First women’s minister 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 in that role, the government granted ...
22 Nov 20228min
The invention of the seat belt
In 1958, the late Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin invented the three-point safety belt for cars.It's estimated to have saved more than one million lives around the world.Rachel Naylor speaks to Nils' ste...
21 Nov 20229min
Qatar's first female published author
In 1978, Kaltham Jaber published her first book – a collection of short stories. She is an assistant professor and acclaimed writer from Qatar. Her success as an author came just two decades after gir...
18 Nov 202210min
First Emirati female teacher
It was rare for women in what is now the United Arab Emirates to go to school in the 1960s. At the time, the future country was a collection of emirates under British protection. The Sheikdoms were tr...
17 Nov 202210min
Inventing robot camel jockeys
In 2003, a Qatari engineer came up with the idea for a robot jockey, to replace child jockeys in camel racing.Two years later, the robot was approved for use. The tiny gadgets, which wear caps and hol...
16 Nov 202210min
Burj Khalifa: Designing the world’s tallest building
The tallest building in the world opened in 2010. There was a glitzy firework display to celebrate the occasion. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is nearly three times the height of the...
15 Nov 20228min
Formation of the United Arab Emirates
A new country, the United Arab Emirates, was formed in 1971. It’s a federation of seven states that has grown from a quiet backwater to one of the Middle East’s most important economic centres. Laura ...
14 Nov 20229min
The child evacuees of World War Two
The 1 September 1939 was Kitty Baxter’s ninth birthday, it was also the day her life and millions of other people’s changed with the beginning of World War Two. Kitty was among the hundreds of thousan...
11 Nov 202210min
