On Begum TV, shows made by Afghan women in exile for Afghan women “at home”

Sitting on her chair in front of a green wall, Tahmina rereads her notes, works on her voice, and waits for Zia to give her the go-ahead in the control room to start recording the show. With the camera fixed on her, the 27-year-old presenter gives a few instructions to the technical director and even leaves the studio to politely ask him to hurry up.

The exchanges are in Dari, one of the two official languages ​​of Afghanistan along with Pashto. The broadcasts are in both languages, to reach as many people as possible. It’s almost like being there.

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Except that today, in Afghanistan, none of this would be possible. Women employed in a television channel? Forbidden. Women coming to work alone, taking public transport without being chaperoned by a “mahram”, a male member of their close family? Forbidden. Women who appear in a mixed newsroom in a T-shirt and jeans, without a veil, or with a slight…