BBC News Pashto explores female issues in a special season of programming

3 March 2020

BBC News Pashto explores female issues in a special season of programming

BBC News Pashto has rolled out a season of content exploring key issues that matter to women in Afghanistan and Pakistan. For the eight-part weekly digital, TV and radio debate series, Let’s Talk (Razai Khabery Wakro), Sana Safi connects with prominent guests in studios in London, Kabul and other locations to discuss subjects such as domestic violence, female identity, women’s rights, and sexual and reproductive health. The digital and TV series, Determined Women (Hoodmany Khezy), profiles the accomplishments of outstanding Pashto-speaking women.

Conceived by BBC World Service’s Women’s Affairs reporter, Faranak Amidi, Let’s Talk is a women engagement series which has ran as part of BBC World Service’s output in Persian, Uzbek and Dari, evolving from an Instagram-focused project to its current, fully fledged version on the BBC News Pashto digital and TV platforms. Shorter versions of the weekly episodes will be broadcast as part of the BBC News Pashto flagship daily TV programme, World Right Now (Naray Da Wakht).

In the Wednesday 4 March edition focusing on domestic violence against women, Sana Safi is joined in a BBC studio in London by CEO of the Afghan Association Paiwand, Fahima Zahin; singer-songwriter Laila Khan in Peshawar; and Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commissioner Shabnam Salehi in Kabul.

The Wednesday 11 March edition is about the importance of recognising women’s independent identity in patriarchal societies, including the Afghan culture, where women are identified merely as extensions of their male family member – husband, father or brother – rather than themselves. Sana Safi connects with singer-songwriter Ghezaal Enayat in Istanbul; Afghan diaspora activist Spojmai Ibrahimzai in London; and journalist, activist and founder of the Waak Movement of women’s empowerment, Sana Ejaz, in Peshawar.

On Wednesday 18 March, to look at how women’s awareness of their rights can bring about positive change, Sana Safi is joined by singer, Goodar Zazai, and former Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commissioner, Mariam Zurmati, in Kabul; and Saima Khan of the Shahid Afridi Foundation in London.

Throughout March, on BBC News Pashto TV and BBC Pashto website bbc.com/pashto and Facebook, the daily series Determined Women features outstanding Afghan and Pakistani women, be it politicians, musicians, artists, businesswomen or sportswomen.

The BBC News Pashto TV programme, BBC Naray Da Wakht, is broadcast live from London on Shamshad TV in Afghanistan and Mashriq TV in Pakistan. The programme is also available on demand globally, via the BBC News Pashto YouTube channel and Facebook page. BBC News Pashto also connects with its audiences on Twitter and Instagram.

The BBC reaches more than 12m people in Afghanistan weekly. BBC News Afghan service in Dari and Pashto is part of the BBC World Service which delivers news content around the world in English and 41 other language services, on radio, TV and digital. BBC World Service reaches a weekly audience of 319m. As part of BBC World Service, BBC Learning English teaches English to global audiences. BBC News attracts a weekly global audience of 394m people to its international services including BBC World Service, BBC World News television channel and bbc.com/news.

NHK WORLD TV programme highlights for December

25 November 2019

These are some of the programme highlights of NHK WORLD TV for the month of December:

Baja’s Studio [December 27] Dreams are the stock-in-trade of KOHATA Anime Studio. The people of this fictional facility take care of Baja, a creature that looks something like a hamster. One evening, when Baja peeks outside, he sees a cat attacking his friend, a duck. Baja embarks on a mysterious nighttime mission, hoping to rescue his companion. Directed by Ichiro Miyoshi , Animation: Kyoto Animation

ABU TV Song Festival in Tokyo [Part 1: December 29; Part 2: December 30] Top musicians from 11 countries and regions presented a multi-cultural extravaganza at the 8th “ABU TV Song Festival” of Asia and the Pacific. Shingo Murakami, the MC of “SONGS OF TOKYO,” hosts the performance. Hey! Say! JUMP and Joe Hisaishi, both from Japan, join artists from other places, including A. R. Rahman, Na Ying and TWICE. Tune in for a tuneful tour of this part of the world.

Home Sweet Tokyo, Season 3 [Saturdays in December] Still just a few months into their move to Tokyo, life is hectic as ever for Bryan and the Matsuyama-Jenkins family! “Home Sweet Tokyo Season 3” takes the family from bizarre Japanese business meetings and British tea parties, to peaceful rural rice fields and summer festivals, as Bryan & Itsuki, together with their daughter Alice and her traditional grandfather Tsuneo, work together to adjust to their new life in Tokyo.

Somewhere Street [Sundays] A unique walking-eye view of cities around the globe! Chat to the locals and enjoy encounters that only strolling the streets can bring.

[Source: NHK WORLD TV press release]

MBC Group’s VOD platform SHAHID introduces first original production ‘ElDiva’

22 November 2019

MBC Group’s Video On Demand (VOD) platform, SHAHID has announced the launch of its first-ever original production. Titled ‘ElDiva’, the drama series stars the superstar Cyrine Abdel Nour in the lead role, alongside actor Yacob Alfarhan, and the Egyptian folk singer and actress, Bosy. The production is expected to launch on SHAHID on 27 November.

The title was launched in a press preview evening attended by the stars of the show. During the preview, Abdel Nour expressed her joy at being involved in the project, touching upon how it is a “natural progression” for her journey with MBC, following on from her critically-acclaimed drama, ‘Ruby’ that was first aired in 2012, up to last Ramadan’s ‘Al Hayba: Al Hasad’, released in May of this year.

‘ElDiva’ marks a shift in traditional drama productions, inspired by real events and fiction; complemented by the experiences of MBC’s producers involved in producing various talent-spotting TV shows.

Alex Meouchy, MBC’s Senior Regional Manager of Content commented: “We have produced a large number of Arabic adaptations of global, top-rated talent-spotting TV shows. During work on these productions, the entire team encounter numerous situations that would be absolutely fascinating to watch as a fictional drama.” Meouchy concluded: “Viewers always want to know what happens when the cameras are turned off, and so this is how the idea of ‘ElDiva’ came about. Subsequently, SHAHID decided to introduce ’ElDiva’ as its first SHAHID ORIGINAL.”

Johannes Larcher, Managing Director, SHAHID said: “MBC was the first major media company in the region to launch a VOD platform. Year after year, it continues to cement its status as a leader in this vital sector. The launch of SHAHID’s first short-form original is in-line with the Group’s extensive five-year growth and expansion plan. Multinational drama productions are more popular than ever – and the best quality they have ever been – thanks to the introduction and growth of global digital platforms and VOD. Nearly all the international giants of entertainment have turned or are turning their attention to this type of ‘digital first’ content.Today, we launch our first title of short-form SHAHID ORIGINALS – and this is just the beginning. We promise viewers more premium content and quality productions with diverse storytelling in the coming period.”

Directed by Randa Alam, ‘ElDiva’ is a multinational production, with Lebanese and Egyptian scriptwriters involved in the creation of the story: Sarah Faraj, Hind Radwan, Sama Abdel Khalek, Engi Al-Qasim and Jad Khoury. Joining Cyrine Abdel Nour, Yacob Alfarhan and Bosy in the cast are Mahira Abdel Aziz, Wissam Fares, Dory Samarani, Stephanie Attalah, and Nibal Arakji.

Sponsors of ‘ElDiva’ include GMC (General Motors Overseas Distribution LLC); Mars (Mars GCC FZE); Samsung (Samsung Gulf Electronics), and Unilever (Unilever General Trading LLC & BINZAGR UNILEVER LTD).

[Source: MBC press release]

Bay Fang named new Radio Free Asia president

21 November 2019

The U.S. Agency for Global Media’s (USAGM) Board of Governors announced that effective November 20, 2019, Bay Fang will serve as President of Radio Free Asia (RFA).

“We are thrilled to have Bay take the helm at RFA at such a critical time,” said USAGM CEO and Director Grant Turner. “Across Asia, press freedom continues to decline and the need for unbiased news and information is increasing. I am confident that Bay will provide excellent leadership and continue the unparalleled journalism RFA is known for.”

Bay most recently served as Executive Editor of RFA, supervising coverage across all of Asia. A longtime journalist and former diplomat, she first came to RFA as Managing Director for East Asia, overseeing the management and editorial content of RFA’s five East Asian language services. Her 20-year career in journalism includes serving as the Diplomatic Correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, and covering the wars in Afghanistan (2001-2002) and Iraq (2003-2004) for US News and World Report magazine. She started her career as the Beijing Bureau Chief for US News and World Report, where she won the Robert F. Kennedy journalism award for her story “China’s Stolen Wives.” Ms. Fang earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard University and was a visiting fellow at Oxford University and a Fulbright scholar in Hong Kong.

The RFA Board named Ms. Fang to serve for an interim period, upon the resignation of RFA President Libby Liu. Ms. Liu, who had served as RFA President since 2005, will continue in a leadership role in the USAGM family in a capacity to be formally announced soon. “Libby has been a tireless advocate for press freedom in Asia, and her impact on RFA is without question,” said CEO Turner. “She has been and will continue to be a powerful force in giving a voice to the voiceless.”

[Source: USAGM press release]

AIBs 2019 – The Winners

7 November 2019

In front of an international audience of 200 media professionals, the winners in the 19 categories of this year’s AIB International Media Awards – the AIBs – received their prizes on 6 November at a glittering awards gala in London’s iconic venue LSO St Luke’s.

The awards night was hosted by Caroline Hepker from Bloomberg TV and Rana Rahimpour from BBC Persian who was ‘In conversation’ with microsculptor Willard Wigan.

During the evening, clips from the more than 400 hours of content that had been entered for the AIBs 2019 were shown which demonstrated the depth and breadth of these international awards for factual content production.

Supporting the event were event partner Al Jazeera Media Network and Radio Taiwan International who sponsored the Science, Technology and Nature category.

You can see full details of the winners and highly commended entries here.

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