Woman's Hour

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Woman's Hour: Radioactive chapatis, Hostage negotiation, Non-birth mothers, Japanese women in politics

Radioactive chapatis, Hostage negotiation, Non-birth mothers, Japanese women in politics

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Radioactive chapatis, Hostage negotiation, Non-birth mothers, Japanese women in politics

Why were 21 Coventry women of Indian origin given radioactive chapatis in 1969?

How did a group of women of Indian origin from Coventry end up part of a controversial medical experiment five decades ago?

In 1969, migration to the UK was increasing with Britain becoming home for thousands of foreign settlers. In Coventry, 21 women of Indian origin booked what were supposed to be routine appointments with their local GP.  Little did they know that these appointments would result in them becoming subjects of a controversial medical experiment, in which they were given chapatis laced with radioactive components. Over the next 50 years, memories of the experiment have continued to resurface as campaigners, such as Labour MP Taiwo Owatemi, try to track down participants and their families whilst calling on Parliament to open an inquiry into the findings. 

Nicky Perfect knows what it’s like to live much of her life on high alert.  From joining the police at the age of 18,  working in the Met Police Firearms unit to eventually joining the elite New Scotland Yard Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit.  She’s brought people safely down from rooftop stand-offs, worked to resolve gang kidnappings and terrorist incidents. Now she’s written about her experiences in Crisis: True stories of my life as a hostage negotiator.

Listener Carla Mercer contacted Woman’s Hour asking for a discussion on parenting from the perspective of a non-birth mother in a single-sex relationship.  She is the non-birth mother to her seven-year-old daughter and five-year-old twin boys. She is separated from her ex-partner who is the children’s birth mother. Author and journalist, Lotte Jeffs is the “other mother” to a four-year-old girl with her wife, who gave birth to their daughter.  She is co-author of The Queer Parent: Everything You Need to Know From Gay to Ze. 

Political parties in Japan are boosting their support to get more women into office. The country’s ruling party and opposition party are both offering financial incentives- pledging a million Japanese Yen, about £5400, in aid for each new female candidate. And many would say the country sorely needs more women in politics- with the World Economic Forum showing only 10% of the country’s parliamentary positions are held by women. Rei Murakami is the President of the Murakami Foundation, and has set up a politics training school with this goal in mind. Hanako Montgomery is a Tokyo-based journalist.   


Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Opener 00:00
Radioactive Chapatis 02:12
Nicky Perfect 12:16 
Women on Wheels 30:20 
Non-Birth Mothers 35:44
Japanese Women in Politics 46:45

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Radioactive chapatis, Hostage negotiation, Non-birth mothers, Japanese women in politics

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