Journalism is a profession that Najia Majaheed, aged 22, dreamed of
since childhood. But the lack of educational opportunities and
training in Badghis province always prevented her from pursuing her
aspirations.

Then one day she learned about IOM’s Literacy Campaign and
Radio Broadcasting project – a scheme designed to help women
in one of Afghanistan’s most remote provinces, where
illiteracy, maternal and infant mortality rates are among the
highest in the world. 

The project, funded by Spain, was designed to upgrade the Radio
Television Afghanistan (RTA) radio station in Qal-i-Naw,
Badghis’ provincial capital, and to educate women in remote
areas by broadcasting programs on issues related to their health
and human rights.

Involving local female journalists and improving their skills in
radio programming was an integral part of the
project.     

But identifying good candidates turned out more difficult than
expected, according to IOM consultant Camilla Algarheim. “I
encountered a lot challenges in Badghis. The skills level of
journalists was very low and I couldn’t find a single woman
with any formal training in journalism,” she says. 

Despite the challenges, IOM, in cooperation with the local
authorities including the Department of Women’s Affairs,
managed to select a number of young bright women motivated to learn
and acquire new skills, including Najia.  

“I was so happy to participate in the training. Nobody had
done anything like this in our province in years and I found the
aims of the project very encouraging. Most women in our province
are illiterate and radio is the best medium to reach them,”
says Najia.

By the time Najia completed her six-month media training in the
spring of 2008, she was ready to produce radio reports. One of her
first reports featured self-immolation and called for an end to
violence against women.     

“I learned that a woman had set herself alight and been
hospitalized,” says Najia. She immediately rushed to the
hospital and interviewed a 13-year-old girl, discovering that she
had tried to kill herself as a result of a forced marriage. Najia
then also interviewed mullahs and doctors on the practice of forced
marriages, which are still common in Badghis.

In parallel to media training, IOM worked with RTA to install an
AM transmitter and a fully equipped studio, allowing the new
station to broadcast to every Badghis district. The FM signal of
the old station could previously only reach three districts.

IOM also completed a literacy and basic health campaign through
classroom-based courses and road shows. The campaign reached some
1,600 women in 40 villages. During these events, women in rural
areas were also informed about the RTA upgrading and given a total
of 700 radio sets.

“I was hugely impressed by the women I worked with during
the project. They were brave and resourceful and I was sad when the
campaign ended in October,” says Algarheim.

Najia plans to continue producing reports for RTA as a freelance
journalist, raising awareness of issues including maternal health,
nutrition, basic hygiene and women’s role in Islamic
society.

“80 per cent of women in our province work hard, mostly
weaving carpets, but they are not taken seriously. My message to
all Afghan women is to encourage their daughters to go to school,
get an education and work in any field of their choice. There is
nothing men can do and women cannot,” she says.