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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    Quebec’s 1995 referendum

    In 1995, the people of Quebec voted on whether to become independent from Canada

  2. Miss World protest

    In 1970, feminists stormed the stage at the Miss World pageant in London

  3. The woman who smuggled HIV into Bulgaria in her handbag

    Virologist Professor Radka Argirova was the first to test people for HIV in Bulgaria

  4. The islands Japan and Russia can’t agree on

    In 1947, thousands of Japanese people were taken from their island homes by Soviet troops

  5. CrossFit: The fitness phenomenon that changed the industry

    In 2000, an American personal trainer invented CrossFit

  6. Mombasa terror attacks

    Journalist Kelly Hartog describes the moment terrorists targeted Israeli tourists in Kenya

  7. How cat's eyes were invented

    In 1934, Percy Shaw invented cat's eyes, the reflective studs in the road

  8. The corruption and sodomy trials of Anwar Ibrahim

    In 1998, Anwar Ibrahim was arrested and then jailed a year later

  9. When Sweden’s roads went right

    In 1967, Swedish traffic swapped to driving on the right-hand side of the road

  10. First women’s minister in Iran

    Iran’s first ever minister for women’s affairs was appointed in 1975

  11. The invention of the seat belt

    In 1958, Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin invented the three-point safety belt for cars

  12. Qatar's first female published author

    Kaltham Jaber's anthology of short stories was published in 1978

  13. First Emirati female teacher

    A young woman who became the first female teacher in the United Arab Emirates

  14. Inventing robot camel jockeys

    In 2003, a Qatari engineer came up with the idea for a robot jockey in camel racing

  15. Burj Khalifa: Designing the world’s tallest building

    The tallest building in the world opened in 2010

  16. Formation of the United Arab Emirates

    A new country, the United Arab Emirates, was formed in 1971.

  17. The child evacuees of World War Two

    The thousands of children moved out of UK cities away from the risk of German bombs

  18. Māori protests stops South African rugby tour

    Māori anti-racism activists disrupt the South African rugby tour of New Zealand in 1981

  19. The assassination of Pim Fortuyn

    It has been 20 years since the controversial Dutch politician was murdered

  20. First rape crisis centres in the US

    Activist Sue Lenaerts helped start up one of the first rape crisis centres in the US

  21. Polynesian Panthers

    Polynesians in 1970s New Zealand fight back against dawn raids by the police

  22. Umuganda: Rwanda's community work scheme

    In 1975, President Habyarimana introduced Umuganda, compulsory, weekly community work

  23. Dame Carmen Callil: Feminist publisher

    Dame Carmen Callil, who died in October this year, founded a feminist publisher in 1972

  24. Campaigning against sex-selection in India

    A first-hand account of the 1980s campaign against the sex-selective abortion of girls

  25. Albania’s Stalinist purges

    In the 1970s, Albania’s Stalinist leader, Enver Hoxha, launched a series of purges

  26. The Little Black Book survival guide

    In 1985, a guide was written for young black men in the US who were stopped by the police

  27. Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech

    Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's career-defining speech in 2012

  28. Arrested for wearing trousers in Sudan

    In 2002, Amiera Osman Hamed was put on trial after being arrested for wearing trousers

  29. Theatre siege in Moscow

    It is 20 years since Chechen rebels took an entire theatre full of people hostage

  30. The Iranian Revolution and women

    We hear what life was like during, and after the Iranian Revolution in 1979

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