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The Fifth Floor

Factual: Life Stories

Global stories from the BBC’s 40 Language Services, with Faranak Amidi

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services.

Faranak Amidi presents global stories from the Fifth Floor, home to the BBC’s 40 Language Services

The Fifth Floor: Free to Learn: Educating Afghans in Iran

Afghan children in a makeshift classroom in Iran

29/05/2015

Free to Learn: Educating Afghans in Iran

BBC World Service - The Fifth Floor, Free to Learn: Educating Afghans in Iran

Lifting the barriers to school for undocumented Afghans in Iran

The struggles of Afghans in Iran; a his and hers guide to marriage in India; power dressing in Nigerian politics; and today's Russian literary greats.

Iran is home to an estimated three million Afghans, but for many years, undocumented Afghan children have been barred from government schools.  Following the news that this ban is to be lifted, BBC Persian's Najieh Ghulami, an Afghan brought up in Iran, tells us about the barriers she faced at school, and describes what it's like to be an Afghan in Iran.

A His and Hers Guide to Marriage in India
A "marriage squeeze" has hit India due to too many men and too few brides making the search for love all the more laborious. How do you find your future bride or groom in a country where family traditions compete with the latest dating apps? Shalu Yadav and Vikas Pandey of BBC Hindi share their thoughts on how love and marriage are changing in India today.

A Monument to Me 
Turkmenistan this week unveiled a massive gold-plated statue of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on horseback. It's 21 metres high and rests on a white marble pedestal in the capital Ashgabat. This tribute to the Turkmen leader is part of a wider personality cult among Central Asian presidents, which has also led to some extravagant building projects.  Rustam Qobil of BBC Uzbek takes us on a tour.

Nigerian Power Dressers
How will this week's changeover in the Nigerian presidency affect the way people dress? Writer Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani reflects on the very different styles of Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, and speculates on how outfits will have to change for the new power-dressers.

Today's Russian Literary Greats
A recent Russian literary festival in London gave BBC Russian's Alexander Kan a chance to talk to some of the big names among contemporary writers. He shares his favourites.

And Fifi Haroon's weird and wonderful stories from the world wide web.

Afghan children in a makeshift classroom in Iran
Picture credit: Getty Images

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