RADIO STORIES

The Hidden World of Girls is an NPR multimedia series exploring the secret life of girls around the world. Girls and the women they become. Stories of coming of age, rites of passage, secret identities — of women who crossed a line, blazed a trail, changed the tide.

Produced by THE KITCHEN SISTERS & NPR

	Russia’s Singing Babushkas June 27, 2011 on Morning Edition A group of babushkas, or elderly women, who live in Buranovo, Russia, have become a musical sensation. They sing Beatles tunes and songs by iconic Russian rocker Viktor Tsoi. They fly around the country for concerts. And it all started because they turned to music during tough times.
	Amira In America: The Hidden World of a Yemeni Girl June 8, 2011 on All Things Considered Earlier this year, Amira Al-Sharif came to New York City to document the lives of young American women. The 28-year-old was born in Saudi Arabia, grew up in Yemen and was the first person from her family to graduate from university. And while Western journalists often document Arab women, Al-Sharif wanted to flip the script.
	The Sisters of General Vang Pao May 27, 2011 on Morning Edition Gen. Vang Pao, an exiled leader from the Hmong hill tribe in communist Laos, was a CIA ally during the Vietnam War. Now, shortly after his death and six-day funeral in California, NPR’s Doualy Xaykaothao — Vang Pao’s grandniece — is delving into her family history. Who was Vang Pao, and what stories can his surviving sisters share?
	The Secret Life of the Termite Queen May 6, 2011 on All Things Considered The termite queen may be the mother who makes the ultimate sacrifice for her swarms of children. Isolated in an earthen capsule, she lays more than a quarter-billion eggs in her lifetime. On the eve of Mother’s Day, NPR honors this species’ story of struggle, rebirth and death below ground.
	Veiling, Unveiling, Reveiling April 21, 2011 on Morning Edition About 1 million Muslim women live in America; 43 percent of them wear headscarves full time. But now, a generation of Muslim women is taking off the headscarf, or hijab. For many, their choice is an attempt to balance their private lives with a very public symbol of their religion.
	Horses, Unicorns & Dolphins February 9, 2011 on All Things Considered Many girls fantasize about horses, dolphins and unicorns. One theory about why is that it helps them express their power. Others say the animals — real and mythical — symbolize dreaming and achieving. Still for many, it’s a way to run away with their imaginations.
	Al Qaida Brides January 28, 2011 on Morning Edition In a country with millions of orphans and widows, officials say it’s tough to make women who are seen as criminals a priority, which means they’re basically ignored by everyone.
	Lesbian Lives in Pakistan January 17, 2011 on Morning Edition Although gays and lesbians can be imprisoned for life in Pakistan, rarely are such charges brought to court. Pakistani lesbians say it is often easier for them to engage in a sexual relationship because society simply doesn’t perceive women to have sexual desires.
	Girls Who Hunt December 9, 2010 on Morning Edition According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service there are some 300,000 female hunters under the age of 16. We travel to Wayne Country, Mississippi to meet a girl who hunts.
	Hidden World of Kandahar Girls November 25, 2010 on Morning Edition Within the walls of the Afghan-Canadian Community Center in Kandahar, girls and young women throw off their burqas as they laugh and study together. Many of them want careers. But they know the danger in the Taliban heartland is real. “We want to be brave,” says student Tahira Sadisaidi.
	The Secret (and Not So Secret) Life of Theresa Sparks October 26, 2010 on NPR’s All Things Considered We take a look at the life of Theresa Sparks, the former San Francisco Police Commissioner who is running for a seat on the SF Board of Supervisors.
	The Brave Heart Women’s Society: Coming of Age in South Dakota September 6, 2010 on NPR’s Morning Edition Brook Spotted Eagle called us from the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. She told us about the Brave Heart Women’s Society and invited The Kitchen Sisters to their Isnati Coming of Age Ceremony for Girls.
	Women in Pop in Character August 12, 2010 on Morning Edition A look into the created characters of today’s rising pop artists.
	The Hidden Wedding Dance of Sudan July 22, 2010 on Morning Edition Young brides in Northern Sudan have been performing the Bride Dance on, or near, their wedding nights for thousands of years. Today, plenty of Sudanese women reject it, saying they don’t want to debase themselves.
	Deborah Luster: One Big Self June 30, 2010 on NPR’s All Things Considered After the violent murder of her mother, photographer Deborah Luster takes thousands of haunting formal portraits of men and women incarcerated in Louisiana’s prisons. Working with poet CD Wright, she creates a project called One Big Self
	The Day the Earth Stood Still June 1, 2010 on NPR’s Morning Edition Science fiction writer Pat Cadigan sent us an email that inspired this story about her secret life with her best friend Rosemarie.
	The Hidden World of Daphne Mae Hunt May 6, 2010 on NPR’s All Things Considered Nigerian writer Chris Abani’s story about his English-born mother enlisting him at age 8 to be her translator in Nigeria as she travels door to door through the villages teaching women the Billings Ovulation Method of birth control.
	Hidden World of Traveller Girls April 29, 2010 on NPR’s Morning Edition Travellers. The people of walking. Sometimes called the gypsies of Ireland. They speak of non-Travellers as “the settled people.” Mistrusted for the most part and not well-understood. Nomads, moving in caravans, living in encampments on the side of the road. We listen to the stories of young Traveller women and explore some of the ancient and modern rituals clinging on the edge of the Celtic Boom.
	Chicken Pills March 22, 2010 on NPR’s All Things Considered Every culture has its idealized woman, its standard of beauty that is valorized. And everywhere around the world women are altering themselves in small and major ways to achieve the celebrated look. History is full of body altering cosmetic methods, both medical and homegrown, that help women attain this ideal — foot binding, corseting, liposuction, face lifts… In this story we travel to Jamaica, to the streets of Kingston, where women have come up with their own unique beauty enhancement techniques.
	The Call for Stories March 22, 2010 on NPR’s Morning Edition Today we launch a new series on NPR, The Hidden World of Girls, girls and the women they become. The series is a collaboration between The Kitchen Sisters, NPR and our listeners. Over the coming months we will bring you stories from around the world — stories of coming of age, rituals and rites of passage, secret identities –of women who crossed a line, blazed a trail, changed the tide.