TKG has joined other members of Afghan civil society and the European Commission to campaign against domestic violence. During the course of the next year, TKG will develop and broadcast a series of public service announcements and radio dramas and publish special editions of Killid Weekly and Mursal Magazine to increase awareness about the impact of domestic violence on Afghan society and provide guidance on how to address the issue at personal and community levels.
Media Campaign against Domestic/Family Violence European Commission funded project
Domestic violence is not unique to Afghanistan and like any nation faced with high domestic violence rates, it is a complex issue influenced by a range of social factors. In the case of Afghanistan, the domestic violence needs to be considered in the context of a broader environment of violence facing Afghans from all walks of life today and for the past thirty years.
Media Campaign against Domestic Violence” is a project founded by the Delegation of the European Commission in Afghanistan and implemented by The Killid Group. Project activity started in December, 2005 and will end on December 2006.
The thematic focus of the project envisaged within a multi-media campaign framework is awareness raising on Domestic/Family Violence in Afghanistan and by doing so to facilitate knowledge dissemination, encourage constructive debate, policy and attitudinal changes and corrective action by applying the Group’s (i.e. The Killid Group) nationwide media tools (print, radio and distribution) and relying upon the cooperation of fourteen (14) Radio Killid affiliate Community Radio Station pursuing a number of key objectives.
Domestic/Family Violence EC programme partners
The EC partner agencies working on the programme are; Development and Humanitarian Services for Afghanistan (DHSA)/The Killid Group (TKG), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Cooperation Centre for Afghanistan (CCA), Medica Mondiale e.V (MM) and Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU). The Afghan Family Guidance Association (AFGA) is also fully committed to this project.
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Increase Knowledge and Strengthen Outreach
The main objective of TKG’s Media Campaign against Domestic Violence project is to increase knowledge about domestic violence issues in the country and reach the largest possible audience at the local, regional and national levels.
The programmes are in Dari and Pashto, using simple language/terminology, messages and focused debate about the root causes, exacerbating factors, nature and dynamics and consequences of domestic violence to be considered in a broader environment of violence facing Afghans.
Victims, perpetrators and bystanders voices
Victims, perpetrators and bystanders voice their opinions and concerns, share their experiences and by doing so to link them with individuals and institutions, including government and civil society organs, offering advice and practical support to cope with the impacts of domestic violence.
Experts views, advices and recommendations
TKG Media Campaign against Domestic Violence programmes offers increased opportunities to experts on domestic violence (lawyers, doctors, professors, researchers) as well as government and civil society representatives, including women organisations to effectively communicate to the public and offer advice and practical support actions.
Addressing the problem
The project will set up institutional relations, mechanism and collaborations with active individuals and institutions with the aim of better highlighting the issues, the practical steps taken to curb this social and economic menace and also to have given our partner organisations of the Domestic Violence Programme a public Forum from which to systematically communicate to the Afghan public throughout Afghanistan using print, radio and distribution services of TKG and our partner media organisations in the provinces.
Details of publications and broadcasts over 12 months
1. 12 Round Table Discussions
2. 12 Round Table Discussions with Quiz
3. 156 Dramas ( various)
4. 730Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
5. 365Short Radio Spots
6. 104 Interviews
7. 24 Reports on Domestic Violence related events
8. 50,000 copies of special edition of Killid Weekly (2 editions in 12 months)
9. 30,000 copies of special edition of Mursal Women Magazine (2 editions in 12 months)
10. 12 double middle page adverts in Killid Weekly (once a month)
11. 12 double middle page adverts in Mursal Woman Magazine (once a month)
Team
A highly skilled, gender and linguistically representative implementation/production team is created (Pashto/Dari; men/women) consisting of editors, journalists, reporters, playwrights, producers, actors and comedians, graphic designers, cartoonists and content advisors guided and supervised by an experience project coordinator with the task of meeting the overall project objectives and goals as well as specific time bound benchmarks.
Broadcast Title
“Why Violence?” was selected as the lead programme title because it is a well known fact that domestic violence exist and this allowed to address the issue in the most direct manner.
Monthly Themes
Each month radio broadcasts are dedicated to the coverage of a set of specific domestic violence themes/topics. The first series (part I) of programmes essentially concentrate on identifying and documenting the different forms of domestic violence. Later series of programmes (part II) will identify and documented the legal framework for dealing with domestic violence in Afghanistan. The double middle pages published in colour every month in Killid Weekly and Mursal cover the themes and messages of the month.
The first Special Edition of our magazine (Killid Weekly & Mursal) will be published in June. Its main focus in terms of contents will be on covering in detail the themes and messages of the first six months (January-June) of the project. The second Special Edition will be published in December and will focus on the themes of the 2nd part of the year (July- December).
Part I:
January Domestic violence, forms, generality and first approach
February Violence is harming child development
March Violence against Women and young Girls I:
Causes, nature, dynamics
April Violence against Women and young GirlsII:
Consequences for Victims
May Violence against men and young boys: Causes, nature
and dynamics
June Invisible Violence
Part II:
July Violence and Culture
August Legal Framework and Legal Remedies
September Islamic Law or Shariah
October The impact of the role of men and women in tackling
domestic violence and avenues of support for victims
November Where to seek assistance and how?
December Domestic violence and its impacts on social and
economic development.
Broadcast Content and Format: Roundtables, Reportages and Interviews
Round Tables:One produced and broadcasted per month; 55 minutes long
The radio-based Round Tables presents comprehensive analyses, debate, recent developments and conceptual, operational, and assistance focused discussions between experts with occasional involvement from listeners by calling into the studios. These round tables permit to raise the main issues of the proposed monthly DV topics.
Round Table
The round Tables are moderated by TKG’s most senior journalist/broadcaster. The discussions are conducted in Afghanistan’s two national languages, Pashtu and Dari. Being conscious of our objective to maintain a healthy balance between Pashto and Dari, the roundtable
discussions are slightly more in Dari as both the programmes are produced in Kabul where Dari is a predominant language and the majority of the recipient community radio stations have asked for Dari language programmes.
Listeners targeted: Round table discussions reach most people in an around Kabul and the other provinces where our affiliate community radio stations are broadcasting. Radio Killid’s coverage in Kabul and Herat is around 6 million people. We have not done any survey to find out how people can access our programmes in the provinces. Considering the size of major population centres covered by our affiliate community radio stations, the coverage could potentially reach many millions more.
Round Table with Quiz: One produced and broadcasted per month, 55 minutes long
Two weeks before the Roundtable with Quiz, a radio spot/advert is broadcasted after hourly news bulletins of Radio Killid to present the next monthly topics and to invite people to send their questions/comments via letters, e-mails or by phoning the station. The inputs from our listeners make up the bulk of the content which goes into producing the programme. This format of Roundtable discussion is interactive in nature and allows listeners to call into our studios and ask questions and receive on the spot feedback. The major difference between the Roundtable discussion without quiz and with quiz is that the former is a debate between experts and practitioners conducted at some what higher level and the latter is an easy to access forum where listeners can receive information of their choice, ask questions, clarify issues, challenge experts and practitioners, share ideas, seek personal advice. The discussions are moderated by the same journalist conducting the monthly Roundtable discussions without quiz.
Interviews: 10 produced and broadcasted per month, each 10 minutes long
Each interview, presented in the form of human interest story, presents a victim testimony and draws comment and advice from an expert or practitioner. This format allows victims to break silence, share their ordeal and to receive practical advice. It also allow us to demonstrate to the population at large that DV incident do occur, that it is not OK, that there are people amongst us who suffer because of it, that there are ways to stop it from happening, to deal with it and receive help.
Reportages: 2 produced and broadcasted per month, each 10 minutes long
Live and pre-recorded comprehensive coverage in the form of a radio report presented by The Killid Group journalists or our partners from the affiliate community radio stations from different parts of Afghanistan reporting incidents of domestic violence and how victims, perpetrators, bystanders and government and civil society intuitions with interest in the issue are dealing with it in different parts of the country. These programmes allows for a detailed presentation of the conditions under which domestic violence occurs in different provinces, how victims and those who are supporting them deal with the problem, how government authorities and structures are dealing with the demand for remedies and justice and how the problem is perceived by the population. For further details of production number, content, frequency of broadcast and list pf participants see Annex I.
Broadcast Content and Format: Dramas, Short Radio Spots and PSA’s
Radio Killid will develop a range of programmes which will include simple but thoughtful dramas and interviews with both experts, victims and if possible perpetrators of domestic violence, male and female, in an effort show that it’s OK to talk about the issue and information on where to seek help if needed.
The Dramas, Short Radio Spots (Serial) and PSA’s are produced by the Theatre Team of The Killid Group. The playwrights, producers, directors and actors (Pashto and Dari) have conducted extensive consultations with different sectors of the population and the expert and practitioner community (Medica Mondial, AFGA, Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Justice and also IHRC) to ensure we have got all possible points of views and proposed remedies into our programmes. Thus, most of stories are taken from true events. The Theatre team works in collaboration with the DV journalists, reporters and editors (radio and magazines) to identify the issues and to choose the appropriate format and medium of communication to the public.
Serial: First Part
Serial: Second Part
Serial: Third Part
The dramas, SRS/serial and PSA’s are in Dari & Pashto. Different ways of expression and style (comic, tragic) are used to both entertain and raise awareness about the causes and the consequences of domestic violence. The team also experiment different techniques to produce and develop intimate relationship with the audience through sound effects.
Dramas: 12 broadcasts per month, each 7 minutes long
The dramas broadcasted by Radio Killid and our affiliate community radio stations are not translated from other languages but produced and broadcasted in the original language (Dari and Pashto). As a result, they are embedded in the Afghan social and linguistic culture and appeal to a diverse group of people. The themes covered in dramas produced in different languages remain unchanged.
Drama
Drama as a medium of communication highlighting social, political, economic and development related issues has proven highly effective during the past few decades in Afghanistan. The BBC’s New Home New Life is a relevant example. We have built upon this legacy. The dramas allow us to reach to our listeners at a more personal level, to make our content more digestible and to present difficult
and sensitive issues with more nuance and creativity combining quality information with human interest elements. They are full of content, highly informational and at the same time entertaining.
The Killid Group today employs a team of expert theatre professionals comprising all ages and backgrounds. The star of our radio dramas is a four year old girl who owing to her immense talent has made a name for herself.
These dramas are repeated many times during the week to ensure our message properly gets to our listeners, is well registered and to make a lasting impact. For more details of broadcast, production number and frequencies, please see Annex II.
Short Radio Spots: 24 broadcasts/month, 3 mini-serials, each 3 minutes long
The 3-minute long short radio spots are a cluster of mini-serials consisting of 3 parts. Each 3-minute part is a specific awareness raising announcement containing a sequenced out message. They are separated into three parts and kept to a digestible 3 minutes to make sure we do not overwhelm our audience with too much information in one go and at the same time further break down and deconstruct themes and offer them in spaced out and sequential format. This helps us to keep our listeners engaged over a longer period of time and give our programmes as sense of continuity and evolving.
The content of Short Radio Spots are translated between Dari and Pashto, but are produced and broadcasted separately in both Dari and Pashto. For more details of broadcast, production number and frequencies, please see Annex II.
Public Service Announcements (PSAs): 64 broadcasts per month, each 1 minute long
Public Service Announcements for radio will be crafted with the help of Afghan and international experts with knowledge of public communication and domestic violence in Afghanistan. Given the authoritative role men play in Afghan society, men will play a big role in these announcements.
“Men play important role in societies’ efforts to stop violence against women. All men have the opportunity to serve as role models for other men and boys in regard to the treatment of women and girls. Boys need to be taught at a young age that using violence against women is wrong and will not be tolerated. Men are in a unique position to communicate this message in a strong, compassionate, and meaningful way. Working in partnership, men and women together can make enormous strides toward changing attitudes and perceptions around domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.”
The first part of each announcement contains content produced in a drama format or barrowed from the dramas, short radio spots, reportages, interviews or roundtable discussions. This is aimed at greater message impact and creating synergy between the different forms of content and programme formats broadcasted. In this way we are able to re-broadcast and advertise the most important messages from our radio programmes and reinforce the awareness raising elements of the public service announcement. This combining strategy has worked very well since the awareness raising element of any PSA is linked with a life-based element of a drama, interview or report thus making it much more relevant and appreciating when the awareness raising message comes after the life-based content giving the listeners the sensation of visualising it (the event) and hearing it (the message).
Print content: Double Middle pages & Special Magazine Edition
Double Middle Pages
The double middle pages published in colour every month in Killid Weekly and Mursal cover the themes and messages of the month. They address the topic of domestic violence from various angles, employing the input of experts, testimony of victims and perpetrators and making use of articles, reports produced by Killid Weekly, Mursal and Radio Killid journalists and editors. The contents consist of cartoons, photos, photo essays and simple articles and messages. The language chosen is simple and accessible to all categories of readers. The double middle pages synergises the radio and print content in a digestible and easy to understand format and the use of cartoons makes it possible for low literacy and illiterate folks to understand the message conveyed.
Special Editions
“Four special editions each of Killid and Mursal will address the topic of domestic violence simultaneously in order to reinforce the impact of the information and the message across Afghanistan. Like the radio programs, the issue will be presented from various directions, employing the input of experts, testimony of victims and perpetrators of domestic violence, editorials on the subject from Killid and articles which point out the problem but also provide practical guidance on how to deal with it from an Afghan context”.
To learn more about EC/TKG Domestic Violence Campaign, access the Interim Report of the project.
Contacts:
Najiba Ayubi, Director of Radio Killid: nadjiba.ayubi@tkg.af
Guilda Chahverdi, project coordinator: guilda.chahverdi@tkg.af
This Project is supported by the European Commission EC Logo
