The 51%

Mar 07 2025 24 ep. 12 mins 100

The 51% Podcast artwork

A program about women who are reshaping our world. Join us every Friday at 4:15pm Paris time and check out our Facebook page: FRANCE24.51percent.

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Consent & the Pelicot case: Will it result in changes to French law?

Mar 07 2025 12 mins

To mark International Women's Day, we focus on what was clearly the biggest story in France in recent months. That being the rape trial of Gisele Pelicot who went on to become a global feminist icon after waiving her right to remain anonymous. A court in Avignon hearing how for nearly a decade, the 72-year-old grandmother had been drugged unconscious by her husband and offered to m

Women can have a dark streak too: The need for more research into female psychopaths

Feb 28 2025 12 mins

Now when you think of a psychopath, what images immediately come to mind? Most likely that of a man; be it Adolf Hitler, Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson or Joseph Stalin. Not so, says Annette Young's guest this week. Miriam Frankel, the Senior Science Editor at the Conversation Media Group, talks about why scientists have been seemingly reticent to explore dark traits among women.

The death of DEI? Trump wages war on diversity, equity and inclusion

Feb 21 2025 11 mins

With Donald Trump back in the White House; they've become the most controversial initials. That's DEI or diversity, equity and inclusion programs promoting equality in the workplace. The US president has declared war on DEI, declaring it to be "immoral." So what does it mean beyond American shores? Annette Young asks Dr Marcelle Laliberté, Chief DEI Officer at HEC, France's leadin

Can artificial intelligence be feminist as calls against inclusivity grow?

Feb 14 2025 12 mins

A few concepts arguably dominated remarks at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris this February: inclusivity, ethics and deregulation. Debates about these themes, complimentary for some but conflicting for others, will have a significant impact on whether the technology can or will be used to address societal ills, including gender inequality. While the French governm

Confronting a surge in femicides in Kenya

Feb 07 2025 12 mins

The brutal murder of Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei in September 2024 brought renewed global attention to a silent epidemic in Kenya: femicide and other forms of violence against women. With nearly 100 women murdered by men in just three months, 2024 was one of the deadliest years on record for Kenyan women. With mentalities slow to change and in the absence of a meaningful respo

Grieving Brazilian mothers urge end to gun violence

Jan 31 2025 11 mins

In this edition, how amid grief comes strength. Mothers in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro who lost their children due to gang violence, form a support network which also fights for justice. Also South Africa has one of the highest rates of femicide in the world yet despite this, half of the safe houses for domestic violence survivors in Cape Town, are facing closure. Plus we

Taking on the Taliban: The need to end gender apartheid in Afghanistan

Jan 24 2025 14 mins

In a special edition, we focus on how Afghanistan under the Taliban, has literally become hell on earth for women and girls. Annette Young meets Fawzia Koofi, a women's rights activist and a former member of the Afghan parliament who has also survived several assassination attempts. The two talk about the need for international efforts to end gender apartheid and the role of intern

Trump 2.0 and women's rights: What is at stake this time around?

Jan 17 2025 11 mins

With Donald Trump re-entering the White House, what will it mean for American women this time around? Annette Young talks to Carter Sherman, the reproductive health reporter for the Guardian US. Also the gender divide in South Korea is becoming all the more evident during this latest political crisis over the arrest of President Yoon Suk Yeol; with young men protesting against his

'The Resilience Myth': Looking at new ways to cope with trauma

Jan 10 2025 12 mins

Annette Young talks to American feminist writer, Soraya Chemaly, about her latest book, 'The Resilience Myth,' which questions the way we cope with trauma in our lives. Also how the fight against sexism and misogyny online has just got that much tougher due to Meta's decision to drop fact-checkers from Facebook and Instagram. Plus how women scientists in the Democratic Republic of

Why we need to fight for girls' rights

Jan 03 2025 10 mins

For the first show of 2025, we focus on that often-forgotten issue; girls' rights. Our team in Pakistan report on how climate change is resulting in a rise of child marriage in the country. Also we head to Senegal where the case of a nine-year-old girl, pregnant as a result of being raped by her Koran teacher, has sparked outrage particularly from human rights groups. Plus Annette