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In and around Kabul, Caroline Wyatt weighs up Afghan women's hopes and fears for the future. There has been a rash of headline news recently about the bleak side of their lives, with tales of forced child marriage, child suicide bombers and widespread domestic violence. But on the ground there are also signs of hope - from mushrooming blocks of new flats to a military academy for women.

Elsewhere, in a Russian forest, Justin Rowlatt endures a sauna session with some virulently homophobic hunters - and hears more of their alarming attitudes to gay people.

(Photo: Afghan National Army (ANA) female officers attend their graduation ceremony in Herat. Credit: Aref Karimi/AFP/Getty Images)