Divine Women

In this programme, divided into short chapters for use in the classroom, Bettany Hughes uncovers the remarkable and neglected stories of women and religion.

She heads to India, where she joins thousands of Hindus in the worship of one of their most formidable goddesses, Durga.

Back in Europe, she examines the contentious issue of whether women should be priests, and descends into catacombs beneath the streets of Rome to find intriguing evidence of women leading Christian worship between the 2nd and 4th centuries.

In Milan, the life of Saint Augustine and the doctrine of original sin are explored.

Finally, Bettany profiles the powerful women who were instrumental in the crucial early days of Islam.