"I was beaten every day for months and handcuffed to my iron bed" For over three decades, Elchin Mammad has fought for human rights in Azerbaijan. Now in exile, the journalist and former political prisoner explains…
How to become an exile Amiry Maisam only planned to be away from his family home in Afghanistan for three months. Three years later, Ani Tovmasyan talks to him about…
Turning the tables For people suffering from Parkinson's, a table festival in France offers a chance to forget their illness and make new friends.
Degrees of prejudice Abandoned by their families, trans people in Nepal are heading to university to escape the street - only to discover more prejudice. Dipesh Khanal…
Bolivian Women Take Center Stage Emi Chavez Ríos is breaking down gender barriers in Bolivia’s theatre world by becoming the first female president of Santa Cruz’s actors’ union.
Impossible Odds: the brave lawyer standing up for Russia’s political dissidents In Russia today, defending those charged with anti-government crimes has almost no chance of success, but one brave lawyer believes it’s his duty to…
‘When life gets hard, you must be harder’: running a takeaway kitchen in an Iraqi border town Alhan al-Salmani has lived through conflict and personal trauma, but she’s never given up. Now she has opened a kitchen, giving other women work and…
The Untold Stories of Afghan Immigrants Through his ‘Hidden Hero’ storytelling project, Elias Hatimi celebrates the lives and contributions which Afghan people are making in Germany. Having…
Everything is a mess, even my own thoughts. Our author is a Palestinian journalist who managed to escape from the sealed-off Gaza Strip a few months after the start of the war in Gaza and…
Protest leads to prison in Sri Lanka Dileepa Manawadu wanted to show her children the power of dissenting against her government, only to find herself charged under anti-terror laws.…
I told my high school friend we’d battle sickle cell together. But she didn’t make it past 18 Sickle cell is an agonising blood disease that kills thousands of children each year in Africa. As a ‘sickler’ in my 30s, I’m one of the lucky ones
Why did the organic farming movement fail in Sri Lanka? After a day’s hard work in the paddy field, his face beaten by the weather, Chandrasena sits down to talk about his 40 years of experience working as…
‘We searched for ladies over 70’: on the trail of Jordan’s forgotten folk music An arts organisation has been seeking out and recording the region’s traditional music and is teaching the lyrics to young singers
Reaping what we sow: raising a militarized patriot in today’s Russia In the former USSR, patriotism and military education were an indispensable part of teaching at all levels, from public schools to compulsory army…
Holding the line in the Hyrcanian forests Azerbaijani economist Javid Gara founded the non-governmental organisation Ecofront in 2018 to fight the exploitation of native forests, including the…
The catwalk with a difference: adaptive fashion comes to Azerbaijan An enterprising student and a designer want to make attractive clothes that disabled people can wear – and model too.
The new war generation The young people in these portraits are forced to grow up between the front lines. They live with death, among the ruins, without a clear future. A…
Forests in the desert Jordan is one of the driest nations on the planet, but Deema Assaf believes that with time, patience and new conservation techniques she can turn it…
‘I live on crumbs’: why older Algerians are risking the small boats to Spain Nouara is 65 but ready to join thousands of others who burn their ID and pay traffickers for a chance of a new life in Europe.
I am the most dangerous woman in the world Selma Selman, born in 1991, grew up as a child from a Roma family in a Bosnian village. Today, she is one of the most renowned performance artists in…
