Rahab went to prison when her children were little. She’d been taking part in carjackings and armed robberies. Once she got caught, she spent six years at Langata women’s prison in Nairobi, Kenya.

While she was in prison, she managed to turn her life around – but how can she rebuild her relationship with her three children, and make up for the time she missed?

Namulanta visits Langata to meet Rahab and finds out what life is like for current inmates who have children.

Letter writer: Rahab

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on. Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether 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 www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter

Audio for this episode was updated on 20 May 2025.

When Mahynour’s daughter gets her first bra, it’s Mahynour who is the most excited – her little girl is a young lady now.

Letter writer: Mahynour

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on. Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether 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 www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter

Audio for this episode was updated on 1 May 2025.

Hot on the heels of our Stars season, stand by for Dear Daughter season 5, starting Friday April 25th.

Namulanta Kombo is collecting letters of advice from around the world to create a handbook to life for her daughter Koko – and daughters everywhere.

This season Namulanta’s been speaking to letter-writers all over the world, from India to Colombia to South Africa. We’ll hear from divorce lawyer Vandana Shah how the end of her marriage led her to retrain as a lawyer, and the advice she always gives to new clients. Listener Paola talks about the grief of losing her daughter aged just 17. Rahab writes to her daughter to apologise for missing out on so much of her childhood because she was in prison at the time. And blogger Malaka Grant tells Namulanta about the lesson she learned when her Pop-pop brought out her first erotic novel over Christmas brunch.

Plus we’ll hear letters about some of the big milestones in a daughter’s life. Shelley in Arkansas reads us the letter she slipped into her daughter’s suitcase as she was leaving for college. Azola in South Africa talks about the day his friends threw him a “nappy braai” or dads-only baby shower. And Mahynor in Egypt tells Namulanta about the excitement of buying her daughter her first bra.

More brilliant advice, thoughtful conversations, laughter, wisdom and tears – join us for the new season of Dear Daughter from Friday April 25th.

And we’d love to hear from you! We’d love to hear your letter for your daughter, or a daughter figure in your life, or your younger self. Email us on [email protected] or go to www.bbc.co.uk/deardaughter to find out more.

You can read our privacy notice here:

Wen was raised believing sex is taboo but she knows she must change for her daughter’s sake.

Her grandmother was ashamed to talk about it. Her mum and dad had to visit the biology section of the library to find out how to do it. Wen wants to raise her daughter differently. In her letter, she says she wants to create a safe space at home to talk more openly. She passes on advice for navigating the world of dating, sex, and relationships: hug every day, dress in a way that pleases you and fart whenever and wherever…

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on. Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether 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 bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

You can read our privacy notice here:

A bereaved father on parenting after grief. When Ani’s daughter was just two years old, his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Her illness dominated their daughter’s early years, and she died when the child was six. Ani explains how he’s trying to teach his daughter what her mother was like before she became ill.

Plus, how a Joe Wicks workout helped the family cope through bereavement.

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on. Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether 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 bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

You can read our privacy notice here:

TikTokker Mama Seebz on how she reacted when her daughter Aya (@notjustaya) told her she wanted to be a famous content creator. Seba got frustrated with her daughter Aya during lockdown – she was always scrolling on her phone. But then Aya and her brother suggested she join them, and she realised it was an opportunity to connect with her children on their terms.

They started filming videos together: dances, cultural celebrations, and the “Arabic word challenge”, where Seba tests her children on their Arabic vocabulary. Now their videos get millions of views on social media, and Aya has moved to Sydney to work as a content creator full time.

Mama Seebz shares a letter to Aya telling her to take pride in what she’s achieved. She tells host Namulanta Kombo about her own journey to New Zealand from Iraq, how they know which videos are going to be a hit, and how they deal with online hate.

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on. Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

In the current season, Dear Daughter: Stars, Namulanta hears from parents who are all ‘stars’ in their field. Why did TikTokker Mama Seebz go from telling her children to stop scrolling to becoming a content creator herself? What can The Receipts podcaster Audrey Akande teach her daughter about friendship break-ups? And why exactly did Bridgerton actor Adjoa Andoh lurk around building sites while pregnant?

For more episodes like this one, search for ‘Dear Daughter’ wherever you get your BBC podcasts or go to www.bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

What should you do when your daughter tells you she doesn’t feel pretty?

Kalki Koechlin has acted in blockbuster Bollywood films, written and produced for stage, and penned a book about pregnancy and motherhood called The Elephant In The Womb. She is also the host of the BBC World Service podcast My Indian Life.

Kalki joins Namulanta to share the letter she wrote for her young daughter after she admitted that she didn’t feel pretty. She discusses the expectations on women to conform to a certain beauty standard, particularly as they age, and the pressures she has faced in her acting career to appear youthful. What advice can she give her daughter for navigating a world obsessed with appearance?

Kalki also shares her fears for the impact of social media on body image. How can parents teach their children that not all of what they see online is real?

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on.

Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether 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 bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

You can read our privacy notice here:

Audrey Akande is best known for being one half of The Receipts podcast. She joins Namulanta in the studio to share the letter she’s written for her daughter.

Audrey talks about the balance as a parent between protecting your child’s innocence but also helping them learn to face the world. How can you teach independence while keeping them safe?

Audrey has given unfiltered advice and life stories on The Receipts podcast since its launch in 2016. She discusses the challenges of being both an oversharer and a mum.

Plus, she talks friendship break-ups and navigating The Receipts split in the public eye.

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on.

Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether 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 bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

You can read our privacy notice here:

Wildlife ecologist and nature presenter Dr Rae Wynn-Grant joins Namulanta to share the letter she’s written for her daughters about how to overcome self-doubt.

Bridgerton actor Adjoa Andoh joins Namulanta in the studio to share the letter she’s written to her three children.

She tells them the importance of trusting their bodies and following their instincts - a life philosophy which has sometimes led her into some unexpected situations, especially while pregnant…

Plus, filming for season 4 of Bridgerton is underway and Adjoa is back as Lady Danbury. She talks about how the show’s diversity has resonated with audiences around the world.

Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.

Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on.

Expect extraordinary true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising daughters.

Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether 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 bbcworldservice.com/deardaughter.

You can read our privacy notice here: