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Afghan Women’s Radio Back On the Air After Shut Down

After being shut down in mid July, a local radio station devoted to women is back on the air in the Afghan province of Sar-e Pol.

The radio network, “Voice of Women,” owner alleged that it was shut down after they refused to pay the police $400 a month in bribes. Though the police refute the claims, owner Shafiqullah Azizi took the case to the governor of the province. The radio station came back on the air earlier this month.

The shutdown and subsequent relaunch of the radio station highlight the precarious situation of women’s rights in Afghanistan. The Afghan government has pledged that women’s rights are non-negotiable in the peace negotiations with the Taliban. However, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has voiced concerns that without international support women’s rights could be rolled back in Taliban sympathetic areas or even by the government in order to reach a peace deal.

Sources:

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 8/2/2013, 7/31/2013; Feminist Newswire 7/30/2013

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