David Lammy MP; Offensive material online; Rahila Gupta

In a new report Doing Family: Encouraging Active Fatherhood, Labour MP David Lammy outlines the importance of engaging fathers and helping them feel less marginalised when it comes to their family. He would like to see the next Labour Government deliver real changes – making public services father-friendly, offering better parental leave and child care, and helping dads maintain contact with their children after a relationship breaks down. David Lammy talks to Jane alongside Kathryn Gyngell from the Centre for Policy Studies.

   

NoViolet Bulawayo was born in Zimbabwe and moved to the USA when she was eighteen.   In 2011 she won the Caine Prize for African Writing for a wonderful piece of writing about six children living in a shanty called Paradise and the journey they make to steal guavas from a rich part of town.  These same children, with the ten year old narrator, Darling, appear in her first novel,  We Need New Names, in which Darling eventually leaves her homeland aged fourteen and moves to what she imagines will be the paradise of America. NoViolet joins Jane in the studio.

David Cameron has called for more action from web companies to rid the internet of images of child sex abuse.  Maria Miller has already summoned  Internet Service Providers to a summit next week to address the issue of harmful content on the internet. This comes after the convictions of Mark Bridger and Stuart Hazell, both of whom had such images stored on their computer.  Women’s groups have called on David Cameron to make the possession of “rape porn” illegal.  Are we witnessing a much-needed, even long overdue review, or could free speech lose out, with implications for all of us?  Jane discusses the issues with Kirsty Hughes, chief executive of Index on Censorship and Sarah Green from End Violence Against Women.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Don’t Wake Me: The Ballad of Nihal Armstrong, written by Rahila Gupta, tells the story of the conception, birth and life of her son, Nihal. Three months after Nihal’s very difficult birth a doctor tells Rahila that her baby has cerebral palsy and will never learn to walk, talk, read, or write. But this is only the beginning - as Nihal grows, Rahila recognises that inside his seemingly helpless body is a bright, spirited boy in need of stimulation and education. The play is the story of her relationship with Nihal, her tireless battles against prejudice and ignorance, and most importantly, a wonderful characterisation of Nihal himself, who died suddenly at the age of 17. Rahila joins Jane in the studio to talk about Nihal, his life and why she chose to write the play.

 

Don’t Wake Me: The Ballad of Nihal Armstrong written by Rahila Gupta is on at The Cockpit Theatre in London

 

Currently if you have a child under 16, a disabled child under 18, or certain caring responsibilities for an adult, you have the right to ask your employer for flexible working arrangements. From April 2014 this right to request will be extended to cover all employees who have been with their employer for 26 weeks or more, widening the pool of people who could request to change their working pattern. So why is flexible working so important for women today? It’s a topic that will be discussed at the Mumsnet Workfest event on Saturday. Jane is joined by Rachel Krys, a campaigner for inclusion at work, who will be speaking at the event.

 

Mumsnet Workfest is on Saturday 15 June – a day of inspirational speakers and workshops to help women get back to work, change career or set up own business