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"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

"Funded by DFID, under the Global Grant project, BBC Media Action produced three seasons of the weekly TV and radio programme Sema Kenya (Kenya Speaks). Sema Kenya featured a moderated discussion between a live panel of officials and an audience of ‘ordinary’ Kenyans and was designed to enable i ... ndividuals, communities and governments to be better informed and more engaged in tackling governance challenges. Alongside this, BBC Media Action delivered a mentoring programme, initially with six local radio stations, and later with the national broadcaster Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), which has the largest footprint in the country. Through this work, BBC Media Action aimed to strengthen the capacity of Kenya’s media sector to produce governance programming that supported and mainstreamed the overall objectives of the project at both the local and national level. [...] Sema Kenya contributed to people being more informed about and engaged in politics. Audiences were more knowledgeable about politics, discussed it more with friends and family, felt more confident in their ability to influence political processes and participated more in governance related activities (particularly at the community level) – all factors that support bottom-up accountability. Audiences themselves linked Sema Kenya with these outcomes. This finding was validated by analysis confirming a significant positive relationship between watching or listening to Sema Kenya and consistently higher knowledge, discussion and confidence to engage in politics, even when taking into account other factors that might influence these outcomes (such as education, age and interest in politics). While Sema Kenya’s audience was more likely to participate in politics, qualitative research respondents rarely attributed their actions directly to what they had heard on Sema Kenya. This reflects findings from advanced quantitative analysis (structural equation modelling) that suggests the link between Sema Kenya and increased political participation is indirect and mediated by political knowledge, discussion and self-efficacy. Supported by an extensive network of broadcast partners that stretched across all 47 counties in Kenya, the discussion programme reached an estimated 12.7 million people over three seasons, with a peak audience of 5.7 million in 2013 – the year of the general election. The show also maintained a loyal audience throughout all three seasons, with around half of all those reached annually tuning in for at least every second episode." (Executive summary, pages 6-7) more

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

Strengthening Accountability Through Media in Kenya: Final Evaluation