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About The Book

‘She showed great courage and commitment in reporting from Burma and exemplified my belief that the best journalists are also the nicest’ – Aung San Suu Kyi

‘One of the most distinguished television journalists of her generation’ – Huw Edwards

‘Brilliant and indefatigable’ – Jeremy Bowen

‘She had something you call moral courage and it rubbed off on others’ – David Aaronovitch

‘She set the standard for bravery in many of the world’s nastiest places’ – John Fisher Burns, New York Times

‘She went to dangerous places to give a voice to people who otherwise would not be heard’ – Tony Hall, BBC Director General


In 1973, Sue Lloyd-Roberts joined ITN as a news trainee and went on to be one of the UK's first video-journalists to report from the bleak outposts of the Soviet Union. Travelling as a tourist, she also gained access to some of the world’s most impenetrable places like China, Tibet and Burma. During her 40-year-long career she witnessed the worst atrocities inflicted on women across the world. But in observing first-hand the war on the female race she also documented their incredible determination to fight back.

The War on Women brings to life the inconceivable and dangerous life Sue led. It tells the story of orphan Mary Merritt who, age sixteen, instead of being released from the care of nuns was interned by them in a Magdalen Laundry and forced to work twelve hours a day six days a week, without pay, for over a decade. She gives voice to Maimouna, the woman responsible for taking over her mother’s role as the village female circumciser in The Gambia and provides a platform for the 11-year-old Manemma, who was married off in Jaipur at the age of six. From the gender pay gap in Britain to forced marriage in Kashmir and from rape as a weapon of war to honour killings, Sue has examined humankind’s history and takes us on a journey to analyse the state of women’s lives today. Most importantly she acts as a mouthpiece for the brave ones; the ones who challenge wrongdoing; the ones who show courage no matter how afraid they are; the ones who are combatting violence across the globe; the ones who are fighting back.

Sue sadly died in 2015, shortly after writing this book, today she is widely recognised as one of the most acclaimed television journalists of her generation. This book is the small tribute to the full and incredible life she lived and through it these women’s voices are still being heard.


About The Author

Sue Lloyd-Roberts was a multi-award-winning journalist. Her awards include the European Woman of Achievement Award, International Reporter of the Year Award, United Nations Women on the Move Award and she won an Emmy for her film, Inside the North Korean Bubble. After her report from China, Sue received a Royal Television Society Award. For over twenty years Sue reported for the BBC's Newsnight programme and for the last ten she also made documentaries for the BBC's Our World series. She won several One World Awards, including one for an undercover film from Burma. She also won several Amnesty Awards including one for her film on the abuse of women in Nepal and one for her reports from Syria. In 2002, Sue Lloyd-Roberts was appointed an MBE and, in 2013, a CBE for services to journalism.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (May 18, 2017)
  • Length: 336 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781471153921

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Raves and Reviews

‘It is a testament to a woman whose talent and courage shine from every page that this book is a powerful reminder of how far we still have to go before equality is achieved’

– Sunday Times

‘An important book’

– Times Literary Supplement

‘A tough but necessary read and sadly useful if you ever need reminding how equality is still far beyond our reach’

– Stylist

‘Go read The War on Women, by BBC reporter Sue Lloyd-Roberts . . . she was fearless and morally driven.’

– Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, International Business Times

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