Remarkable: Five women who dared to make a difference Audiobook (Free)

Five impressive women. Five stories from across the world, where these influential people made a direct effect on democracy within their nations.

Broadcast in January 2018 to mark the 100th anniversary of the first time British females won the vote, this fascinating series views BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet travel across the globe, meeting ladies from Northern Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Iceland, Afghanistan and Liberia. She hears reflections from a number of the world’s most influential women’s about Amazing: Five ladies who dared to make a difference rights activists, including previous presidents, and shares her own experiences of reporting from a few of the most troubled regions.

In Belfast Lyse speaks to Monica McWilliams, who was one of just two regional women who were at the desk during negotiations which resulted in the Good Fri Agreement of 1998. She then travels to Saudi Arabia to meet up Madeha Al Ajroush, who battled for 30 years to get women the right to drive.

In 1980, Iceland did something no additional nation had done: they elected a lady head of state. Lyse Doucet moves to Reykjavik to meet Vigdis Finnbogadottir. Right now 87, she was leader for exactly sixteen years and continues to be the longest-serving elected woman head of condition of any nation to date.

Lyse then matches the formidable Shukria Barakzai, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Norway. Shukria was one of only a small number of feminine MPs to speak up for women’s rights in Afghanistan, and faced death threats for her sights. Finally, Lyse Doucet travels to Liberia to talk to Chief executive Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the initial elected female head of state in Africa.

These inspiring in-depth interviews reveal the behind the scenes tales of key occasions inside our global history, and show how the triumph of 1918 for ladies in Britain has continued to resonate through the final century.

Originally broadcast about BBC Radio 4 in January 2018 mainly because Her Story Made History.

Producer: Ben Carter

Researcher: Louise Byrne