Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

World Service,20 May 2016,49 mins

"All they want is to have their daughters back"

The Fifth Floor

Available for over a year

This week a girl called Amina was rescued from the Sambisa Forest in north east Nigeria. She was the first of 219 Chibok schoolgirls to be seen since their abduction by the militant group Boko Haram. It was an emotional event for Amina, now with a baby, but also for BBC Africa's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar - he's been reporting on the tribulations of the Chibok families for the past two years. Celebrating Vyshyvanka Day This Thursday, Ukrainians around the world celebrated being Ukrainian by wearing vyshyvankas. What's the significance of these traditional embroidered shirts and what do the designs say about who you are and where you're from? BBC Ukrainian editor Marta Shokalo provides the answers - and describes what the vyshyvanka means to her. Indonesia's Communist fish Did you hear the one about the fish in Indonesia that got arrested for displaying a hammer and sickle on its head? Not really - it was a spoof. But the Facebook story posted by photoshop artist Agan Harahap highlights the continuing tension in the country in addressing the 1965-6 Communist purges. Eric Sasona is a contributor to BBC Indonesian, and explains why the story has touched a nerve. Nagorno Karabakh The "frozen conflict" between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the contested Nagorno Karabakh region fired up into hostilities last month, leaving dozens of troops from both sides dead. As the leaders meet in Vienna to discuss the fragile ceasefire and future prospects of peace, the BBC's Rayhan Demytrie sheds light on the centuries-old background to the conflict, and her own recent visits to the region. Does Brazil have a problem with women? The announcement that Brazil's interim President Michel Temer has appointed a male-only cabinet has caused uproar in Brazil and led many to question why women are so under-represented in public life. BBC Brasil's Silvia Salek and Paula Adamo Idoeta share their thoughts on how sexism impacts on everyday life in the work place and in the corridors of political power. New voices from Russia Two prize-winning Russian writers caught the attention of the Central Asian service recently. Alisa Ganieva and Guzel Yakhina are from the republics of Dagestan and Tatarstan. They both use their regions as the backdrop to their works and their novels have made an impact on the Russian literary scene. Ibrat Safo caught up with them recently at the London Book Fair. Plus the inimitable Fifi Haroon casts a discerning eye over the online oddities of the week. Image: Amina Ali Nkeki meets Nigerian president Credit: European Photopress Agency

Programme Website
More episodes