Afghanistan’s gift to the world: 1st TV channel run by all-woman staff, highlights women issues

Meet the all-woman crew members of Zan TV, the latest media initiative of Afghanistan.

Kabul, May 30: In recent times, India has witnessed proliferation of television channels--from news, entertainment to infotainment. But we must say the war-ravaged neighbouring country, Afghanistan, has scored "brownie points" by coming up with a TV channel that is completely run by women employees and focusses on women-related subjects.

Recently, the country saw the launch of Zan TV or Women's TV channel dedicated to women's issues, and it is run completely by women.

Right from female newsreaders and presenters, to producers, the TV channel is completely manned by Afghani women, known for being fiercely independent and talented, but during the Taliban regime were subjugated to unimaginable torture, pushing them within the four walls of their houses.

However, it's a man who is the brain behind the noble initiative of starting the innovative TV channel. The media organisation has been founded by Hamid Samar, a media entrepreneur.

Zan TV, headquartered in Kabul, is fighting a lot of hurdles to keep the flag of women's rights flying high. The channel is running with a small budget and thus uses only low-cost digital technology to spread its message.

The media industry in Afghanistan has a lot of women workers, especially newsreaders. Unfortunately, most of them are not even trained before joining the workforce. The staff members of Zan TV are also learning while on the job.

Around 16 male technicians are training these women to master the technical nitty gritty to run the channel without any hiccups.

"I am so happy that this TV station has been created for women because there are women in our society who are not aware of their rights," 20-year-old Khatira Ahmadi, a producer at the station, told Reuters.

"So this station represents women and we work to raise the voice of women so they can defend their rights," she added.

The women employees of the channel are also fighting several personnel battles. The conservative society of Afghanistan does not approve women to work outside and earn their livelihood. Moreover, families of many women media professionals don't approve their relatives working in the industry.

However, the enthusiastic workers of Zan TV want to fight all hardships to make the channel a success story, which started broadcasting from May 21.

OneIndia News