Strikers in saris
Witness History4 Mar 2020

Strikers in saris

In 1976 South Asian women workers who had made Britain their home, led a strike against poor working conditions in a British factory. Lakshmi Patel was one of the women who picketed the Grunwick film-processing factory in north London for two years, defying the stereotype of submissive South Asian women. They gained the support of tens of thousands of trade unionists along the way. Lakshmi talks to Farhana Haider about how the strike was a defining moment for race relations in the UK in the 1970s.

(Photo: Jayaben Desai, leader of the Grunwick strike committee holding placard 1977 Credit: Getty images)

Episoder(2000)

Triumph of the Will: A Nazi propaganda film

Triumph of the Will: A Nazi propaganda film

In 1934, one of the most controversial propaganda movies ever made - Triumph of the Will – was filmed at the Nazis’ Nuremberg rally. The two-hour picture was directed by Leni Riefenstahl, once descr...

9 Mar 10min

The invention of the mobility scooter

The invention of the mobility scooter

In 1967, American plumber Al Thieme promised his wife with multiple sclerosis that he would find her an alternative to a wheelchair. He came up with a battery-powered seat on wheels. He called it an ‘...

6 Mar 10min

India’s first nuclear test

India’s first nuclear test

In May 1974 India successfully detonated its first atomic device. It had been developed in secret with the codename Smiling Buddha. India called it a peaceful nuclear explosion, though the experimenta...

5 Mar 9min

Portugal’s worst train disaster

Portugal’s worst train disaster

On 11 September 1985 in Mangualde, central Portugal, an express train collided head-on with a regional train killing an estimated 150 people.The impact destroyed both engines and the leaking diesel ca...

4 Mar 10min

Elvis visits Scotland

Elvis visits Scotland

In 1960, as he headed home from military service, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll made an unexpected stop at Prestwick Airport.It's believed to be the only time Elvis Presley is known to have set foot on Br...

3 Mar 11min

Sweden’s diplomatic freeze with the USA

Sweden’s diplomatic freeze with the USA

Outraged by the Christmas bombings of Hanoi in 1972 by the USA during the Vietnam War, the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme made a critical speech. He compared the US’s actions to several massacres ...

2 Mar 9min

Syria's secret library

Syria's secret library

A group of young men in the besieged town of Darayya came together to build a secret library during the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 and ended in 2024. Braving snipers and bombardment, th...

27 Feb 10min

Charles Taylor and the blood diamond trial

Charles Taylor and the blood diamond trial

In 2008, the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, faced a courtroom in the Hague accused of war crimes.His trial would last more than three years at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leon...

26 Feb 10min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
popradet
aftenpodden-usa
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
wolfgang-wee-uncut
min-barneoppdragelse
grenselos
synnve-og-vanessa
alt-fortalt
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
fladseth
198-land-med-einar-trnquist
rss-dannet-uten-piano
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem