Dear Daughter

Comedian Ria Lina finds out she is autistic after an audience member picks up on it at one of her shows. What does being autistic mean for her?

She tells Namulanta that being a woman with autism is like being a chameleon: you wear lots of different masks to suit the occasion, but sometimes all you want to do is go to a quiet dark place and crash.

Ria tells Namulanta all about autism so the next generation can feel more prepared than she did.

Letter writer: Ria Lina

If you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter

And please leave ratings and reviews.

You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice

(Ria Lina image credit: Arabella Itani)

Gretchen’s daughter is transgender. When she first told her parents, it came as a shock – but Gretchen wants to tell her daughter she’ll always be on her side.

But she worries that the outside world might be hostile. How can she protect her daughter, while also helping her grow?

Letter writer: Gretchen Namulanta Kombo is creating a "handbook to life" for her daughter with letters of advice and stories to help her navigate her life ahead. If you’ve got something you’d like to share with your daughter or daughters everywhere, please send Namulanta your letter: email us at [email protected], send us a Whatsapp on +44 800 030 4404, or go to bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter and click on “Send us your letters”. #DearDaughter Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter And please leave ratings and reviews.

Rehman becomes a widower with three children after the sudden death of his wife. Over a year later, he remarries a woman with three children of her own. Now Rehman has three children from his previous marriage and three new stepchildren. Blending the two families together is Rehman’s dream. He wants his family to accept this new reality, but it’s not all smooth sailing. Letter writer: Rehman Namulanta Kombo is creating a "handbook to life" for her daughter with letters of advice and stories to help her navigate her life ahead. If you’ve got something you’d like to share with your daughter or daughters everywhere, please send Namulanta your letter: email us at [email protected], send us a Whatsapp on +44 800 030 4404, or go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter and click on “Send us your letters”

Malini has a lot of regrets about her parenting - but her daughter Raji remembers things differently.

Malini raised her family in a big multigenerational household in India, with relatives coming and going and little privacy for anyone. She and her mother-in-law were both strong personalities, and sometimes her daughter was caught in the crossfire.

Malini writes a letter to Raji about her regrets over the past. Was she too strict? Was she too possessive? Did Raji decide to move away to get away from the civil war at home?

But Raji responds with a letter of her own.

Letter writers: Malini and Raji

Namulanta Kombo and parents build a “handbook to life”. Sharing your parenting advice, personal stories, and letters to your daughters. What will you tell your children?

If you are a mum or mom, dad or papa, grandparent, uncle, aunt, daughter, son or just want to write a letter, send us a Whatsapp message on +44 800 030 4404 or visit https://bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

Get in touch and let us know what you think on social media - #DearDaughter

And please leave ratings and reviews.

You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3ZFHNV8v7qgTm1zbKbkwsvR/dear-daughter-privacy-notice

Joy Kendi doesn’t want her hair to define her – so she shaves her head.

Joy is an influencer in Kenya who’s known for her personal style – sometimes she has tight curls, sometimes long braids or a perfect afro.

But she wasn’t always so confident in her appearance. Growing up in the US, she wanted to look like the other girls around her, and didn’t know how to take care of her natural hair.

She joins Namulanta in the studio to talk about all things black hair – the salon experience, the surprising history of cornrows, and why showering with a bald head is the most liberating feeling on the planet.

Namulanta Kombo is creating a "handbook to life" for her daughter, with letters of advice and stories to help her navigate her life ahead. If you’ve got something you’d like to share with your daughter or daughters everywhere, please send Namulanta your letter: email us at [email protected], send us a Whatsapp on +44 800 030 4404, or go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter and click on “Send us your letters”.

Race, neighbours and starting a new life at 40 – what happens when you no longer feel welcome in your home town?

Mary had lived in Florida ever since her university days. It’s where she fell in love, met her Taiwanese husband, and had two children. With hopes of her children growing up and going to college in Florida, Mary thought she’d live there for the rest of her life.

But that all changed when, at 40 years old, Mary received a menacing message that made her move her Asian-American family 2000 miles across the country.

Letter writer: Mary

Namulanta Kombo is creating a "handbook to life" for her daughter with letters of advice and stories to help her navigate her life ahead. If you’ve got something you’d like to share with your daughter or daughters everywhere, please send Namulanta your letter: email us at [email protected], send us a Whatsapp on +44 800 030 4404, or go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter and click on “Send us your letters”

Dating is nerve-racking for anyone, let alone a teenage girl who is thinking about it for the first time. Wen in Hong Kong tells Namulanta about the dating advice she wants to give her daughter – hug every day, dress in a way that pleases you and fart whenever and wherever.

But at the same time, she feels a bit like Grandma telling Little Red Riding Hood about the wolf; she wants her to meet good people, but be aware that there’s danger out there too.

Also, why it’s important go to your mum for advice about sex if you can – there’s only so much you can learn from the biology section of the library.

Letter writer: Wen

Namulanta Kombo is creating a "handbook to life" for her daughter with letters of advice and stories to help her navigate her life ahead. If you’ve got something you’d like to share with your daughter or daughters everywhere, please send Namulanta your letter: email us at [email protected], send us a Whatsapp on +44 800 030 4404, or go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter and click on “Send us your letters”

#DearDaughter

Comedian Janine Harouni was performing standup at 40 weeks pregnant, but now the baby’s here, there's a whole new set of challenges.

She tells Namulanta why it’s so important to talk about the gross and difficult parts of pregnancy and newborn parenting – and the surprise family DNA test which changed her perspective on motherhood.

Letter writer: Janine Harouni

Namulanta Kombo is creating a "handbook to life" for her daughter with letters of advice and stories to help her navigate her life ahead. If you’ve got something you’d like to share with your daughter or daughters everywhere, please send Namulanta your letter: email us at [email protected], send us a Whatsapp on +44 800 030 4404, or go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter and click on “Send us your letters”. #DearDaughter

(Janine Harouni image credit: Matt Stronge)

Body image and unattainable beauty standards – Anna spent half her life dealing with an eating disorder until she was finally diagnosed and treated. Now that she is working on getting better, she is able to appreciate the joys in life again, and has regained the spark she felt she had lost. She writes a letter to her future daughter about how to avoid the “perfect trap” in which she found herself.

Letter writer: Anna

Namulanta Kombo is creating a "handbook to life" for her daughter with letters of advice and stories to help her navigate her life ahead. If you’ve got something you’d like to share with your daughter or daughters everywhere, please send Namulanta your letter: email us at [email protected], send us a Whatsapp on +44 800 030 4404, or go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter and click on “Send us your letters”. #DearDaughter

Namulanta’s father Musikari Kombo is a politician – he’s an anti-corruption campaigner in Kenya, and before that he was a successful businessman. But what that meant for his children was that when they were growing up, he wasn’t around much, because he was so busy. Now he comes into the studio to read Namulanta a letter about family values, the importance of friendship - and how he’s making up for lost time with his grandchildren.

Letter writer: Musikari Kombo

Namulanta Kombo is creating a "handbook to life" for her daughter, with letters of advice and stories to help her navigate her life ahead. If you’ve got something you’d like to share with your daughter or daughters everywhere, please send Namulanta your letter: email us at [email protected], send us a Whatsapp on +44 800 030 4404, or go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter and click on “Send us your letters”.

#DearDaughter