Radio Zafar Update: The radio station in Paghman Province, damaged by fire in March, is now back on air, much to the relief of the community. There is no result from the investigation into the fire, which destroyed the interior of the radio studios. Two guards are still in detention. Radio Zafar is one of a network of 30 radio stations that Internews supports in Afghanistan.
Salam Watandar, an Internews-supported radio programming service, is combining drama and interviews as it produces five programs encouraging women's literacy in Afghanistan. The production is in collaboration with another Afghan media outlet, Educational Radio and TV (ERTV) for which Salam Watandar is providing a staff development opportunity. The programs tackle the cultural / religious aspects of literacy, women's empowerment, the impact of a mother's literacy on children and the sustainability of literacy in women's lives.

Internews Network is an international NGO that supports independent media and access to information for people around the world. Founded in the United States in 1982, we have worked in 70 countries to date. Internews began work in Afghanistan in 2002. Activities in Afghanistan include:

With a grant from USAID, Internews has built a network of 30 independent radio stations and will build or upgrade 10 more stations in the next two years.
To address the lack of technical expertise in the country, Internews offers all of its partner stations free technical advice and support. The technical department carries out site visits and training and runs a workshop in Kabul where stations can bring equipment to be fixed.
In 2004 Internews helped to create an Afghan media NGO called Nai, Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan. Nai conducts training for journalists and also monitors the media for abuses against journalists, producing a monthly report entitled Media Watch.
Internews also supports Pajhwok Afghan News Agency, the only Afghan-run, independent news agency in the country.
An Internews-funded radio programming service, Salam Watandar (Hello, Countryman), produces 7 hours a day of original news and cultural programming. Through live broadcast from Kabul via satellite, Salam Watandar reaches 37 radio stations in 27 provinces of Afghanistan.
An Internews-supported distribution service, Tanin Ltd, distributes programming and news to all of these stations and 23 more across the country.
Through 2007 Internews advised key media players in Afghanistan on working with parliament to advocate for a media law that encourages freedom of speech and an independent press.

Internews Afghanistan
House #99, Shirkat bus stop, Darul Aman Road
Kabul, Afghanistan
PHONE: +93 (0) 79 216 513
EMAIL: info@internews.af

Nai, Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan

Internews Afghanistan

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Internews Builds Two New Radio Stations in Taliban Stronghold

Internews

Training new staff at Radio Charchino in Uruzgan

"It is a good thing you have done – bringing radio to Deh Rawood," commented a listener to Internews technical engineer Mirkhalillulah Sadat (Khalil). Khalil had just started broadcasting on Radio Deh Rawood in Uruzgan Province for the first time. He had just announced on air a much needed visit by medics who were setting up a clinic in the city. The Pashtu speaking district is one of many in the volatile province of Uruzgan with strong Taliban links, making it a very difficult environment in which to install one independent radio station, let alone two.

However, the team of three Internews Afghanistan technicians did just that this month, installing Radio Charchino in Shaheedi Hassas District and Radio Deh Rawood, while living on the military bases and occasionally being woken up by military action.

Staff member fixes a cable in the studio

Pajhwok Afghan News

Mirkhalillulah Sadat (Khalil) installs equipment in the Uruzgan radio station established by Internews.

Khalil and his team earned the respect of the US military personnel based in the region. Said one officer, "I have been very impressed by the work effort of Khalil and the other two out here with him. The fact that it was put up and running in a couple of weeks is nothing short of impressive."

Khalil trained people in each district to operate the stations, which now air a mix of local stories and news and information programs produced by the Internews-supported independent program unit in Kabul, Salam Watandar (Hello My Countrymen), which is broadcast to a network of 36 partner stations across Afghanistan.

Afghan Journalists to Learn Legal Rights in Historic New Media Law Course

Internews

Participants in first Media Law Course Orientation conducted by Internews in Kabul

Twenty-eight professors and lecturers from five Afghan universities vigorously discussed the laws governing media practice in Afghanistan during an orientation session to the new course in their curriculum, "Media and Media Law."

The course was sponsored by Internews Afghanistan as part of the continuing support to the media industry. Former media law and policy advisor with Internews in Pakistan, lawyer Aftab Alam, assisted by Internews Afghanistan media lawyer, Mirabdulwahed Hashimi, created the course to bolster journalists' knowledge about their rights and responsibilities as media workers.

Alam says he was excited about the historic nature of this course. "It is unique in its kind as this is probably the first ever comprehensive course on media law in the region. In this sense, Afghanistan has taken a lead in the region by developing such a course for the students at the journalism and law schools. The course is also unique in its nature as it includes the most up to date available research on media and media law related issues along with a comprehensive methodology to deliver the course. Moreover, it attempts to cover a wide range of topics including international and regional practices and standards of media freedom and the concept of freedom of expression in Islam."

He adds, "At present, media in Afghanistan is endeavoring to contribute to the social development of the country. Nevertheless, a lack of understanding of laws and instruments – local as well as international – relating to media, limited knowledge of rights and defenses available to the media, increasing government censorship through executive and legal orders, and threats and intimidation from tribal elders and religious communities are hampering the capacity of the media to operate independently and grow freely."

Alam says the situation is becoming grave for the media in the country due to increasing governmental actions such as closure of media outlets and assaults and arrests of journalists.

Two New Independent Radio Stations Go on Air in Taliban Stronghold

Internews Builds Two New Radio Stations in Taliban Stronghold

Afghan Journalists to Learn Legal Rights in Historic New Media Law Course