we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. gloria steinem is a name that's become almost synonymous with feminism. she was the face of the women's rights movements in the us during the 1970s, focusing her efforts on advancing women's political participation and reproductive rights. her activism followed her career in journalism, which started here in new york. she was the co—founder of ms magazine, one of the first us publications to focus on women's issues beyond the perils of housekeeping. now, at 89 years old, she's in a unique position to reflect on how far feminism has come and where it has gone wrong. gloria steinem sat down with bbc 100 women to discuss how feminism has changed in the past 50 years, cancel culture, and what the future might look like for women's

rights movements. gloria, welcome. thanks for speaking with bbc 100 women. how are you? well, how am i? i would say i'm like eight out of a possible ten. pretty good. that's amazing. so what is life like these days? well, i am not travelling. maybe that's the biggest difference between most of my life and now, partly because of the pandemic, which, you know, put us all in our houses, and partly because now there's so much opportunity to communicate online. so i'm happy to be in my neighbourhood. i'm still now hyper conscious of how great it is to be here. so, gloria, we're sitting here, it's 2023, almost 50 years after you founded the women's action alliance, which was a group that helped women fight sexism in the us.

how do you feel about where the feminist movement is today? i feel proud of the amount of invention and rebellion and humourand... she chuckles ..community among us. at the same time, i'm living in a country where a female human being has never been president, when that could and should have happened long ago. so i feel proud of the movement but aware of how much it takes for a movement really to succeed, whether it's the civil rights movement, the gay and lesbian and transgender movement, the women's movement, i mean, and all these movements are connected. when you want to measure progress, when it comes to women's rights, what are the key markers that you look for to say, ok, we've moved forward, not backward?

some are simple, like how many women turn out to vote? and actually more women than men now do turn out to vote. some are more top down, like who's in the white house and who isn't. and some are very domestic. who is raising the children? who is making dinner? who is doing the dishes? that's crucial. and so based on all of that, do you think that there has been progress here? yes. no, no, no, there has been progress, just not enough. right? not enough, definitely. so what kind of change... ..you wish to see that you think hasn't been achieved and you hope to see accomplished in your lifetime? well, the most obvious and simplest is that we can determine the fate of our own physical selves, so we can decide whether and

when to have children, not to have children. you know, whatever it is about our physical selves because that's where our difficulty begins, because we happen to have wombs. and the desire to control wombs is very central to authoritarian systems. so, you know, it's clear that controlling reproduction is crucial. yet when we talk about politics, we don't usually start there. let's talk about gen z, the generation z. their oldest are entering their 20s, some of them are still in their teenage years. when you look at their kind of activism, how much does it differ from your kind of activism and when you started? would you do anything differently now? well, of course, we have online communication, and that is a huge, huge difference.

i mean, we were still mimeographing and phoning each other, you know. i actually wish we could continue that and have a big satellite in the sky that we control. but would you do anything differently today? get inspiration. do you get any inspiration from the gen z and what they're doing at the moment? oh, yes. no, absolutely. tell me about that. well, a movement is inspired by people moving, you know, so that younger women have the courage to dress as they wish, resist adjectives, not have children or have children with or without marriage. that's all a step forward. what do you think about actually using the internet and online as a space for activism? or do you still believe that things happen when you go on the streets and march? we've added the internet to our various forms

of communication, and we need to use them all. the problem with the internet is that it's discriminatory because not everyone can afford to have a computer or understands the technology or knows how to express themselves on the web, and that's worrisome. and it does make it somewhat worse since, just from an education or access point of view, probably men have more access to technology than women do. clearly, you can get the notice out of the call for a demonstration or whatever it is, much faster. but nothing replaces the two of us talking to each other, you know, absorbing meaning with all five senses, not just with something we say on the screen. and the screen version is discriminatory economically because, how many people have a computer? i mean, if you look

at the google offices map of the world and the lines going out, you know, where there's communication, there are big dark areas. yeah. it's very discriminatory. so nothing but nothing replaces the all five senses experience of being together, of more complete media. and actually it's physical. i mean, we can't empathise in the same way online or on paper as we can... in person. ..in person. another thing that nowadays everybody�*s talking about is cancel culture. you know, there is this fear of speaking up, especially among the younger generation. what do you think of that? do you actually think that this is compromising the freedom

of speech of the younger generation? you know, i don't feel it myself, but i resent it on behalf of anybody who does feel it, because free speech is crucial to any democracy. we should not submit to cancel culture. it's social pressure as censorship, and it's definitely not a good thing. even when it is suppressing evidence of bias, it still is silencing people. 0nline we are seeing the rise of different personalities like andrew tate, one of them, i don't know if you've heard of him, and he's been criticised a lot for his treatment of women online, actually. why do you think there is this rise in this kind of sentiment against women and women's rights movement these days?

well, you know, we, you and i have grown up in some form of patriarchy... yeah. ..that says that even in the family, women are more responsible for taking care of infants and small children than men are, even though men are parents, too. so that's where a lack of democracy begins. and that's the beginning of change that we all can make. we shouldn't feel helpless just because we're not changing something globally. where the idea of domination and a lack of democracy begins is in the family. and it's even more important and even more the cause of future conflict to grow up with that, with making discrimination and domination 0k, than national policies are.

so do you think that it is part of feminism's role or mission, should be part of feminist movement missions, to actually help men also navigate in this world that is very different from 50 years ago and all of those gender roles are changing? do you think that should be part of the feminist movement goals as well? well, we need to be honest and say what we're thinking. i mean, men can't read our minds, but it is not our responsibility to make their revolution and their dinner, imean... good point. there are people who actually think that feminism is bad. and online now, because a lot of people have their own platforms, they talk about it very openly. what is your strategy to actually convince these kind of people with these views that, actually, feminism is beneficial for everyone? well, it may not be

beneficial for... everyone. ..for somebody who is using... ..masculinity to dominate. that's like using being white to dominate people of colour. it's not right. it's not a good thing. and we have to be honest about it. you know, wherever we encounter bias, it's important to name it, to contend with it, to find people who share this anger and outrage and do something about it. there's no hierarchy of suffering. today when you look at feminist movement here, for instance, is there anything that you think the feminist movement is doing wrong? i wouldn't say that we're doing it wrong, but there are some things that we don't emphasise enough. for instance, if we are working on some evidence of discrimination, then we who are working represent everybody who experiences it.

and if we're only white or only... ..we�*re restricted in some way, it probably would be helpful and we would be more effective and we would have more fun and learn more if we included everybody who's affected by that particular thing. and fun is also very important in movements. yes, absolutely. now, you know, laughing is the one human emotion that can't be compelled. mm. you can make somebody cry or fear. you can even make somebody think they're in love if they're dependent for long enough, right? but you can't force somebody to laugh. and that's why in cherokee culture, for instance, there is a god of laughter. the idea is that laughter breaks into the unknown. and, therefore, if you can't laugh, you can't pray. i really want to get your point of view on this.

what do you think...? maybe... i don't want you to speak on behalf of all women in the world, but what do you feel is one of the most urgent things and challenges for women's rights at the moment? clearly, because we have a womb and men don't, the desire to control the womb... ..is often the first or most lethal or most impactful kind of effort. even when hitler was elected, and he was elected, the first thing he did the very next day was to padlock all the family planning clinics and declare abortion a crime against the state. yet we don't necessarily say that when we discuss fascism. so the autonomy of female body is the most pressing? well, it's. ..

the reason for our restriction is basically that we have wombs. and so that is often the central way we feel restriction. so do you think the reversal of roe v wade lastjune... ..well, some people, a lot of women supported it, a lot of women opposed it. what do you think the impact of this ruling will be on women in other parts of the world? it's not for me to say, except to continue to support reproductive freedom, the ability of each individual woman to have the right to have children or not to have children, and to do my best to connect with and communicate with and support women who are supporting this around the world. i mean, reproductive freedom is as basic, maybe more basic than

freedom of speech. i want to talk about iran a little, because last year after mahsa amini, a 22—year—old iranian kurdish woman, died in police custody because of allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely, because hijab is mandatory in public spaces in iran, women took to the streets all across iran. they took off their hijab, they burnt it, were swinging it in the air and chanting, "woman, life, freedom." i've spoken to feminist activists from different parts of the world and a lot of people, a lot of them called it a feminist revolution. what do you think about that? do you think of that as a feminist revolution? yes. yeah. because they are fighting for self determination, for the idea that a woman's body is not shameful or to be restricted, you know, just as men's bodies are not. whether they use the word feminism or not is up to them. linguistically, especially, there are all different ways of saying this.

some people said women power or women's liberation. it's up to us. when you look at different parts of the world with what women are achieving, especially in latin america at the moment, with the so—called green wave, they were very successful in advancing reproductive rights from argentina to mexico. what do you think about that front line activism taking to the streets? it's great. you know... it's right down your alley, i guess. yeah. no, because using our voices, protecting our bodies, supporting other women is what the revolution is all about. i also understand that they are in a slightly different situation because they have a kind of nationalform of catholicism in some cases. and not... catholicism is not the only religion that tries to control reproduction and to create evermore people, but it is

probably the best publicised one. the intersection of gender and race has always been centre to your work and your activism. how do you think we can ensure that globalfeminism is more collaborative and that western feminists are not speaking on behalf of women in other parts of the world? 0ur voices need to take account of experience, and we can't speak on behalf of women in another country whose experience is different. perhaps the chador is necessary for her safety, so i'm certainly not going to criticise her. perhaps the religious view on contraception and abortion is more of a problem from one religion than from others. so it's up to us to say that.

mm. and some argue that western feminism hasn't been inclusive enough. would you agree with that? well, that's probably true. i mean, we're dealing with racism in this country. we have always generally tried to say, ok, if the group we're starting with doesn't look like the country, then we should wait until it does. you know, do our individual or small group best to represent all the women who are affected by a particular issue. now, let's talk about me too, the me too movement. it exposed, here in the us, it exposed some of the most powerful men in hollywood as sexual predators and abusers. do you think that the me too movement has done enough for women outside of hollywood, and even outside of us, to come forward and speak up

about sexual harassment and violence? you know, they provided an example because to see women demonstrating at the academy awards ended up with women demonstrating at brandenburg gate and in africa so, you know, to the extent that we now have global communication — the actions of rebellion are contagious. i remember being in i think it was in london toward its beginning, and women in the street were... who had just heard about it, you know, were wearing signs that said me too. the appropriation of female bodies by men or the appropriation of bodies of colour by white people or whatever it is that interferes with our self—determination is not

confined to one country or another. so tell me, gloria, what does life look like for you now? i'm out of your home, your apartment. this is also where your foundation is as well. does that make it difficult for you to separate gloria steinem, the activist public figure from the personal, private one? there isn't a separation, really. i mean, i think the less separation, the better. the separation comes mainly, i think, from being employed by somebody else who sets the standards of your dress and behaviour and so on. and i don't have that. i'm enjoying staying home more. i mean, i was travelling all the time for decades. so it is great to be home more. and i turn my living room into a place for talking circles where, you know, disparate people can come and meet, and that's fun. itjust, it changes form. you know, revolution is like a liquid that's

being poured into different containers. it changes its form, but it's still the same liquid. now, what would you say is the biggest misconception people make about you? well, occasionally, especially when i was travelling a lot, people seemed surprised that i had a sense of humour. you're notjust an angry feminist. right. i think also if people look at the movement and think that it is more limited to college educated white women than it really is, it's often started in quite the reverse way. if there is any legacy, i would just say that i... ..was trying to make the world a little more fair and a little more representative than it was when i got here, that this included laughter and joy as well as anger and... right? that each of us is unique

so we shouldn't try to be like somebody else. but perhaps we can gain support and inspiration from knowing people who came before us. amazing. thank you, gloria steinem, for speaking with bbc 100 women. it's been a joy talking to you. no, thank you so much. thank you. hello there. many parts of the uk had some lengthy spells of sunshine

on friday, but there were a few showers around. the remain of some of this shower cloud in wolverhampton gave this fine end to the day, a fine sunset, and the majority of the shower cloud through friday afternoon was associated with a stripe of cloud you can see right here. this was actually an old cold front. the significance of that is colder air is behind it. and as we go through the next few hours, that will be pushing in across much of the uk. milder air recirculating around our area of high pressure into northern ireland and western scotland. so it's here through the weekend that we will see the nation's highest temperatures. now on to the next few hours, we're looking at that colder air arriving, a lot of dry weather, a lot of clear skies. and that means it's a recipe for things turning pretty cold. and heading into the first part of saturday morning, we start off with a frost, even some patches of frost, i think, across rural areas of southern england. the lowest temperatures probably down to about —3 or so into rural areas of northern england and scotland. for saturday, where we get this colder air moving in, for most, it's a glorious start to the day with clear, blue, sunny skies. a bit of cloud coming in to eastern areas of norfolk and suffolk and maybe a bit of cloud developing through the day elsewhere. some splashes of rain possible

for the far north of scotland, but otherwise it's dry. the highest temperatures likely in northern ireland. we could see a 17 here in the very warmest spots. for sunday, generally, there's going to be a bit more cloud across parts of scotland, thick enough for some splashes of light rain, fleeting rain, really, a few showers coming in across east anglia and south—east england, where we'll continue to have quite a chilly wind. could be even warmer for northern ireland — if we were to get 19 celsius, well, that would be northern ireland's highest temperature of the year. so we'll be monitoring that carefully through the weekend. 0n into next week, high pressure stays to the west of the uk, and we continue to see this feed of cloud coming down the north sea. if anything, the cloud getting a bit more extensive, a bit thicker, and that means there's more likelihood of seeing some patches of drizzle across northern and eastern scotland and some eastern areas of england as well. the best of the sunshine, probably parts of north west england, wales, south—west england, northern ireland might still do 0k, and western

parts of scotland. where the sunshine comes out, it shouldn't feel too bad. but if you're in the east where it's going to be quite cloudy with that wind coming in off the north sea, it will probably feel quite chilly. temperatures picking up a little later next week.

live from washington. this is bbc news. ukrainian troops on the frontlines are facing severe ammunition shortages as they try to hold back russian advances. we are less than a day away from a vote in the us house of representatives — with billions of dollars of funding for ukraine hanging in the balance. and — president zelenskyy prepares to mark his fifth year in office as the third year of russia's invasion rages on.

hello, i'm carl nasman. welcome to a special programme on the war in ukraine. let's start here in washington. all eyes will be on capitol hill this weekend — a dramatic shot of their life. as a foreign aid package for ukraine will finally make it onto the house floor. lawmakers are expected to vote saturday on that bill, along with several others, including assistance for israel and taiwan. republican speaker of the house mikejohnson had blocked ukrainian aid for months, and while it still faces resistance from some members of his own party, the bill is expected to pass. let's take a look at what's in that aid package for kyiv. total aid to ukraine amounts to an estimated $61 billion. with $23 billion, or about a third of that money used to replenish us weapons and ammunition stockpiles. $13.4 billion will go directly to ukraine to purchase weapons from the us. $15.8 billion will be given in security assistance.

$9.5 billion in economic help, in the form of