Hi there, and welcome to Today in History. I’m your host, Sen.

Are you ready for today’s historical events? Remember, you’ll hear them twice.

On this first listen, focus more on the sounds and rhythm of what is being said.

Let’s begin. So, what happened on this day in history?

On July 8, 1943, reproductive rights supporter Faye Wattleton was born in the United States. Wattleton began her career as a nurse and midwife. In 1978, she was chosen to be president of the reproductive health care organization Planned Parenthood, becoming the organization’s first Black president, as well as the youngest. With Wattleton as president, Planned Parenthood worked to protect abortion rights and to make terminations of pregnancies safe and easier to access.

On July 8, 2009, Malaysia’s government said that it would again use the national language Bahasa Melayu to teach math and science in public schools. The subjects were taught in English for 6 years before that. The decision came after thousands protested in Kuala Lumpur in March, 2009. Protestors said that using English as a teaching language was a relic of British colonialism, and that it made it harder to learn scientific vocabulary in their own language. The use of language is still a difficult topic in Malaysia and other postcolonial societies where several languages are spoken.

On July 8, 2016, Abdul Sattar Edhi, a Pakistani humanitarian, died at 88 years old. He started the largest welfare organization in Pakistan, which gives free health care to people who don’t have much money. The Edhi Foundation offers free nursing homes, children’s homes, women’s shelters, and also the world’s largest volunteer ambulance network. The foundation is very successful, but Edhi himself lived a simple, ascetic life.

Now for a second listen. You can focus on the words and phrases themselves this time. See if you can make more sense of the events. Remember, some of the difficult words will be explained afterwards. Or you can even find them in the episode notes.

On July 8, 1943, reproductive rights supporter Faye Wattleton was born in the United States. Wattleton began her career as a nurse and midwife. In 1978, she was chosen to be president of the reproductive health care organization Planned Parenthood, becoming the organization’s first Black president, as well as the youngest. With Wattleton as president, Planned Parenthood worked to protect abortion rights and to make terminations of pregnancies safe and easier to access.

On July 8, 2009, Malaysia’s government said that it would again use the national language Bahasa Melayu to teach math and science in public schools. The subjects were taught in English for 6 years before that. The decision came after thousands protested in Kuala Lumpur in March, 2009. Protestors said that using English as a teaching language was a relic of British colonialism, and that it made it harder to learn scientific vocabulary in their own language. The use of language is still a difficult topic in Malaysia and other postcolonial societies where several languages are spoken.

On July 8, 2016, Abdul Sattar Edhi, a Pakistani humanitarian, died at 88 years old. He started the largest welfare organization in Pakistan, which gives free health care to people who don’t have much money. The Edhi Foundation offers free nursing homes, children’s homes, women’s shelters, and also the world’s largest volunteer ambulance network. The foundation is very successful, but Edhi himself lived a simple, ascetic life.

Let’s pick out a couple of the more difficult words. First, a ‘midwife’ is a person trained to help women during the birth of a child. Even though it includes the word ‘wife’, a person of any gender can be a ‘midwife’. And how about the word ‘relic’? In this context, it means something from the past that is now out of date. In this case, Malaysian protestors said that using English as a teaching language, something that came from British colonization, was outdated. Finally, we have ‘ascetic’, which describes a simple way of life without expensive possessions and luxuries. For example, Abdul Sattar Edhi was said to own only two sets of clothing, despite the success of his foundation.

That’s it for now. But, I’ll be back tomorrow with more historical facts. So join me then for another episode of Today in History.

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Episode notes:

midwife: a person trained to help women during the birth of a child
relic: something from the past which is now out of date
ascetic: simple, without expensive possessions or luxuries