Zan TV (''Women TV/تلویزیون زن'' in

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī � ...

) is an

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television channel that almost exclusively employs women, and offers programming that especially addresses issues relevant to women in Afghanistan. Founded by Hamid Samar, a media entrepreneur, in

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in 2017, Zan TV was the first station of its kind in Afghanistan.

History

Upon its founding, about half of the women hired for the station were already qualified, and the other half planned to learn on the job. This was because most Afghan media and TV companies would not historically hire women, so they had limited opportunities to develop media skills beforehand. Staff have included Nasrine Nawa, director of news programming, Yasamin Yarmal, host of the daily show, Khalida Rashid, a political reporter, Shabana Noori, a news anchor, and Mehria Azali, a journalist and producer of the station's political programming. Within three months of its founding, Samar reported that the station had 90,000 viewers for its morning programs. As written in the ''Guardian'' upon its founding, "It’s a radical initiative for a country where the television industry is run solely by men and where just 16 years ago, journalism and even access to education for women were banned." However, some journalists are worried for their safety, and some face criticism from their families and communities. In 2019, Zan TV reporter

Najwa Alimi Najwa Alimi is an Afghan journalist and human rights activist. She won the 2019 Per Anger Prize for her efforts supporting human rights and freedom of speech, In 2022, she was awarded the Anna Lindh prize . Alimi was born in Fayzabad, Badakhshan. S ...

received the

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, an award instituted by the Government of Sweden and awarded to human rights defenders. In August 2021 with the

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coming to power in Afghanistan, Zan TV temporarily suspended broadcasting. Despite the current problems that the Taliban has imposed on women's activities in Afghanistan and even on the activities of the media, Zan TV is still trying to be the voice of Afghan women. Zan TV continues work under the management of

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and the support of Mr.Hamid Samar.

Programming

The station broadcasts news programmes and a variety of other shows, including cookery, entertainment, and discussion shows. In particular, it focuses on topics that are of interest of Afghan

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women, such as

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

in the context of Islam,

reproductive rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproductive rights rest on t ...

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

, women in the workplace, and

family life Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

. Interviews with Afghan female politicians and activists, such as Fareeda Kuchi Balkhi and Selay Ghaffar, are also included. Although the programming includes segments on topics that were banned under the Taliban rule, such as

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and women in sports, the stated goal according to Mehria Azali is to work within the framework of Afghan culture and the existing laws.

References

External links

*{{website, www.zantv.af Television stations in Afghanistan Televisa broadcast television networks