The Furies Collective: Lesbian Separatists
A group of feminist activists in Washington DC set up a commune to live independently from men in 1971. They called themselves the Furies Collective, and they were some of the first lesbian separatists. Charlotte Bunch was one of them.Picture: The Furies, packing and distributing the newspaper at 219 11th St. SE, in 1972. Left to right: Ginny Berson, Susan Baker (not a Fury), Coletta Reid (standing), Rita Mae Brown, Lee Schwing (picture by Joan E Biren)
15 Feb 20189min
Leonardo's Lost Notebooks
In February 1967, it was revealed that two notebooks by the great 15th-century Italian artist, Leonardo da Vinci, that had been lost for centuries, had been discovered in the national library in Spain. Louise Hidalgo talks to two people with a personal interest in the discovery, Da Vinci scholar Pietro Marani, and robotic engineer, Mark Rosheim, who used Leonardo's drawings to recreate the artist and inventor's lost Robot Knight. (Photo: A self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci dated circa 1500. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
14 Feb 20189min
Women's Rights In Iran
Iran's first ever minister for Women's Affairs was appointed in 1975. Mahnaz Afkhami was the first person in the Muslim world to hold that position. While she was Minister of Women's Affairs, Iran's legislation granted women equal rights regarding divorce, raised the minimum age of marriage to 18 and supported women's employment with maternity leave and childcare provisions. Farhana Haider has been speaking to her about being the only woman in the pre-revolutionary Iranian cabinet.Photo: Mahnaz Afkhami at the UN in 1975. Credit: Mahnaz Afkhami
13 Feb 20189min
Hull's 'Headscarf Revolutionaries'
In 1968, a group of women from the British fishing port of Hull staged a successful campaign to improve safety in what was then one of the most dangerous industries in the world. Following the deaths of nearly 60 men in three separate trawler accidents, the so-called Headscarf Revolutionaries picketed the port and lobbied ministers in London until the owners agreed to changes. Simon Watts hears the memories of one of the women, Yvonne Blenkinsop.(Photo: Yvonne Blenkinsop (left) and three other campaigners in 1968. Credit: Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
12 Feb 20188min
The Bombing Of Korean Flight 858
In November 1987 a South Korean airliner was blown out of the sky, killing 115 people on board. The attack on Korean Air flight 858 is believed to have been the work of agents of the North Korean regime, seeking to disrupt the Summer Olympics in Seoul. Pete Ross has been hearing from relatives of some of those who died that day, as well as from one of the bombers, the North Korean agent Kim Hyun-hui.(Photo: Former North Korean spy Kim Hyun-hui , who now lives in South Korea. Credit: Kim Kyung-Hoon/AFP/Getty Images)
9 Feb 20189min
Spying On South Africa's Nuclear Bomb
During the Apartheid period, the South African government began developing a secret nuclear programme, culminating in the construction of six nuclear bombs. Anti-Apartheid campaigner, Renfrew Christie, first became aware of this when he was conscripted into the South African Army. He later gained access to details of the nuclear programme and passed them onto the military wing of the African National Congress, ANC. In 1979 Christie was arrested and later tortured. He spoke to Olga Smirnova about his hunt for South Africa's nuclear weapons and his ordeal in jail. Photo: A restricted area sign close to the Koeberg nuclear power station, South Africa (Getty Images)
8 Feb 20189min
The Munich Air Disaster
In February 1958, eight players from Manchester United’s famous “Busby Babes” team were among those killed in a plane crash at Munich airport. Goalkeeper Harry Gregg survived the disaster and went back into the wreckage several times to save lives. Simon Watts hears his story.Photo: Plane wreckage at Munich airport (AFP/Getty Images)
7 Feb 20188min
Women in Britain get the right to vote
On 6th February 1918, women in Britain were given the right to vote for the first time. The campaign for women's suffrage had begun decades earlier. But it wasn't until the final months of the First World War that the British parliament relented and said property-owning women over the age of 30 could vote in a general election. It would take another ten years before women got parity with men. Louise Hidalgo has been listening back to the voices of the women activists known as suffragettes, and talks to politician Shirley Williams, the daughter of an early feminist.Picture: suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst is arrested outside Buckingham Palace, 1914 (Credit: Jimmy Sime/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
6 Feb 20188min
