'We’re still learning’: How one radio station educates millions of Afghan girls under Taliban rule

Since the return of the Taliban to power, women in Afghanistan have been reduced to a life of isolation and silence, but one radio station is giving women a voice and the chance to continue their education.

Since the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, Afghan girls have been banned from formal education beyond the age of 12, or sixth grade. Source: Supplied / Java Films

Watch Dateline's latest episode about the only women-led radio station in Afghanistan on SBS On Demand.

In a small mud hut, teenage girls sit shoulder to shoulder on the floor holding textbooks.

The teacher, Aina, who's just a few years older than the students, brings out a small portable radio and turns it on.

"You are listening to Radio Begum's educational program. I'm Shalha Masoud, your English teacher," a woman's voice announces on air.

It’s not a typical classroom. When the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, girls were banned from education beyond the age of 12. As a result, secret schools like this one have become lifelines.

Aina says it’s hard to keep her students engaged during the hour-long radio lesson, so she turns it on at the start of class but later continues teaching the class herself without the radio. Source: Supplied / Java Films

"The girls here are always worried," Aina says. "Worried about whether we can go on like this for much longer, worried about government men bursting into the classroom and shutting everything down."

Still, they return — despite the risks.

"We've been banned from conventional schools but we're still learning, and the radio helps us with that," Aina says. "It gives us the feeling of sitting in a real classroom, and that's our only motivation."

Radio Begum, the only women-led radio station in Afghanistan, broadcasts lessons covering subjects such as geography, maths, and English, and reaches nearly three million Afghan girls, who have been cut off from formal education.

Launched in March 2021, just months before the withdrawal of US troops and the Taliban's return to power, Radio Begum is part of the Begum Organisation for Women, a Paris-based NGO founded by Afghan media entrepreneur Hamida Aman. The NGO also runs Radio Jawanan for male audiences, a TV station, and an online learning platform.

Taliban's restrictions

Since the Taliban's takeover in August 2021, women have been steadily excluded from public life in Afghanistan: barred from secondary schools, universities, most professions, and even public spaces such as parks, gyms, and historical sites.

Sabba Chaman, the director of Radio Begum. Source: Supplied / Java Films

Journalism remains one of the few jobs still open to women. However, more than 80 per cent of female journalists have lost their jobs following widespread media shutdowns by the Taliban, according to Reporters Without Borders.

So far, Radio Begum has survived under strict conditions: no politics, no music, and no laughing on air. Programming is limited to education, health advice, and religion.

"We follow all the restrictions, we have no choice," says Sabba Chaman, the station's 26-year-old director.

"Are the Taliban asking us to stop making jokes on air? We stop. Are they asking us not to talk about contraception on air, as they have just done? So we stop."

"And all our strength comes from our ability to adapt, no matter how many restrictions we face."

In February this year, Radio Begum and its sister radio station for male audiences, Radio Jawanan, were raided by the Taliban authorities and suspended. They were accused of "violations of broadcasting policy" and "providing content to a television station based abroad".

Women-led Radio Begum continues to broadcast in most provinces of Afghanistan despite a growing number of restrictions from the Taliban. Source: Supplied / Java Films

A few weeks later, Radio Begum was allowed to resume operations but under even stricter content restrictions. Two provinces — Kandahar and Helmand — have now prohibited the broadcast of female voices on the radio, effectively banning Radio Begum in those provinces.

Growing isolation

Radio Begum is also one of the few remaining refuges for women to work together, as the Taliban shut down beauty salons, female sports clubs, and women-run businesses such as bakeries.

Growing isolation has led to the rising suicide rates among Afghan women, according to the United Nations.

Hafsa's favourite subject on Radio Begum is history. The 16-year-old is tuning in from her family's living room. Her father is too afraid of the Taliban to send her to a secret school. In their region, two have recently closed.

Sixteen-year-old Hafsa is one of millions of Afghan girls who were barred from continuing secondary and higher education by the Taliban. Source: Supplied / Java Films

"I feel sad. As a woman, I'm being punished and I have to stay at home," she says. "The Taliban believe that girls are inherently degraded and that their role is to stay at home, good for nothing.

When I see my brothers off to school in the morning, I'd really like to go too and meet up with my classmates. I really miss them."