang in Welsh on the show, I did bring him to tears. That's on my CV now forever. Yes, of course.

That I made Tom Jones cry. It moved me as well. And you're fluent in Welsh. What is the importance of the language and singing in their language for you? For me, it's always been something that has come as naturally as breathing. I was brought up in a Welsh language school. My parents are learning Welsh. And my grandmother was a very very proud Welsh speaker um so I've always been I've always known it was cool and fun and interesting but

I think it's just the rest of the world are catching up should you ever listen to you singing in Welsh there we go yeah let's have a listen I'm going to sing a song called Time for You. Ond mae'r golau bychan yn pob man I weddraid i ni wneud yn dda A gadw at ein dynol i athyn ni Estynwch law mewn cyfnod gwael A bu o am i'n dechrau gweld yr hael A gweld y gwraestu ddenol ni Mae o'r anafall der I love you. Absolutely gorgeous.

Tell us about the song. Thank you. What's it called and what are you singing about? It's called Arddiwedd Dydd, which means at the end of the day in Welsh. And I wrote it in the height of the pandemic, in the first week actually of lockdown. And I was looking on social media

and it was quite a toxic place, wasn't it, right at the start? There was a lot of worry and panic and people sort of arguing a lot. And I decided then to put my sort of feelings on paper. I always say, like, writing for me and writing music is like a diary entry. It's just, it's whatever you feel and it's your safe place. So Ardhuil Di, it just means love prevails at the

end of the day that's the key line of the song and if we look after each other through tough times then um everything will get better basically it's the running theme of the program today you know this the we're living in this time where people are acting on things and get stepping out we were talking to the three hijabis about their petition. Lots of people getting in touch about what they're doing locally. It just feels like it's a time where people want to speak their truth. Yeah, I think so. And they want to communicate with others and they want to reach out. I think we've been doing a lot sort of digitally, haven't we, online.

And yeah, I think people really want to make a difference now. I think having the time off, especially for me, has made me realise what I love the most and what's really important, I think, isn't it? We've all realised that this past year. And you've gone crazy on social media. I mean, TikTok,

you went viral with your Welsh covers. George Ezra's Shotgun. And then you sang the Welsh national anthem. And you're on a mission, aren't you? Well, I am. You know, I started the TikToks because, well, I heard that it was huge.

I joined just to watch some funny videos of cats, to be honest. They're brilliant. They're brilliant. I bet our For You page is very similar. Lots of animals. And yeah, so I decided to start doing these TikToks. And I did the first one. And I've always been singing in Welsh.

I've always translated songs into Welsh because I play to audiences of people that, you know, you've not always not all of them are fluent. Some are learners. Some don't speak Welsh at all. And I felt that if I translated these famous pop songs, that it sort of united everyone. It didn't make anyone feel sort of excluded. So I thought I'd put it up and then I thought, well, it's not good enough just putting a translation up. I want to teach them how to sing because the best part of inclusion when it comes to a language is teaching more people. So I taught people how to sing Shotgun in Welsh and it sort of just skyrocketed. The first day I woke up the next day and it had, you know, 100,000 views on TikTok.

And my fan base on there now is now 18,000 people, which if you think of that in a stadium it's a bit scary isn't it really you'll be packing out the stadiums at some point i'm no doubt of that it's a very lyrical beautiful language to listen to is it different when you sing in welsh to when you sing in english yes i mean i love writing in both um but for for me i was brought up listening to my father and my grandfather in a welsh male voice choir and hearing them sing it's sort of just it hits your heart in a different way and for me there's a line in welsh canny or gal on we sing from the heart and for me when i sing in welsh it really does come from that deep place inside of me and uh yeah and i just want to sort of spread the word to the younger generation that it's cool and fun and we should be so grateful that we have two languages um to speak and uh

and to sing in yes and a preservation of heritage is is so vital um so important did you grow up in a very musical household you said your dad's dad's song yes um we were sort of known as the von trapp family of our local village. We were just all singers. Were you the only Von Trapps in the village? Well, I don't know whether there was a competition going on. I'm not sure. But yeah, we all love singing. There was always a piano in the house. Whenever we get together at Christmas time, we all sing. My grandmother was in a choir. My mother's got a beautiful voice um my sister so I recently released a nice little video um on my YouTube and it's me singing my new single Hearts My Home with my grandfather father mother and sister as backing vocals which is yeah and it was and and everyone asked you know did it did you have to practice a lot it was literally the day before

I said can you come along to the studio and they they were like, yeah, we'll give it a bash. And they did brilliantly. I've watched it back to back about 75 times. Oh, no. Well, it's a beautiful song, and we will play the song. Don't worry, everyone will get to hear it. But the video is so charming. Because you've roped your family into it, it's really moving.

It's a very emotional video to watch. Oh, thank you. And I love that you got your family involved. Did they have a choice? Yeah no not really um but I did sort of pay them in tapas and sangria afterwards so it kind of worked out but I thought you know heart's my home what can I involve and really my heart is my family um so and my grandfather you know he got into Frank Sinatra mode instantly he loved it so what did you do in your style is I said you know so it's country it's folk what did you grow up listening to where what you're

who are your inspirations well my dad is a sort of heavy metal lover um so there was a lot of rock with him especially Queen big big into Queen and then um my mother was big into Dolly Parton, Carole King, Joni Mitchell. And yeah, so where the country comes from, I suppose, is Dolly Parton. And during lockdown, that's all I did was listen to country music because it's so uplifting, so happy. And I feel like the lyrics are the most important part, which for me is the same. You know, the story of the songs is the most important part for me. Yeah, absolutely. So what inspires the stories? the most important part for me. Yeah, absolutely. So what inspires the stories?

Because you are a storyteller. Yes, yeah, I am a storyteller. And, you know, I've really missed being in front of an audience. Like that's something that, you know, I bet a lot of my fellow musicians have missed is actually having that real life audience. So I can't wait. I'm going on tour next year all over the UK

and I can actually, well, hopefully reach out and touch real people in the audience. And, you know, audience participation has been important to me. I've been doing Facebook live gigs this past year and that sort of kept me going. You've built a career in lockdown, haven't you? You've found an audience. Well, yeah, people have said that to me and I sort of haven't realised it. But I think being sort of self-employed and being a musician, I had to think quick on my feet for 10 years um and things have changed you know different doors closed and doors open um so I've just kind of had to just adapt very quickly this last year and you know I didn't really know how to use my iPhone properly at the start of last year and now I'm sort of streaming um with all these HD cameras and and

working it out but you know I'm so passionate about what I do I I don't mind working hard around the clock for it and um and yeah it seems to have worked out for me which I'm so grateful for and I'm just grateful for the following they're so loyal and um I I love them all to bits you're passionate about what you do and you're very good at what you do. Bronwyn, I think we should play out with your song. Yeah, I think Heart's My Home. I think that we're going to treat all of... It's Friday, so I think everyone listening to Radio 4 now needs their spirits lifted.

So the video, please do Google it. It's you with your family singing backing. And I'll let you intro the song. Tell us a bit about it and what's you with your family singing backing and uh yeah i'll let you intro the song tell us a bit about it and what's it called and we'll play out so this song's heart of my home and it's my brand new single from my up and coming album canvas which is out next month and i wrote it about my partner kian um and it's that moment when you realize that home is a person and not a place wonderful um have a great weekend weekend. Join us on Monday at 10am. Until then, very good.

Have a great weekend. Thank you. Hey there love, we've come a long way From the coast of Terminal where we drank the night away Back to your house, head on your chest I like that best, still like it best Through wandering eyes and different skies we stayed And after all is said and done, just look what we've made Your heart's my home Your heart's my home Nowhere comes close Your heart's my home Thank you. That's all for today's Woman's Hour.

Join us again next time. That's all for today's Woman's Hour. Join us again next time. Hello, I'm Pandora Sykes. And just before you go, I wanted to tell you about a new podcast, Pieces of Britney. My attempt to piece together the life of Britney Spears and the forces that have forged it. A huge fan. Yeah, absolutely. A fan of not just the performer, but the person.

I think that a lot of people were rooting for Britney to fail. And there's this sort of assumption of, you know, A huge fan, yeah, absolutely. A fan of not just the performer, but the person. I think that a lot of people were rooting for Britney to fail. And there's this sort of assumption of, you know, this is what you wanted, this is what you're going to get. In this eight-part series for BBC Radio 4, I've spoken to cultural thinkers, lawyers, psychologists and key players in the entertainment industry to get their perspective on Britney's remarkable story and enduring legacy. I used her as an example of somebody who really got what was required to do that kind of work. We're also using drama to help us look behind the headlines and the conflicting accounts to imagine the woman underneath. Join me for Pieces of Britney. Subscribe now on BBC Sounds.

I'm Sarah Trelevan, and for over a year, I've been working on one of the most complex stories I've ever covered. There was somebody out there who was faking pregnancies. I started, like, warning everybody. Every doula that I know. It was fake. No pregnancy. And the deeper I dig, the more questions I unearth. How long has she been doing this?

What does she have to gain from this? From CBC and the BBC World Service, The Con, Caitlin's Baby. It's a long story, settle in. Available now.