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TO MARK International Women’s Day, we asked readers how the pandemic has impacted you – and the results make for sobering reading. It’s been a year like no other. While the pandemic has been tough for everyone, multiple studies suggest that women have been disproportionately impacted by it, both at home and at work. Globally, women are 1.8 times more likely to have lost their jobs in the last year, while the Women And Equalities Committee has warned that the government risks turning back the clock on gender equality unless it takes proactive steps to support women through the pandemic. So this International Women’s Day , a year since coronavirus swept the country , we spoke to almost 3,000 readers to find out how the toughest year on record has really impacted them. The results make clear that the pandemic has hit women’s mental and physical health hard. One In Ten readers lost their job during the pandemic Nearly half have felt more … [Read more...] about We asked four readers why it has been the toughest year ever for women

For nearly two decades, women in Afghanistan have played an active part in social and political life by holding political office, working in professions and running businesses. Advances for women have extended from the country's elite in the cities all the way to the less-privileged communities in the provinces. However, Afghan women now fear their place in society will again be marginalized as the Islamist militant Taliban consolidate their power under a peace deal with the US. There are big questions about how the social landscape in Afghanistan will shift under Taliban influence, and what conditions will be forced upon women. Fawzia Koofi, a member of the Afghan government delegation negotiating with the Taliban, said it is difficult to determine how the Taliban have changed nearly 20 years after being removed from political power. Afghanistan, however, has turned into a different country. "When they [the Taliban] get to know the new Afghanistan and see the media, the … [Read more...] about Afghan women risk losing their rights in a new political setup

"It is a great pleasure for me to announce Samantha's coming space mission," said Josef Aschbacher, the new director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), as he opened a press conference on March 3. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is scheduled to go back to the International Space Station (ISS) for her second stay in the spring of 2022, following her two colleagues Thomas Pesquet and Matthias Maurer, who will set off for the ISS in April and October 2021 respectively. Cristoforetti herself is delighted. "Not surprisingly, it was a feeling of extreme joy and gratefulness for this opportunity. As I've mentioned before, I had the amazing opportunity the past few years to grow as an astronaut. But we have this tendency of wanting to go back to space as soon as possible," she admitted. Freshly brewed ISSpresso For Cristoforetti, it will be a return to her "home away from home," as she likes to call the ISS. The Italian astronaut has indeed already spent a remarkable … [Read more...] about ISS: Astronaut Cristoforetti readies to return ‘home’

A mum who says she fell pregnant without ever having had full sex has been nicknamed "Virgin Mary". Nicole Moore couldn't believe it when she learned she was expecting a baby eight years ago as she says she was still a virgin at the time. The supply teacher from Portsmouth, Hampshire, suffered from a condition called vaginismus which causes the vaginal walls to involuntary constrict. It's believed to affect roughly one in 500 women at some point in life. This meant she was never able to insert a tampon, have a pap smear, or ever have full sex. When she got together with her partner, Nicola says they found other ways to be intimate with each other that didn't involve penetrative sex, and against the odds she still managed to conceive. So it came as the shock of her life when she took a pregnancy test one lunchtime at work and it came back positive. "I’d spent all my teenage life not being able to insert a tampon, so I knew something was not quite right," Nicola, now 28, … [Read more...] about Mum who says she got pregnant despite never having full sex nicknamed ‘Virgin Mary’

Virgin Atlantic is paying tribute to Sir Richard Branson 's late mother Eve Branson, by naming one of its new A350 planes after her. Mrs Branson sadly passed away in January aged 96, after a battle with coronavirus. The airline announced that it would be marking International Women's Day by naming two new aircraft after inspirational women; one honouring Eve, the other paying tribute to Emmeline Pankhurst. The A350 paying homage to Eve Branson will be named 'Fearless Lady' and be registered as G-VEVE. When announcing the news of his mother's passing earlier this year, Richard Branson wrote a touching post in which he said that "rather than mourn her loss, I want to celebrate her wonderful life, her tremendous spirit". Describing his mother as a "force of nature" he wrote: "She lived many remarkable lives. She took glider lessons disguised as a boy, enlisted in the WRENS during World War II, toured Germany as a ballet dancer after the war, acted on the West End … [Read more...] about Virgin Atlantic’s new plane pays tribute to Richard Branson’s mum who died of Covid