A woman being called the “Afghan Oprah” has taken Afghanistan television by storm in her controversial, liberal, and women-rights advocating show “Mozhdah”.
At the age of five, Mozhdah Jamalzadah and her outspokenly anti-communist parents became refugees of Soviet invaded Afghanistan and escaped to Canada. She accredits her parents for always reminding her of where she came from and the plight of the many people who didn’t escape, especially women and children. Through YouTube and Canadian Idol, Mozhdah became a huge pop-star and model in Canada. In 2010 she became the first Afghan women to sing at the White House when President Obama invited her for his celebration of “International Women’s Day”.
Now, Mozhdah is returning to Afghanistan to host a TV talk show in which she tackles sensitive issues like divorce, domestic violence, and women’s rights which aren’t readily talked about in Afghan homes. Her show combines entertainment and education in order to focus on the family values she believes need to be made known to the people. In addition to her liberal views, many traditionalists critique her western variation on traditional Afghani dress which she says is actually not uncommon in Kabul. This controversy and the legal obligations of the television channel keep her very restricted by the media and Mozhdah constantly has to fight to talk about issues as controversial as divorce.
While Mozhdah says she feels no threat by the Taliban, the media fire she has sparked in Afghanistan puts her at constant risk especially as a woman with little protection by law. Her aim is to not only reach the women and girls who look up to her but to reach the men in the households and change their closely held views on women’s rights and family roles. The influence and inspiration of Mozhdah Jamalzadah and the popularity of her show are clear signs that after years of war and human insecurity, the Afghan people are seeking progressive change.
I fear for her safety. She is, obviously, exceedingly young, and I don't think she should just go back to Afghanistan. Can she not continue broadcasting from Canada?
ReplyDeleteShe was born there and wanted to go back to her roots in order to do the work she believes need to be done. Her influence in Canada is not nearly as great. I'm sure she knows what she's doing.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that a talk show is the most effective way to confront these issues? Is there perhaps a better way of advocating women's rights in Afghanistan?
ReplyDeleteMy question would be whether or not the blogs that Fatima wrote about, and this woman´s apparent Youtube success might lead us to think that some of the web tools that were so vital in Egypt of late might scale and have an effect in Afghanistan. Does the country have that kind of connectivity? Is this even half way realistic? Check out Clay Shirky's article "The Political Power of Social Media" in the most recent edition of Foreign Affairs. Shirky and Malcolm Gladwell have been trading barbs on this topic for a couple of months now. Does this discussion of social media as a tool for liberation even have a place in Afghanistan?
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