Sarah Baartman's 200-year journey back home

In August 2002, the remains of an indigenous South African woman called Sarah Baartman were returned to South Africa after almost 200 years away. Sarah died in Paris in 1815 after being forced to perform in European 'freak shows' where people considered to be biological rarities were paraded for entertainment. She had been subjected to racist and degrading treatment and her remains were exhibited at a French museum until 1976. When Nelson Mandela became the president of South Africa in 1994, he requested that Sarah's remains be returned to her homeland. However, by 1998 that had not happened. Poet Diana Ferrus decided to write about Sarah’s limbo. Her poem became so popular that it was noticed by politicians in France. Diana shares her memories of that time with Matt Pintus. This programme contains discriminatory language. (Photo: Sarah Baartman likeness at French museum. Credit: Getty Images)

You can listen to Sarah Baartman's 200-year journey back home online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Sarah Baartman's 200-year journey back home is an episode from Witness: Witness Black History by BBC.

This episode is 10:53 long.

This episode was published on Apr 24, 2024.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Witness: Witness Black History when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.