Sandra Caligaro | Women broadcasters gather at Radio Begum 90.1 FM in Afghanistan.
Radio Begum: A rare public space for women in Afghanistan
Every morning in Kabul, several cars make their way across the Afghan capital to pick up the producers of Radio Begum. The young women do not travel to the office on their own as moving around the city has become too complicated.
“They don’t come on their own by bus or taxi because it’s very complicated for a woman to move around the city, especially for young women,” station founder Hamida Anan told UN News, explaining the laws preventing them from doing so.
Once they arrive at the studio, the journalists hold their editorial meeting, prepare their shows and go live on air.
‘Glimmer of hope in the darkness’
The station, which receives support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), operates with a team of around 30 women and broadcasts across much of the country, except in about a dozen of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, where authorities have banned even the sound of women’s voices in the media.
“Right now, when you are in Afghanistan and you change the channel on television or switch between radio stations, you only hear men’s voices or see images of men,” Ms. Anan says.
In this soundscape dominated by male voices, Radio Begum stands out.
“Hearing a woman’s voice in this entirely male universe is like a small light, a glimmer in an ocean of darkness.”
A radio station for women, by women
Radio Begum was launched in March 2021, just a few months before the Taliban returned to power.
Its founder, Ms. Anan, was born in Kabul but fled the war with her family at the age of eight and grew up in Switzerland, where she studied journalism. After the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, she returned to her country to support the development of Afghan media.
In its early days, the station broadcast music, entertainment programmes and interviews with active women, highlighting the achievements of Afghan women over the past twenty years.
“Radio Begum is a radio station made for women, by women.”
But, after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, media outlets had to quickly adapt their content.
“Overnight, we had to stop broadcasting music. Overnight, we had to scale back our entertainment programmes.”
Navigating new restrictions
Over the months, restrictions imposed on women and the media have multiplied. Women have gradually been excluded from many public-sector jobs, and female journalists must work under strict conditions: they can interview only women and cannot be alone in a studio with a man.
“There were constant warnings and threats,” Ms. Anan recalled.
To continue broadcasting, the station chose to avoid any political confrontation.
“We decided not to do politics. That is one of the reasons why we can continue to work.”
At the end of 2024, a decree issued by the Taliban authorities also declared it “improper” for women’s voices to be heard in public spaces, a decision that led several provinces to ban female voices from radio and television broadcasts.
“We are a radio station serving women,” Ms. Anan said. “We are no longer an ordinary media outlet.”
In this context, Radio Begum gradually adapted its programming and turned early toward education.
“We were pioneers using our airwaves for education.”
As early as autumn 2021, the station began broadcasting lessons well before the ban on girls attending school became widespread. When schools later closed to teenage girls, this mission became central.
“They closed the schools, yes. School is forbidden, but education is not. So, we will bring school into the home as much as possible.”
Today, six hours of educational programming based on the Afghan school curriculum are broadcast every day, three hours in Dari and three in Pashto..
The station also airs programmes on topics including health, psychological support, medical advice, spirituality, women’s entrepreneurship and social issues such as addiction. Most are broadcast live, allowing listeners to call in and ask questions.
Promoting women’s rights through Islam
To talk about women’s rights, Radio Begum has taken an unexpected path: religious texts.
“We inform women about their rights, and we use Islam to do that because it’s the only way,” Ms. Anan explained, adding that the station’s religious programme draws on verses, surahs and hadiths from the Qur’an, explained on air by female theologians.
“Islam is very precise about the place of women in society,” she said, citing rules concerning inheritance, divorce, the situation of widows and education. “We quote the verses, the surahs… so they can’t say anything.”
Initially scrutinised by authorities who wanted to ensure the hosts truly understood the religious texts, but their reaction surprised the editorial team.
“They told us it was their favourite programme.”
Today, the show ranks among the station’s most listened-to programmes.
‘My husband behaves much better’
Each programme receives many calls from listeners across the country.
“The calls from listeners are a very good barometer of the impact of our programmes.”
Because of demand, some shows, particularly those focused on psychological support, have even been extended.
One listener from Bamiyan province said she learned about her inheritance rights through a programme and was able to assert them within her family.
In another case, a woman explained that listening to a show had changed her husband’s behaviour.
“My husband listened to the programme and since then, he behaves much better and he is much kinder.”
These testimonies, Ms. Anan says, “encourage us and give us a bit of comfort”.
‘We have to step in’
Despite these small advances, reality remains difficult.
“Being an Afghan woman means a lot of constraints and a lot of worries,” Ms. Anan says.
In this context, Radio Begum seeks to offer a rare space for expression and listening.
“We are responding to needs that the government should provide for women, but since this government has decided to ignore 50 per cent of its population, we have to step in.”
In a country where women are increasingly banned from the public sphere, Radio Begum continues to broadcast, providing a rare space where women can still be heard.