Why Japanese women had to wait until 1999 to be allowed to take the pill, the Dutch 'Prince of scandal', plus the flatulent fish that prompted a Cold War scare, the first helpline for children and the joy of being liberated from Nazi occupation on The Channel Islands.  (Photo: A collection of contraceptive pills. Getty Images)

Fighting for the pill in Japan

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It’s been thirty years since the first fully democratic elections in South Africa, which saw the African National Congress take power in 1994. But two years before that historic moment, white South Africans had to vote in a referendum that would decide whether or not to usher in a multi-racial government. We hear from President FW de Klerk’s then communications officer about how they helped “close the book on apartheid.” Then we journey back to 1976 and hear about the Soweto Uprising, a student led protest against the enforced study of Afrikaans. Bongi Mkhabela who helped organise the peaceful march, tells us how it came to a bloody and tragic end. Plus we take a look at the pivotal role played by women and girls in the lead up to the 1994 elections. Journalist and researcher Shanthini Naidoo tells us why women’s work and activism in the ANC is so often overlooked. We hear from Oliver Tambo’s son about his father’s return to South Africa after 30 years in exile. We also hear about the long overdue return of Sarah Baartman’s remains to South Africa, after over 190 years being kept in Europe, where she suffered horrific abuse while she was alive. This programme contains discriminatory language.  And finally, we learn about one of South Africa’s biggest popstars Brenda Fassie, from her friend, rival and admirer Yvonne Chaka Chaka. Contributors: 
David Stewards – President FW de Klerk’s former communications advisor
Bongi Mkhabela- Student organiser of the Soweto uprising 
Shanthini Naidoo- Journalist and researcher on women during apartheid 
Dali Tambo- Son of Oliver Tambo 
Diana Ferrus – Poet who helped bring Sarah Baartman home
Yvonne Chaka Chaka- South African popstar (Photo: Nelson Mandela after winning the election in 1994. Credit: Getty Images)

Thirty years since the first free elections in South Africa

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It’s 10 years since the world’s deadliest outbreak of Ebola started in West Africa. We hear from a survivor and discuss the legacy of the epidemic with the BBC's global health reporter Tulip Mazumdar.  Plus, the first World War Two battalion to be led by an African-American woman. Major Charity Adams’ son tells her story.  We hear about the group of men arrested in Egypt in 2001 at a gay nightclub who became known as the Cairo 52. We also hear about the avalanche on Mount Everest which killed 16 sherpas carrying supplies 10 years ago.  Finally, the train service between India and Bangladesh that lay dormant for 43 years which rumbled back into life in 2008. Contributors:  Yusuf Kabba – an Ebola survivor from Sierra Leone
Tulip Mazumdar -  the BBC's Global Heath reporter. 
Stanley Earley – son of Major Charity Adams
Omer (a pseudonym) - arrested and imprisoned at a gay club in Cairo
Lakpa Rita Sherpa -  helped recover bodies after the avalanche on Mount Everest in 2014
Dr Azad Chowdhury – on the inaugural Friendship Express (Photo: Liberian Health Minister Burnice Dahn washes her hands at a holding centre for Ebola patients in 2014. Credit: Getty Images)

Ebola outbreak and the Friendship Train returns

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It's 30 years since Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream, was stolen from the national gallery in Oslo, Norway. We hear from the man who helped to recover it. Our expert guest is historian and author, Susan Ronald, who explores the history of art heists in the 20th century. Plus, a first hand account from Kampala terror attacks in 2010 and the mystery of St Teresa of Avila's severed hand. Finally, we hear about the last World War II soldier to surrender. Hiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who spent nearly 30 years in the Philippine jungle, believing World War Two was still going on. Contributors:
Kuddzu Isaac - DJ and Kampala terror attack survivor
Charley Hill - Scotland Yard art detective and private investigator
Susan Ronald - historian and author
Sister Jenifer - the Mother Superior of the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Ronda
Hiroo Onoda  -  Japanese WWII soldier
Christos and Ioanna Kotsikas - residents of Thessaly, Greece (Photo: The Scream. Credit: Getty Images)

The history of art heists

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week’s Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. It has been 50 years since Abba won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, so we're exploring Swedish history.
 
Also in 1974, Sweden became the first country in the world to offer paid parental leave that was gender neutral. One father who took the leave tells us about this pioneering policy.
 
We hear from one of the inventors of Bluetooth. The technology was named after Harald Bluetooth, a Viking king.
 
Our expert guest is Eva Krutmeijer, Swedish science writer and co-author of the book ' Innovation, the Swedish Way’.  Plus, the invention of the three-point safety belt for cars, that is estimated to have saved more than one million lives around the world, and the story behind Sweden’s Cinnamon Bun Day.
 
Finally, 1974 was just the beginning for the Swedish quartet, Abba, who shared their name with a herring company. By the end of the decade, they were one of most recognisable music acts of the 20th century. 
 
 
 
Contributors:
Per Edlund - one of the first fathers in his town to take split paid parental leave
Sven Mattison - one of the inventors of Bluetooth
Eva Krutmeijer - Swedish science writer and co-author of the book 'Innovation, the Swedish Way'
Gunnar Ornmark - stepson of Nils Bohlin who invented the three-point safety belt for cars
Kaeth Gardestedt - who came up with the idea of Sweden's Cinnamon Bun Day
Görel Hanser - manager of Abba
 
(Photo: Abba in 1974. Credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

Swedish History

It's 75 years since the founding of Nato. In 1949, a group of 12 countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to block the expansion of the Soviet Union. Professor Sten Rynning, the author of Nato: From Cold War to Ukraine, talks about some of the most significant moments in Nato's history. It's 30 years since the beginning of the Rwandan genocide. We hear from one of the survivors, Antoinette Mutabazi. This programme contains disturbing content. Plus, Riyaz Begum reflects on Britain's Mirpuri migration, Janet Heimlich, daughter of Dr Henry Heimlich talks about the origins of the Heimlich Manoeuvre and Adam Trimingham, Brighton based journalist and nudist David Johnson recall the arrival of Britain's first nudist beach. (Photo: British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin signs the North Atlantic Treaty. Credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Fighting for the pill in Japan

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