3 Years On, Afghan Women, Girls Ask 'Is Life Worth Living?'

BOONE, IOWA — A one-of-a-kind talk show aims to bring hope to desperate Afghan women as the third anniversary of the Taliban regime’s return to power looms on August 15.

A talk show aims to bring hope to desperate Afghan women in as the third anniversary of the Taliban regime's return to power looms. — **RESTORING SHATTERED HOPE IN AFGHANISTAN:** New Persian-language talk show, “In the World of Women’s Thoughts,” to be launched by SAT-7 USA (www.sat7usa.org), supports Afghan women who’ve lost hope after 3 years of oppressive Taliban rule.

“Many women and girls in Afghanistan ask, ‘Is life worth living?'” said Rex Rogers, president of SAT-7 USA (www.sat7usa.org), a Christian media group that broadcasts across the Middle East and North Africa in local languages. “Their hopes and dreams have been shattered.”

According to U.S. research group Wilson Center, four out of every five suicide attempts in Afghanistan are by women, bucking the global trend of most attempts by men.

Since seizing power Aug. 15, 2021, the Taliban has imposed crushing restrictions on women and girls — banning girls over 12 from education, barring women from parks and sports centers, curtailing their travel, and shuttering beauty salons.

But the soon-to-be-launched Persian-language talk show, “In the World of Women’s Thoughts,” aims to give them hope.

It’s the first-ever SAT-7 program produced for women who speak the Tajik language, a form of the Persian language which is closely related to the Dari dialect widely spoken in Afghanistan.

The program, presented by two sisters from Tajikistan, can be watched across Afghanistan and neighboring Tajikistan on free satellite television and streaming services that are difficult for the Taliban and other authoritarian governments to block.

Topics will include how to cope with loneliness, hopelessness and broken relationships — devastating issues facing women and girls across the Persian-speaking world where less than 1% of the population is Christian.

Paying A High Price for Their Faith

Farangis, one of the show’s presenters, said women were physically beaten and disowned by their family for embracing Christianity, with parents and siblings branding them “traitors.”

Local presenters like Farangis hope to present a different view of the Christian faith from the one held by millions in the region — those whose negative opinion is largely based on “immoral” Western culture they mistakenly associate with Christianity.

“Viewers (in the Middle East) are in dire need of genuine Christian teaching and lifestyle examples,” said program producer Mikael Tunér, who spent much of his youth in Afghanistan.

SAT-7 says it wants to “make God’s love visible” to viewers in places such as Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan in their own languages and cultural settings. Its presenters are “living epistles” who show viewers what Christians are actually like, the broadcaster says.

In Afghanistan, the organization broadcasts “Church4Afghanistan,” and presenters host “Church4Kids” in Iran’s Farsi language.

About SAT-7

Launched in 1996, SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) — with its international headquarters in Cyprus — broadcasts Christian and educational satellite television and online programs to the Middle East and North Africa. Its mission is to make the gospel available to everyone, and support the church in its life, work and witness for Christ.

CONTACT: DeWayne Hamby, 423-505 0041, dhamby@inchristcommunications.com

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Sources: Christian News Wire, ‘Desperate and Suicidal’: 3 Years On, Afghan Women, Girls Ask ‘Is Life Worth Living?’