A Bleak Future For Afghanistan’s Young Women

From Our Own Correspondent

Kate Adie presents stories from Afghanistan, China, Iraq, Colombia and Ireland.

The Taliban announced a ban on women going to parks, swimming pools and gyms this month, following one on girls attending secondary schools. Yogita Limaye spoke to one young woman about what life is like in Kabul as these once cherished freedoms disappear.

The story of Gao Zhisheng, a Chinese human rights lawyer, who was repeatedly detained for his work defending members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement and Christians, is a cautionary tale of Xi Jinping's China. Michael Bristow followed his story from his initial arrest in 2006.

The UN has said Iraq is the world's fifth most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The country's two main rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris have seen their water levels drop significantly this year as the country experienced one of its worst droughts. Leila Molana Allen spoke to locals about the impact on their livelihoods.

Colombia's new leftist president, Gustavo Petro, campaigned on a manifesto of tackling inequality and switching to a greener economy. But rising inflation and a depreciation of the peso has proved a challenge to enforcing his radical agenda. Rohan Montgomery went for a ride with motorcyclists in Medellin and heard their views on life under Petro.

The story of the 'Sack of Baltimore', where a village in Ireland's County Cork was ambushed by Barbary pirates, intrigues visitors to the area, in particular to the Algiers Inn. The attack. in 1631, was the worst on Ireland who took their captives back to North Africa and eventually sold them into slavery. Vincent Dowd went to speak to the locals about what happened.

Producer: Serena Tarling Production Coordinator: Iona Hammond Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith