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Episode details

World Service,30 Oct 2020,40 mins

Inside the schools that chain boys

The Fifth Floor

Available for over a year

A BBC Arabic investigation has uncovered systemic child abuse inside Islamic schools in Sudan, known as khalwas. It found that boys are routinely chained, shackled and beaten; in some khalwas there was evidence of sexual abuse. The BBC’s Mamdouh Akbiek worked with a local investigative journalist on the story. Boston's Brazilian party-goers Boston’s large Brazilian community has stirred up controversy by holding huge outdoor parties despite Covid-19 restrictions, as BBC Brasil’s Ricardo Senra explains. Somali storm in a teacup A social media star was deported from the self-declared republic of Somaliland because of a cup of tea. Bilal Bulshawi is from Somalia, and posted a picture of himself drinking tea decorated with the Somalia flag, whilst in Somaliland. BBC Somali’s Bidhaan Dahir tells us about the online storm which followed. Chile's referendum Constanza Hola explains how a 30 pesos price rise for metro tickets last October led to the overwhelming referendum result this week to rewrite Chile's constitution. Opening up about mental health in Pakistan World mental health day is 10th October. To mark the date BBC Urdu’s Saher Baloch decided to speak up about a topic very close to her heart, living with someone with a mental health condition. Image: Sudanese schoolboy chained Credit: BBC

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