Fifth Floor
Fifth Floor
BBC World Service
Iran protests: the ripple effect
46 minutes Posted Oct 21, 2022 at 1:21 pm.
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The protests in Iran are now the longest and most widespread in the 43 years of the Islamic Republic. What began as a reaction to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old Kurdish woman, arrested for allegedly violating strict hijab rules, quickly changed into a wider protest against the regime. What's happening in Iran has had a ripple effect for women across the region. To find out more we brought together Selin Girit from BBC Turkish, Mariam Aman from BBC Persian, who's from Afghanistan, and Lina Shaikhouni, a Syrian journalist with the BBC, who has an overview of the Arab region.

Eritrea's military call up

Military mobilisation has intensified in Eritrea. While the government claims a 'tiny number' of reservists are being called up, the picture on the ground suggests a much larger operation, with door to door searches for draft dodgers, and their families punished for concealment. BBC Tigrinya's Bekit Teklemariam shares their findings with us.

The changing portrayal of North Korea in South Korean film

Movies about North Korea are not new in South Korea. But over the years, the genre has shifted from hostile anti-communism to more nuanced depictions of the country, including romance and friendship. Hyunjung Kim of BBC Korean charts this evolution.

(Photo: Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest in support of Iranian women and against the death of Mahsa Amini, near the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Credit: REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya/File Photo)