Amanpour – "Honoring 'The Day Iceland Stood Still'"

CNN Podcasts | October 24, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Amanpour commemorates the 50th anniversary of Iceland’s historic 1975 women’s strike—the event when 90% of Icelandic women stopped work both at their jobs and at home, making their indispensable impact visible and catapulting the country towards gender equality. Host Christiane Amanpour interviews Iceland’s President Hatla Thomas Doltier and Pamela Hogan, director of the new documentary The Day Iceland Stood Still, which brings this transformative day to life. The episode also features a segment with journalist Gail Young on her groundbreaking reporting about female genital mutilation (FGM) in Egypt and a discussion with Cory Doctorow about his book on the decline and possible reform of the Internet.

Section 1: Iceland’s Women’s Strike – 50 Years Later

Key Guests

• Hatla Thomas Doltier – President of Iceland (second female president)
• Pamela Hogan – Director, The Day Iceland Stood Still documentary

Main Discussion Points

The 1975 Women’s Strike: A Turning Point

• On October 24, 1975, 90% of Icelandic women walked off their jobs and household responsibilities. The nation ground to a halt—schools closed, the telephone system shut down, theaters did not open, and beds and dishes were left undone ([03:26]).
• Hatla Thomas Doltier: “If women don't work, everything collapses.” ([01:09], [03:11])

Personal Reflections & Wider Impact

• President Doltier, who was seven that day, recalls: “It was my mom’s birthday... they were not baking and cleaning... nothing worked in Iceland that day. When women are not at work, very few things work out well.” ([04:44])
• The strike aimed to prove that women matter and deserve to be seen, valued, and heard.

Solidarity, Humor, and a New Documentary

• Pamela Hogan was inspired by a “tiny blurb” she read while traveling in Iceland: “Why don't I know this story, and why don’t we all?” ([05:44])
• Hogan was moved by the solidarity and humor in which Icelandic women protested: “Not only are they courageous... but they used humor to open people’s ears to their message.” ([05:44]).

Normalizing Women’s Leadership

• Doltier: Iceland’s first female president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, elected five years after the strike, normalized female leadership. “It’s important...when we elect a woman again... it starts to become a new norm that women lead.” ([08:28])
• Iceland has since seen multiple women in high office, further cementing gender equality as a lived reality rather than an exception.

The World’s Gender Equality Leader

• Iceland now tops global gender equality rankings. Amanpour: “Even in the developed world and certainly compared to the United States, it’s pretty extraordinary what you’ve achieved.” ([09:48])

Overcoming Resistance & Building Unity

• The event was called both a “strike” and a “day off” to bridge divides between radical and conservative women, uniting 90% of the female population despite no internet or social media. ([12:10])
• “They did it with such solidarity... courage and joy.” — Doltier ([12:10])
• The tradition continues, with Icelanders—now including men—repeating the strike to reinforce the value of gender equity.

"The Battle Cry": The Role of Music and Unity

• The women's movement included powerful moments of song, described as a “battle cry” that united souls and galvanized the crowd ([14:13]-[14:49]).

Male Allies and Legacy for Boys

• Doltier humorously notes that “hot dogs sold out in Iceland” on strike day—many men’s only dish! ([17:25])
• More seriously: “We would not be this far in closing the gender gap in Iceland if it wasn’t also in the interest of men to do so.” The importance of bringing boys and men into the equality movement is emphasized ([17:25], [19:00]).

Ongoing Struggles

• Despite leading globally, Iceland still battles issues like gender-based violence and wage disparity, especially in care jobs.
• Doltier: “Closing the gender gap isn't a woman's issue... it's about building a more sustainable and peaceful world.”
• Looking forward, she stresses: “The key to getting there... will be because women decide to show up in leadership and work in allyship with men.” ([19:00])

Notable Quotes

• Hatla Thomas Doltier:

  • “If women don't work, everything collapses.” ([01:09], [03:11])
  • “They wanted to show that they matter... that’s ultimately what most of us want to do, to matter.” ([04:44])
  • “It starts to become a new norm that women lead.” ([08:28])
  • “Hot dogs sold out in Iceland that day because apparently that was the only meal that many men could cook at the time.” ([17:25])
  • “Closing the gender gap isn’t a woman’s issue—it’s about economic and social progress.” ([19:00])

• Pamela Hogan:

  • “There’s nothing new in the world except the history that you do not know.” ([05:44])
  • “These women are incredible... they used humor to open people’s ears to their message.” ([05:44])

• Christiane Amanpour:

  • “It’s extraordinary now... the first lady who wanted to be a ship captain ended up becoming the first female president of Iceland.” ([07:47])

Key Timestamps

• Strike introduction: [01:09]–[03:26]
• President Doltier’s personal memories: [04:44]
• Hogan on discovering the story: [05:44]
• Normalizing women’s leadership: [08:28]
• Humor and solidarity of the strike: [12:10]
• Role of men & ongoing challenges: [17:25]–[19:00]

Section 2: Exposing FGM in Egypt – Gail Young’s Memoir

Key Guest

• Gail Young – Former CNN Cairo Bureau Chief and author of Reporting from an Ancient Land

Main Discussion Points

Parallel Stories: Ancient and Modern Women

• Young structured her memoir around her experiences in 1990s Egypt—as unexpectedly appointed CNN bureau chief—and the story of Zenobia, an ancient Syrian queen, exploring themes of “ambition, misogyny, motherhood” across centuries. ([22:48], [23:56])

Exposing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

• Young recounts how she stumbled upon FGM via her Arabic tutor, who described her younger sister’s upcoming circumcision. Shocked, Young investigated and discovered that “practically all [girls], 97% by some reports at that time” underwent FGM, a fact hidden from public debate ([25:09]).
• The resulting CNN report showed the ritual, its deep cultural roots (not religious), and a 10-year-old girl, Negla, shouting “There is a sin upon all of you. I didn’t want to be circumcised and you did it to me.” ([26:33])
• Young: “What was shocking was her reaction... the fact that she screamed at her parents, this is a shame upon you, a sin in Islam... I think that was the most powerful point.” ([28:42])

Catalyzing Change

• The coverage sparked a global and national conversation. President Mubarak, questioned by Amanpour at a UN conference, downplayed the practice but “shortly after... did order that it would not be performed in public health facilities and that they would start an education campaign.” ([30:15])
• FGM rates in Egypt have dropped dramatically: “Some surveys... suggest that only 15% of urban girls are now circumcised,” with the national figure dropping to the 30% range ([32:47]).
• President Sisi has since formally outlawed FGM and established further safeguards.

Reflections on Journalism’s Impact

• Young highlights the lasting impact: “I believe those stories to this day are still very important because they are snapshots of life that sometimes get overlooked.” She notes other stories that led to positive change and closes with a story about Amanpour’s journalistic bravery in Algeria ([34:51]–[36:57]).
• Amanpour: “That is the fundamentals of what we should be doing. Going and asking why and how and not predetermining who we like, who we don’t like. Just asking everybody in a respectful way.” ([37:13])

Key Timestamps

• Young’s memoir & structure: [22:48]–[23:56]
• FGM discovery and reporting: [25:09]–[29:22]
• Mubarak interview: [30:15]
• Legislation & impact of the story: [32:47]
• Reflections on journalism: [34:13]–[37:13]

Section 3: Cory Doctorow on Fixing the Internet

Key Guest

• Cory Doctorow – Tech activist and author, Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It

Main Discussion Points

The “Enshittification” of Platforms

• Doctorow introduces the term “enshittification,” describing how digital platforms shift from serving users, to exploiting users for business clients, to ultimately squeezing both sides for profit. ([38:47])
• Example: Facebook began by wooing users, then advertisers, then “locked everyone in,” resulting in a degraded experience for all. ([39:56])
  • “The amount of content in our feed that we want to see has dwindled to a kind of undetectable homeopathic residue.” ([42:42])

Why Doesn’t the Market Fix This?

• Market fixes are hamstrung by lack of competition, poor antitrust enforcement, and outdated regulation (the last major US privacy law dates to 1988!). ([42:54])
• Mergers like Facebook’s purchase of Instagram eliminated alternatives. ([42:54])

The Uberization of Labor

• Companies like Uber lose billions subsidizing rides to eliminate competitors, then hike prices and cut wages once alternatives have vanished. “The Saudis subsidize 41 cents out of every dollar of all of our taxi rides for more than a decade. All the other cab companies go under... We're often without any other alternative.” ([45:20])
• Algorithmic wage discrimination allows platforms to pay lower wages to more desperate workers by monitoring credit data ([45:20]).

Real Solutions: Systemic Policy Change

• Solutions require strong privacy laws, increased competition, and interoperability—for example, making it easy for users to leave a platform without losing community.
• “I believe in systemic changes. And you asked about which policies would make a difference. Well, you know, privacy law would sure go a long way.” ([48:51])
• Doctorow calls for a federal privacy law with a private right of action, and for laws that make it possible to move communities between platforms ([48:51]).
• On “free market” arguments by tech companies: They leverage state power to block users from modifying their own devices and block new competitors—hardly a real free market. ([51:45])

Host's Wrap-up

• Hari Srinivasan and Doctorow underscore the need for collective action and legal intervention to reclaim the Internet for its users and workers.

Key Timestamps

• Enshittification and platform decay: [38:47]–[42:42]
• Antitrust failures and privacy law deficits: [42:54]
• Uber and algorithmic labor exploitation: [45:20]
• Policy proposals: [48:51]
• Free market rebuttal: [51:45]

Notable Quotes

• Cory Doctorow:
  • “Privacy law would sure go a long way. There are lots of different people who are angry about the privacy situation in America. And if we could get them all to start pulling in the same direction, boy, could we ever make a difference.” ([48:51])
  • “If these guys want to be creatures of the free market, then they should stop using state intervention to prevent new market entry and to prevent end users from getting a better deal.” ([51:45])
• Hari Srinivasan:
  • “A lot of times the onus gets thrust back upon us. ‘Oh, if you just vote with your dollars’... well, a lot of times we don’t really have that much [choice].” ([48:20])

Memorable Moments

• President Doltier’s vivid memory of her mother’s participation in the 1975 strike and its inspiration for her own public life ([04:44]).
• The news report of young Negla’s resistance during her circumcision, making visible the agency and suffering of Egyptian girls and transforming the national debate ([26:33]).
• Doctorow’s scathing critique of the myth of the free market in tech, clarifying how monopolies persist ([51:45]).
• Amanpour’s reminder of the ethical essence of journalism: “asking why and how... in a respectful way” ([37:13]).

Additional Highlights

• Iceland’s gender equality isn’t perfect: wage gaps persist, especially in care work; gender-based violence remains a challenge; and global parity remains a distant goal ([17:25]–[19:00]).
• The slow pace of global change: At current rates, gender equality is still 123 years away ([01:38]).
• Journalistic courage can catalyze legislative and cultural change—as seen in both Iceland and Egypt ([32:47], [34:13]).

This episode of Amanpour ties the history of women’s activism in Iceland to contemporary struggles for gender equality and digital rights, offering inspiration, concrete examples of progress, and realistic appraisals of the work still ahead.