When Tunisia led on women's rights

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes.We learn why, in 2004, Uruguayans voted to enshrine water as a human right in their constitution - the first country in the world to do so. And environmental historian Ellen Arnold reveals how water has shap ... Show More

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.Our guest is Dr Elisabeth Fondren, Associate Professor of Journalism at St John's University in New York, USA.We start by hearing some groundbreaking frontline reporting from the B ... Show More

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes focussing on Kenya.We hear about Muthoni Kirima, one of the last Mau Mau fighters to come out of hiding and lay down her arms.Caroline Elkins, Professor of History at Harvard University, discusses the brutal ... Show More

Meet the women who are trying to be heard. Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy meets those who pushed through legislation enshrining gender equality in Tunisia - and asks what will it take to make the government repeal the law in Jordan that allows rapists to marry their victims. 

For today’s episode we are talking about a non-profit organization from Tunisia fighting for justice, equity and respect for bodily and sexual rights, the Mawjoudin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

In 2004 feminist campaigners in Turkey forced a radical change in the law on crimes against women. The overhaul of the country's 80-year-old penal code meant a redefinition of crimes such as rape and sexual assault; references to chastity, honour and virginity were also removed f ... Show More

We look back on some of the amazing feminist accomplishments of 2023.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

This story is about how the unique experiences of a little girl growing up unconventionally in America in the 1970s seismically changed the face of feminism in the 90s and beyond. It's a story too about the invention of a word - one that's contributed to a ferocious schism in the ... Show More

The ladies discuss the Pope's final farewell, Kanye's incest arc, the new Met Gala theme, and the rise of the so-called "womanosphere." 

<p>EVENTS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (1) - We go way back in history to explore the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, the completion of the Great Pyramid, the creation of the Akkadian Empire, the law code of Hammurabi and the eruption of the volcano of the island of Thera.</p> 

It’s the dawn of the Arab Spring and Amina is a revolutionary blogger in Syria, fighting not just for justice but for gay liberation. When she’s snatched off the streets of Damascus, her followers frantically mobilize to save her. In this six-part series, journalist Samira Mohyed ... Show More

In a single move, Huda Shaarawi cemented her legacy in Egypt's women's movement. She stepped down from a train in Cairo and before a crowd, pulled back her veil. For an upper-class woman in 1923, revealing her face was a daring and decisive act. But Huda wasn't afraid of pushing ... Show More

Names like Bayard Rustin, Frances Thompson and William Dorsey Swann have been largely erased from US history, but they and other Black queer leaders played central roles in monumental movements like emancipation, civil rights and LGBTQ+ pride, among others. In this tribute to for ... Show More