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.