BBC and Afghan education ban

[PatatiPatatras]

It (the ban) is aimed at children aged 11 to 16, including girls whose secondary education has been stopped by the ruling Taliban.

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65130305

I'm fairly certain that should say "especially" not "including".

Is it wrong to point out when it is girls which are mostly affected? Or have I misunderstood what is going on in Afghanistan? The entire piece just is at odds with my understanding of what's going on, on the ground.

Didn’t you know? We aren’t allowed to discuss women’s (and girls’) rights without including men. Ever. Even when discussing the Taliban’s oppression of girls, we must put men’s feelings first and foremost.

According to the BBC, anyway.

Well of course but I thought when it came to at least actual oppression, the reporting would be accurate to some extent.
There's a gulf between a state which doesn't believe in education for anyone and a state which does not believe in educating girls!

I think it's the BBC phrasing it to avoid being politically confrontational. If it became a banned programme it would jeopardise those caught watching it further than they already might be. Besides, the shows could be viewed by any child, the content isn't sex-specific that I'm aware of.

including girls whose secondary education has been stopped by the ruling Taliban.

I wonder who else got their education stopped. Perhaps its all those goats that people keep doing the Christmas gifting for 🤔

Bullshit.

Any mention of the words "ban" "Afghanistan" and "taliban" gets the backs of that government up.

And yes anyone can watch the shows. Anyone in the world, young, old, male, female. Why even mention Afghani children?

The aim is to reach a certain demographic. If the bbc is too scared to stand up for afghani girls and say they are doing it, we might as well just give up fighting for girls. The Taliban have won in making girls recognised as second class citizens even outside Afghanistan!

It’s great that the Beeb is putting these programmes out. I think the wording is probably just clumsy. I assume they are in fact hoping all kids (boys and girls) will access it, although the impetus must have been the despicable denial of education to girls.

That's the thing. They should be hoping all girls access it and if the boys (who would be allowed an education anyway if the economy permits), get access then, bonus points.

equal opportunity is required but with the focus on girls.

Clumsy wording just could have an impact on the demographic they are or should be targeting.

The more i think of it, the more I think this is batshit. Equal opportunity cannot mean you do not center the ones who are actually being physically opposed.

Oppressed. Not opposed.

But which is more important: satisfying your (western, privileged) desire to call out a repressive regime, or helping the victims of that regime by utilising deliberately fudged wording?

I think it’s a fucking awesome initiative and it pisses me off enormously that you’re nitpicking about the wording rather than applauding the action.

I'm not western.

And I'm lucky to have become privileged. Eventually.
The loneliness is real when you think the world doesn't value you.
I nitpick because no one else will nitpick on their behalf.

This.

What a brilliant initiative by the BBC to do something really proactive to help girls with no access to education....and yet you are nitpicking over the language in the article (which I would say mentions girls and women heavily).

You are really scraping the barrel to try to say that article centres men. It really doesn't.

Actually I'm not nitpicking. I'm seething. There's a lack of focus on an entire sex class not getting an education. Because what? That wording is deliberately fudged but why? Definitely not to protect the girls in any way as they are used as the showcase of "everyone's oppression".

So what is the fudging for? There's no excuse for it.

And I'm certain the Taliban can read just as well as I can! And they have more access to the piece than the girls the bbc is supposedly trying to reach so what the eff is going on here?

I nitpick because no one else will nitpick on their behalf

That’s laughably grandiose and delusional.

Who does anything useful except type a few self-aggrandising sentences on social media?

The BBC - that’s who (amongst many other organisations, of course).

Not centering Men? What? I don't care if tar pits are included in the education drive with the children and goats. the point is it isn't centering the girls, Who are the current targets of the regime when it comes to education.

Gosh, at least the Taliban know who to center when they are banning education...

Ah so telling me I was western didn't work so it has to be I'm delusional?

I and many other women do a whole lot more than tell girls in oppressed regimes that "education is for "everyone"".

I was once that girl and I was glad there was someone to say that it was for girls.

Thank you for convincing me that this message has been watered down. Now we just need to find out why.

I think it is poorly worded but further on down there is mention of the difficulty of getting an education in rural communities. So it may be meaning that the programme is for all children in Afghanistan who find it hard to access education, including girls whose education has been banned.

That should have read “….including girls, whose education has been banned.”

(I forgot the comma before.)

Mariam Aman is one of the programme's producers and says that adapting BBC Bitesize content for an Afghan audience went beyond translation. "Do a boy or girl living in rural Afghanistan know what pizza is when we are talking about fractions in maths or should we keep it as big round bread?"

They cover themselves by including one sentence that includes boys

Yes it's obvious to us it's 99.99% aimed at girls, however I wonder if they are using the fact that in rural areas where schooling may not be great for boys either that this isn't an exclusive service aimed at girls. Which would just lead to the access to the BBC being limited. At least if the radio/TV is heard by the wrong people they don't punish the women and girls in the house.

I am very alert to the non sex-specific wording used by the BBC at times, but think this is a brilliant initiative. I am an ex-teacher by the way.

The the economic crisis in Afghanistan will also be preventing some boys from accessing education. If boys benefit alongside girls, then I really don’t care. This is one of the rare occasions when a rising tide can lift all boats.

Get the educational content out to as many children as possible, make it culturally accessible and make it as uncontroversial as possible so that it won’t be banned by the Taliban.

I see your point, OP, but I think the most important issue is reaching the girls involved.

This is about education, not making a political point. Hopefully those who are able to exert political pressure will do so concurrently.

This is rage inducing.

The Taliban is going to allow girls to be educated online because boys can get the content too? I don't believe that for a second.

Any oppressor worth its salt will never let this happen. This smacks of so much diplomacy, nothing effective is going to happen apart from some being assuaged that they are doing "something". Which still begs the question of why?

Girls won't be able access the content and the bbc doesn't have the conviction to reiterate that girls are not second class citizens. I can't see how the girls are benefiting here in anyway. So again what is going on here? Who is this content for? What is the point?