Cervical cancer testing, Imogen Poots, Syria and women, Janet Jackson play

New research which has just been published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that testing menstrual blood for signs of cervical cancer could be an accurate way of screening for the disease. The BBC's Health Correspondent, Sophie Hutchinson, and Fiona Osgun, Head of Health information at Cancer Research UK join Anita Rani to talk about this new area of research and discuss the options currently open to women.

English actor Imogen Poots is back on our screens taking on a challenging role in Kristen Stewart’s first feature film, The Chronology of Water. It’s a creative adaptation of an acclaimed memoir by American writer Lidia Yuknavitch which centres on her coming to terms with being abused as a child, battling pain and loss, and her ongoing healing journey. Imogen Poots joins Anita in the studio.

The Kurdish-led self-administration in the north east of Syria is a territory where for years women have sat at the centre of political life, security and decision-making. But many are worried that the system is now under pressure following a new agreement between Kurdish authorities and the Syrian government, which will integrate the region into the Syrian state being rebuilt after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Anita is joined by Lina Shaikhouni, journalist at the BBC World Service and Dilar Dirik, Kurdish writer and author of The Kurdish Women’s Movement: History, Theory, Practice.

Paula Varjack talks to Anita about her show Nine Sixteenths. It examines the fallout from the infamous Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake ‘wardrobe malfunction’ incident at the 2004 Superbowl and the backlash that almost ruined Jackson’s career. The play questions what this says about the demographics of who controls the media, the scrutinising of black women in the public eye and asks if anything has changed?

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer : Corinna Jones