Woman's Hour - 28/09/2009

With Jane Garvey. Including: According to a survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), nearly a quarter of school and college staff have endured physical violence from a student, and just under 40 per cent have been confronted by an aggressive parent or guardian. Whilst there are many schools who don't suffer these problems, teachers in schools that do appear powerless in the face of ongoing classroom challenges, pushing some to breaking point. So do teachers need more powers to discipline children? Jane is joined by Christine Blower, General Secretary of the NUT, and journalist Allison Pearson. Delhi's first single sex train serving a growing number of female commuters has recently been introduced, with eight more planned for other major Indian cities. Since India began economic reforms in the early 1990s, women have entered the urban work force, initially as government office workers, but now increasingly as employees in the booming services sector or in professional jobs. Overall, the number of working women has roughly doubled in 15 years. But what effect does this increase have on the traditional family structure and how do working mothers cope with juggling a demanding job and childcare responsibilities? Radhika Chopra is a sociologist from the University of Delhi and Rupa Jha is a BBC Hindi Service correspondent and working mother. They join Jane from our Delhi studio The English marriage has a long and eccentric history. Long after the rest of Europe and neighbouring Scotland reformed their marriage laws, England continued to stick to the chaotic laws of the medieval Church making it all too easy to enter into a marriage, and virtually impossible to end an unhappy one. Until the second half of the 19th century, when a woman married, she gave up her legal rights and literally became the property of her husband. With a few notable exceptions, people very rarely married for love. Social historian and author Maureen Waller talks to Jane about her latest book, The English Marriage, that covers the fascinating story of marriage's evolution from medieval times right up until the present day. Lynne Truss, the best-selling author of Eats, Shoots and Leaves, talks about her new book, Get Her off the Pitch.