AFGHANISTAN LAUNCHES FIRST ALL-WOMEN TV CHANNEL|阿富汗首家女性電視台開播 力促男女平權

Women in Afghanistan now have their own television channel. The channel began airing at the end of May, and all its staff, including hosts and producers, are predominantly women, a groundbreaking step in a country dominated by men. ==NS== The 22-year-old Sadia works as an anchor at a television channel established this May in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. She is now in charge of an outdoor program highlighting women's progress in sports. == Sadia anchor at Zan TV== Women should be given a chance to develop themselves. I want to integrate myself into the society to work and serve our nation. I am hoping that one day people will stop taking women any lesser from men, and only then real equality will be achieved. Before appearing on camera, Sadia was a sprinter. Last year, she led the national track-and-field team to the Rio Olympics as its coach. It was the first time in the history that Afghanistan sent a female coach there. The trip has affirmed her decision to promote women's' career development in her conservative country. Zan, or Women's TV, as Zan means Women in Dari, made her dream come true. Zan TV is unique in that it is run by women and aimed at a female audience. There are about 70 employees, but only 16 of them are men and all are technicians. ==ALI OMAR photographer at Zan TV== My mom support[ed] me, especially when I said to her that I am working in a women TV. She was surprised that there is a TV for women. I told her, yeah it's a new TV channel. So she said you should go and continue your job there. With an investment of US$250,000, Zan TV runs on a shoestring using low-cost digital technology, focusing on talk shows along with some programs on health and music. It relies on a team of mainly young women, many of them students. While presenters and producers are all women, the TV was founded by a man. ==HAMID SAMAR founder of Zan TV== They are trying hard, you know, as much as they can to defense and they can work. And the team is actually giving always that positive courage to me. Some staff have had to cope with disapproving family members to pursue their media careers, and so does Sadia. Security is another concern. A total of 14 attacks targeting media workers killed 13 last year. Threats directed at Zan TV are published on social media, which, however, does not scare these women fighting for equality. TRANSLATED BY：SASHA CHIU