Media

This All Women TV Station In Afghanistan Is Showing Tremendous Courage

Le Devoir

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Grace Carr Reporter
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Afghanistan got its first all-female run TV station not long ago, and these ladies are bravely crushing the news.

When Zan TV went on air in May, many Afghans were dubious that it would succeed given that the anchors and producers were all female. But against the odds, it’s ratings are growing. “There are more than one million people who watch Zan TV and outside of Afghanistan,” its producer Samaar said to Radio Free Europe. “We are also increasing our reach through social media,” he added. Their goal is to become one of Afghanistan’s largest TV stations.

Being a journalist in Afghanistan is dangerous enough, but being a female reporter in the country brings a whole other set of challenges. “This week I’m reporting on why women become drug addicts, and why, even after drug rehabilitation, they go back to using drugs,” one of the reporters, 21-year old, Rashid told Radio Free Europe. She went to the “Burned Bridge” in Kabul, where countless attacks have recently occurred, to find out more.

Zan TV reports on issues that other Afghan TV stations won’t address like contraception, women in the workplace, and being a feminist Muslim. “Zan TV allows us to give women a voice and to fight for women’s rights,” anchor Shabana Noori told Radio Free Europe.

The women also face challenges because Afghanistan’s deeply religious and conservative culture is not accustomed to women running or directing virtually anything. “In an Islamic country where 99 percent of people are Muslims, these channels bring shame to our religious leaders, political leaders, and our society,” said street vendor Wazali Kazemi.

Rashid said that she had to convince her own family that it was ok to be a woman journalist. Several Afghan female journalists have been murdered in recent years for their work, and Zan TV has already received death threats. “Even if my life or my family is in danger, as long as I’m alive I will work to give a voice to those voiceless Afghan women,” said it’s 22-year-old technician to Radio Free Europe.

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