IRIN
AFGHANISTAN: New local women's radio to fight gender violence and
   illiteracy
16 November 2004


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

MAIMANA, 16 November (IRIN) - Sitting around a table with their burqas
(top to bottom covering veil) on chairs, Arefa Zareh, a school teacher and
her fellow women were preparing to broadcast the first trial programme of
Quyash (the Sun), a newly established local women's radio station in the
northern city of Maimana.

Radio Quyash is now one of the four local women's radio stations and one
of over 30 independent radio stations in the country. It counts as the
only independent media outlet in troubled Maimana, the provincial capital
of Faryab.

The new station is expected to tackle the issues of poverty, illiteracy,
forced marriages and the rule of the gun, which are among the major
concerns of the local community in Faryab province.

While the state-run Radio Maimana is also broadcasting locally, the
influence of local commanders and government officials means that its
programmes are heavily censored, a journalist at the station, who didn't
want to be identified, told IRIN.

"Quyash will bring light to the darkness here, this is for the people and
supported by the people," Zareh, an editorial member and presenter on
Quyash, told IRIN in Maimana. Given the high prevalence of illiteracy
among the local women, radio offers one of the most powerful ways to reach
and educate them.

Quyash has an outreach of about 25 km. It produces six hours of daily
programming, mostly in the Uzbek language, with a 30 percent mixture of
the Dari and Pashtu languages. The programmes cover news, humanitarian
information and education, with an emphasis on women's issues. "There's
also plenty of music on the station, as without entertainment you cannot
attract an audience," Zareh said.

After Radio Rabia Balkhi in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Radio
Sahar in western city of Herat and Radio Zuhra in the northeastern city of
Kunduz, Quyash is the fourth female radio station initiated by local
women.

According to Fawad Sahil, a radio programme manager for the Institute for
Media, Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS), a Canadian NGO working on
strengthening civil society and democracy, like other local women's radio
stations, Quyash is supported by a community radio advisory board,
composed of a variety of people from the local community.

"This board is also mandated to assist the station, to offer advice and to
ensure the station reflects the needs of the community and, in particular,
the needs of women," Sahil said.

Working alongside Internews, an international NGO supporting open media
worldwide, the group has received funding from the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) and the US Agency for International Development
(USAID).

Sahel said IMPACS provided start-up funding for a six-month period and
long-term training and mentoring in radio, journalism, management and
fundraising skills.

However, despite great enthusiasm of Zareh and her team, it is still
strange and even impossible for women to interview people on the streets
of Maimana.

"The society still cannot accept women speaking out openly on the streets
and interviewing people," she said, adding that her younger brother would
help her get people's voices from streets and open public places. "I think
this will be the main challenge to fight for our [team's] independence
first."

There are 47 radio stations broadcasting on AM and FM bands from and
within Afghanistan. According to Sanjar Qiam, a radio network coordinator
for Internews, 27 of these radio stations are independent stations, part
of a Network support through Internews and 16 are state regional and
provincial radio stations.

Meanwhile, there are another four stations, including two commercial, one
campus and one broadcast by the international peacekeeping forces
stationed in Afghanistan.

Radio is now part of daily life in rural Afghan society. According to
Internews, almost 90 percent of the people surveyed in the northern Parwan
province owned a radio set and a big portion of them listened to radio for
more than two hours a day.

In rural areas, radio is the only source of reliable and impartial
information and thus the only effective defence against extremism, Qiam
noted. He added that 96 percent of the households in Afghanistan had no
access to electricity and a small number of people have access to print
media and TV.

Sahil believes that establishing women's radio stations provides more
women with the opportunity to become journalists, producers, technicians,
fundraisers and decision-makers. In assuming these roles, they learn new
skills, develop greater self-confidence and awareness, and become active
participants in their own communities.


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004


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