Local radio makes impact in conservative Kandahar

As western music echoed through a crowded street in Kandahar city, Abdul Satar, a 23-year-old watchmaker listened to music broadcast by Azad Afghan Radio (Afghan Independent Radio), a newly established local radio station in the southern province of Kandahar. The southern provincial capital was the birth place of the Taliban movement who had strictly forbidden listening to music and banned any independent media activities until just two years ago, when their hard-line regime was crushed by US-led coalition forces. And while much of the city is still overshadowed by ultraconservatism and cultural complexities, for many Kandaharis [residents of Kandahar] like Satar, a local independent radio provides an excellent means of educating people about democracy. "In fact the local radio is better than BBC, Kabul or America Ghag [Voice of America] as it speaks and produces in a way which is more understandable by the local people here," said Satar, who had recently returned from the neighbouring Pakistani border city of Quetta after years of exile. Despite many challenges - mainly insecurity in the troubled south - Azad Afghan is one 14 independent local radio stations in the country working to promote freedom of expression and providing a voice to rural Afghans. Given high levels of illiteracy, and a lack of independent media for decades, radio is one of the most powerful ways to reach and educate people in rural areas. Azad Afghan Radio broadcasts in a radius of 100 km - covering Kandahar city and five surrounding districts. Reaching some 150,000 listeners, it has five hours of evening programming consisting of news, education, sports and local advocacy, with a strong emphasis on voicing people’s complaints to local authorities and getting response from concerned state organs. "Azad Afghan is more than a radio channel. We are like a bridge between people and the authorities with our programme, ‘You should ask. We will seek a response’," Najibullah Zeyarmal, a producer of Azad Afghan, told IRIN. Established just two months ago with the support of the Washington-based Afghan Cultural Society (ACS), Azad Afghan has a more challenging task of promoting democracy in the conservative, male-dominated and poor security environment of the south. While the station is well equipped, with funding for the next three years, according to Zeyarmal, they have yet to be able to attract female workers pending safety concerns for women heard on the media. "There are no female reporters in Kandahar, even in state media. Due to security and cultural limitations even educated women wouldn't dare be heard via radio or seen on TV," Zeryamal noted. The radio producer, said, however, that the interest was there but security was more important than cultural limitations for many women participating in initiatives like Azad Afghan. "In fact it is more security than discriminatory traditions. Until we have these warlords and irresponsible gunmen, no one will dare show up," Massooma, a civil servant at the Kandahar information and culture department told IRIN, adding she knew people who had been threatened if they spoke out through the media. "I think media can help a lot," she said, explaining families now allowed women to be photographed and receive an election card which reflects a great change in the lives of women in this region.