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Women and the media in Afghanistan: How to support female media workers in a challenging landscape

Catharine Buckell, Mahdi Zaki, Shukrana Azizi Suzanne Devai

London: BBC Media Action (2024), 50 pp.

"Women in Afghanistan continue to have less access to information than men, particularly through TV and the internet. At least 33% of women (more in rural areas) rely on family as a key source of information, while men prioritise other information sources. Yet Afghan women’s information needs have ... never been more pronounced – due to restrictions on their activities, many are confined to their homes. Women in Afghanistan with media access rely on this more than ever to keep updated on issues that concern them, and spend more time accessing and using media: "Now women are in the confines of their homes… The virtual space is the only window for us to learn about what is happening." (Female FGD participant, Herat). Two-thirds (65%) of female survey respondents say that the media is “very important” in their daily lives, compared with half (51%) of male respondents. Despite various efforts to cater to female audiences, 67% of female and male respondents feel that Afghan media only “somewhat” or “rarely” meets women’s needs. Reflecting restrictions on media content, respondents complain that domestic media contains too much religious content and not enough entertainment. However, educational content is still allowed, providing women and girls who are denied access to schooling with a vital source of education. Respondents are more satisfied with the balance of content in international media and media run by Afghans in exile, and they are more likely to watch some types of entertainment, such as movies, on international than domestic TV. However, a number of international media outlets are inaccessible from Afghanistan. Journalists inside Afghanistan are banned from working with international TV/radio channels or news sites, and some have been arrested for doing so. 87% of respondents say the presence of women in the media in Afghanistan has decreased since August 2021. Only 41% could name a female presenter or journalist. Almost all of those named by respondents worked in the media before 2021, or currently work from outside Afghanistan. Audience members support women featuring in news and educational programmes but are less supportive of them featuring in comedy and sports content. Over half (54%) of the general survey respondents say they would support a female relative to work as a journalist. A further 12% would support a female relative under certain conditions, including wearing the hijab and travelling with a mahram (women cannot leave their home without a male chaperone)." (Executive summary, page 6) more

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In conflict between leaving and staying: Identifying the challenges of women journalists and the effects on the intention to leave the journalism profession

Abdul Wahab Siddiqi, Haroon Hakimi, Faisal Karimi

Media Asia, volume 50, issue 2 (2023), pp. 157-180

"This study aims to identify the challenges of women journalists in Afghanistan and their impact on the intention to leave the job. To achieve the objectives of this study, a mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) has been used. In the qualitative section, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted ... more

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Afghanistan. Blacked Out: Media Freedom Under the Taliban

Elena Zondler, Bahia Albrecht, Alexander Matschke

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2022), 7 pp.

"Oppression of women, financial meltdown, censorship: Research findings by Afghan NGO Nai SOMA and DW Akademie highlight the extent of the Afghan media sector’s breakdown after the Taliban took power in Kabul." (Page 1)

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The Working Conditions and Challenges of Afghan Female Journalists

Mohammad Yousaf Saddiqi, Elif Kucuk Durur

American Journal of Applied Psychology, volume 11, issue 3 (2022), pp. 90-100

"Journalism is a demanding profession in Afghanistan, where females are less encouraged to become journalists. Even recently, the people of Afghanistan still do not encourage females to work outside. But still, a significant number of females are engaged in journalism. It contributes to society for ... more

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Lives, Jobs, Homeland: Afghan Women Journalists Lose All

Association of Women in Radio and Television (AWRT-K) (2022), 52 pp.

"According to a survey conducted by Reporters without Borders (RSF) in December 2021, from 10,790 people working in Afghan media (8,290 men and 2,490 women) at the start of August 2021, only 4,360 (3,950 men and 410 women) were still working and the number may reduce even further. For this survey, d ... ata were collected through online and in-person manual surveys in May 2022. The questionnaire included 23 questions and was completed by 308 respondents in Dari (75.97%) and Pashto (24.03%). All 100 percent respondents were female. The survey largely represented reporters (54.87%), followed by journalists (19.16%), producers (9.74%), presenters (3.90%) and others (12.01%). [...] A majority of respondents (67.86%) reported that they have lost their jobs since the de facto authorties’ takeover of Afghanistan in August. The highest ratio of respondents having lost their jobs compared to the respondents interviewed were in Bamyan (100%), followed by Kandahar (91%), Balkh (85%), Badakhshan (68%) and Kabul (62%). 60.39% of respondents reported that they have felt ‘major changes’ since the collapse of the former government. In addition, 28.90% respondents reported changes in some cases. As for the level of restrictions imposed on reporting since the de facto authorities’ takeover of power, an astounding 80.52% of respondents reported the case to be ‘very restricted’. As far as the reporting autonomy is concerned, 45.13% respondents mentioned that ‘Government Interferences have Increased’, while 35.71% responded as ‘Bad’ meaning the independency in journalists’ reporting is bad. 46.75% of respondents mentioned that the de facto authorities’ spokespersons do not respond to female journalists, followed by 29.55% who mentioned that they do respond, but just in some cases. All 100% of the respondents reported that they have received some kind of threat since the de facto authorities have taken over the power, and reported the major threat against female journalists to be the new restrictions imposed by the de facto authorities (52.9%), followed by the gender-based discrimination (18.8%), and threats posed by extremist groups (16.9%). A majority of the respondents (55.19%) reported that they were restricted from their work specifically due to their outfit/sense of clothing and some (27.92%) reported that they have experienced the same but to some extent only." (Executive summary, pages 5-6) more

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Brief No.1: Media Restrictions and the Implications for Gender Equality in Afghanistan

Michelle Gehrig

Kabul: UN Women (2022), 29 pp.

"After nearly 20 years of international investment and successful efforts to build a diverse media landscape and strengthen journalism standards, the Afghan media sector has fundamentally changed for the worse since the Taliban (also referred herein to as the de facto authorities) takeover on 15 Aug ... more

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In Their Own Words: Afghan Women Journalists Speak

Annie Philip, Laxmi Murthy, Yirmiyan Arthur, Jane Worthington, John Troughton

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ);Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) (2021), 18 pp.

"Comprising several interviews with women journalists both inside and outside of Afghanistan, the report highlights the threats to life and livelihood imposed by the new regime. As the Taliban imposes new restrictions on the media, including a dress code on women journalists, there is continued resi ... more

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‘Picturing Afghan Women’ for Western audiences: The Afghan perspective

Saumava Mitra

Journalism, volume 21, issue 6 (2020), pp. 800-820

"As the United States engages with the Taliban in a peace process that might return them to influence within Afghanistan, concerns are rising regarding the future status of Afghan women. In this background, this article returns to the much studied subject of the portrayal of Afghan women in Western ... more

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Television and the Afghan Culture Wars

Wazhmah Osman

Urbana: University of Illinois Press (2020), 288 pp.

"Fieldwork from across Afghanistan allowed Osman to record the voices of Afghan media producers and people from all sectors of society. In this moving work, Afghans offer their own seldom-heard views on the country's cultural progress and belief systems, their understandings of themselves, and the r ... more

Women Empowerment: A Study of Media and its Role in Empowerment of Afghan’s Women

Mostafa Hassanzadeh

Indian Journal of Science and Technology, volume 11, issue 23 (2018), pp. 1-8

"During the last fourteen years, Afghan media has played a significant role in empowering women and they still do. Media has a crucial responsibility in promoting women’s participation in society. It has the power to spread messages and raise awareness for the challenges women face. Most important ... more

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Curated Stories: The Uses and Misuses of Storytelling

Sujatha Fernandes

New York: Oxford University Press (2017), xii, 212 pp.

"Fernandes considers the rise of storytelling alongside the broader shift to neoliberal, free-market economies. She argues that stories have been reconfigured to promote entrepreneurial self-making and restructured as easily digestible soundbites mobilized toward utilitarian ends. Fernandes roams th ... more

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The Reporting Heroes: A Study on the Condition of Afghan Female Journalists

Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) (2016), 13 pp.

"This report reflects the findings of a survey performed by Afghan Journalists Safety Committee on the status of female journalists and media workers in Afghanistan. The purpose of the report is to identify the extensive challenges female journalists and media workers face and develop specific measu ... more

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The Cost of Business: Gender Dynamics of Media Labor in Afghanistan

Matt Sienkiewicz

In: Precarious Creativity: Global Media, Local Labor

Michael Curtin; Kevin Sanson (eds.)

University of California Press (2016), pp. 104-117

"In this chapter I have strived to move beyond the simple neoliberal critique, attempting to consider more closely the specific, concrete impact of American policies on the work of female Afghan media workers. It would be foolish and dishonest to deny that the American-imposed system of media that c ... more

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Media Messaging and its Impact on Afghan Women: Survey Report

Cooperation for Peace and Unity;Afghan Women Rights (2015), 48 pp.

"Television remains the most popular medium in all provinces surveyed and among the different groups of respondents. It is also the most preferred source of information, followed by Radio. A great majority of the population watches TV on a daily basis. More than half of the population spends between ... more

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The Stories Women Journalists Tell: Women in Media in South Asia

Geeta Seshu

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia-Pacific;South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN) (2014), 24 pp.

"The promotion of gender equality among journalists is a key objective of the SAMSN gender project going forward in 2014. The roundtables and the gender networking conference discussed strategies and campaigns that could address the issues faced by women in South Asia. The conference also put forwar ... more

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"Offiziell haben wir Meinungsfreiheit"

Kirsten Herrmann

Message, issue 4 (2014), pp. 76-79

"Farida Nekzad leitet die Nachrichtenagentur Wakht in Afghanistan. Im Message-Interview erklärt sie, unter welchen Gefahr Journalistinnen in ihrem Land arbeiten und welche Medien Warlords bevorzugen." (Einleitung)

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The Impact of the BBC World Service Trust's Programme Afghan Woman's Hour: Results from a National Survey in Afghanistan

Andy Bhanot, Emily LeRoux-Rutledge

Safia Haleem (ed.)

Kabul: BBC World Service Trust (2009), 68 pp.

"1. Overall awareness of Afghan Woman’s Hour (AWH) in Afghanistan was found to be high; 50% of all those who had listened to the radio in the previous month were aware of AWH. Awareness was higher in the South Western region at 64% compared with the lowest level of awareness at 23% in the Hazarjat ... more

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Development On-Air: Women's Radio Production in Afghanistan

Sarah Kamal

Gender & Development, volume 15, issue 3 (2007), pp. 399-411

"This case study investigates the launch of a women’s radio station in Herat, Afghanistan, in October 2003. It follows four women journalists’ struggles in balancing the demands of a highly conservative culture on the one hand, and the objectives of their Canadian journalism trainers on the othe ... more