In the face of drastic restrictions on journalists and women in Afghanistan, Radio For Peace International (RFPI) and Nothing2Hide are joining forces with 5 FM radio stations in Afghanistan to offer essential support. Since 20 February, they have been broadcasting together on FM in Afghanistan an innovative digital security training programme in Farsi and Pashto, designed in collaboration with Afghan journalists in exile.
A direct response to local needs
After launching a series of digital security training programmes in October 2024, broadcast on shortwave, social networks and all podcast platforms, RFPI and Nothing2Hide are joining forces with 5 local radio stations in Afghanistan to broadcast these programmes to as many people as possible.
As Grégoire Pouget, Director of Nothing2Hide, emphasises:
The aim is to provide journalists and women with the tools they need to secure their communications and continue to report in a context of censorship and surveillance.
Radio, a vital space in peril
With more than 170 radio stations still active in Afghanistan, according to the Afghan Journalists’ Association, there is a threat of closure. Local authorities are targeting FM radio stations in the Khost region in particular. For Sylvain Clament, president of RFPI:
By joining forces with 5 local radio stations, we want to inform and train the local population as closely as possible and show that it is still possible to carry out local actions.
Training to protect women and defend their freedom
Afghan women, especially journalists, are exposed to alarming risks: online stalking, harassment and violence. As Jamila Karimi, Afghan journalist and Middle East and Asia manager for RFPI, points out:
FM radio remains one of the last spaces of freedom for Afghan women and girls because they can be listened to in complete discretion without the risk of being traced. We must protect them and enable them to train.
Jamila Karimi will lead the training sessions and thus broadcast a female voice in the country.
A programme broadcast widely and accessible to all
FM broadcasting began in mid-February 2025; it is carried by the following radio stations to cover almost all Afghan provinces:
- Radio Shama’: It operates in the province of Uruzgan, in the south of Afghanistan, and also covers the provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Daikundi.
- Radio Sarhad: It broadcasts in the province of Ghor, in the centre of Afghanistan, and covers the provinces of Bamyan and Herat.
- Radio Kahkashan: It broadcasts in the province of Parwan, in the north of Afghanistan, and covers certain regions such as Kabul, Kapisa and Salangs.
- Radio Sada-e Badghis: It operates in Badghis province, in the west of Afghanistan, and also covers Faryab province.
- Radio Nasim: It operates in Daikundi province in central Afghanistan.
Together, RFPI and Nothing2Hide demonstrate that it is still possible to defend freedom and information, even in the most hostile environments.