Why are women still being silenced - and what will it take to stop it?

Billi and Lyndsey
Jul 14
2 min read

Updated: Jul 16

While we take a little break for the school holidays, we’re bringing you back one of our most heartfelt and emotional episodes, because the topic still matters. A lot.

In this 2024 throwback, we cracked open a stunning Balkan red (thanks to Podrum Food and Liquor), and dove into a heavy question:

Why are women still being silenced - in so many places, in so many ways?

From terrifying laws overseas to the subtle ways women are shut down every day, this one left us feeling everything: heartbroken, angry, and incredibly grateful.

Women are still being silenced around the world?

In this episode, we talked about:

Afghanistan under Taliban rule, where women were banned from speaking in public — or even from being heard inside their homes.
Iranian women facing punishment for protesting hijab laws or showing too much hair.
Forced marriage, violence, and limited education - all tools used to keep women quiet.

And while these examples come from across the globe, the truth is, silencing happens everywhere.

Why does the sound of a woman’s voice scare them so much?

This was the big question we kept coming back to: What are men - and broken systems - so afraid of?

Billi and Lyndsey from Wine Chat Podcast chatting on the couch about women being silenced around the world — "What are men so afraid of?"

This episode wasn’t about preaching. We’re not politicians or experts, we’re just two women talking over wine, trying to make sense of the madness. And what we realised is that the global silencing of women isn't just about culture or religion, it’s about control.

We traded in feelings for facts to find out why women are still being silenced - and what that silence really costs

In this powerful two-part discussion on Wine Chats, we ask the confronting question: why are women still being silenced in 2024?

In the first episode, we reflect on the emotional weight of hearing that women in countries like Afghanistan can no longer speak, sing, or even be heard in public. We discuss the grief and disbelief of living in a world where simply using your voice is seen as an act of rebellion.

But in this follow-up episode, we trade feelings for facts and unpack the shocking laws and statistics behind these oppressive regimes. From Iran's legal requirement for women to wear the hijab, where even a “misplaced” headscarf can lead to arrest or death, to Afghanistan’s bans on female education, employment, and medical access, we reveal just how deeply systemic this global gender inequality runs. With wine in hand and hearts on our sleeves, we ask: how is this still happening—and what can we do to speak up, while we still can?

This throwback still feels painfully current

Even though we recorded this conversation last year, the headlines haven’t changed.The restrictions haven’t lifted.The fear, the shame, the violence, it’s all still happening.

And that’s exactly why this episode deserves a second listen.