When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, following the withdrawal of US troops, the lives of women and girls across the country changed almost overnight. Under Taliban rule, women and girls are removed from almost every aspect of daily life, are denied access to education and even face restrictions going out alone, speaking or singing in public.

Not long after the takeover, Arezo Rahimi, a 21 year-old journalist and photographer, arrived in Ireland with her mother, leaving behind the life she once knew in Kabul. She joins Róisín Ingle today to talk about what life was like for women in Afghanistan before the Taliban seized power, how that’s changed and why she ultimately made the journey to Ireland.

We also hear about her involvement with Daricha School, an organisation which runs an underground network of schools for girls who are denied education. The classes take place either online or in secret locations across Afghanistan. Rahimi explains how this movement forms one part of the resistance against the Taliban, but that the international community needs to do so much more.

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With the General Election campaign in full swing and just over a week to go until polling day, political parties are making all sorts of promises to garner votes and ensure they make it into the next Government. On the campaign trail, the focus has been put on housing, the cost of living crisis and immigration, but what promises have each party made in their manifestos regarding women? What has been said about women’s healthcare, the childcare crisis, or how to address record levels of domestic violence? Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) joins Róisín Ingle to discuss the issues and to also outline the NWCI's own election manifesto for women.

In this episode, we’re also focusing on women’s participation in politics. The last Daíl had 37 women TDs, out of a total of 160. That’s 23 per cent female representation. Katie Deegan, Communications coordinator from Women for Election joins Ingle and O’Connor to talk about the barriers facing women entering politics, the importance of women’s voices at the decision making table and the biggest election issues facing young women today.

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In today’s episode, Chelsey Goodan aka the “teenage whisperer” joins Róisín Ingle to talk about her new book Underestimated: The Power and Wisdom of Teenage Girls. It’s an empowering guide to better understand our teen daughters, stemming from Goodan's 16 years spent mentoring young people from all different backgrounds. Goodan talks about the challenges that teenage girls face today, and discusses how mothers can deepen their relationships with their daughters by listening and giving them the tools to find their own solutions. We also hear from Ingle’s 15-year-old twin daughters, Joya and Priya, who shed light on what it’s really like to be a teenage girl in 2024 and what they think their mum is doing right and what she’s doing wrong.

But first, Irish Times journalist Ella Sloane joins Ingle to talk about her essay which won Ireland's Sarah Cecilia Harrison Essay Prize this week.

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