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Transcript/ScriptPRESS FREEDOM AFGHAN SISTERS – WEB
HEADLINE: ‘Our Values Were Trampled,’ Afghan Journalist Says
TEASER: For years, the Anwari sisters reported from Kandahar, but the return of Taliban rule meant uprooting their lives
PUBLISHED AT: (3/7/22 & 6:38p)
BYLINE: Noshaba Ashna
CONTRIBUTOR: Roshan Noorzai
DATELINE: Fairfax, Virginia
VIDEOGRAPHER: Samir Rassoly
VIDEO EDITOR: Nawid Orokzai
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE(1st); MPage,
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original | VOA Afghan Service
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:31
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES:))
[[ https://app.frame.io/player/66a69c07-58f6-4f1f-b97c-fa46f67439ce ]]
((INTRO))
[[For years, they reported from Kandahar, Afghanistan. Now the Anwari sisters are adjusting to a new life in the U.S. VOA’s Noshaba Ashna tells us their story, narrated by Roshan Noorzai.]]
((NARRATOR))
You can’t see what Nagina Anwari and her sister Rangina Anwari have been through as they sit on the sofa of their temporary Fairfax, Virginia, home, smiling and chatting.
((Courtesy: Anwari sisters))
But the sisters, who worked as reporters at Kandahar's Hewad TV for years, have been hurt emotionally by their abrupt departure from Afghanistan. ((end courtesy))
Rangina says she and her sister had no choice but to evacuate after the Taliban took power in August.
(Video 1:16 – 1:40))
((Rangina Anwari, Journalist)) (Female in Pashto)))
“It was difficult for me to get into the airport, but it was also difficult to stay in my country. In a country where there is no place for women, not in the government or media. Our values were trampled away, and it was very difficult for me to live there anymore.”
((NARRATOR))
With hundreds of journalists in exile, the Anwari sisters departed immediately, with no time for farewells, fearing a return to severe Taliban rule, where women were forbidden from work and education.
((NATSOUND: Radio track: Former Kandahar reporter Nagina Anwari))
((Video 00:09 - 01:15))
((Nagina Anwari, Journalist)) ((Female in Pashto))
“The situation was so dire that I could not even say bye to my mother.”
((NARRATOR))
But they couldn’t stay.
Since the Taliban retook Afghanistan, journalists have been attacked and arrested by the Taliban, and women have been barred from working in state-run media institutions.
But even before then, women risked attacks. Rangina received a journalism prize from the Foundation for Life ((Courtesy Anwari Sisters)) in April 2021. However, while she was leaving the Kabul event, she was assaulted by an armed man. ((End courtesy))
((Video 1:58 – 2:08))
((Rangina Anwari, Afghan Journalist)) ((Female in Pashto))
“I was attacked and injured the night that I received the Best Journalist’s Award at the national level, and instead of celebrating my achievement, I was in the hospital.”
((NARRATOR))
But even from afar, the Anwari sisters say they will continue to fight for women's rights in Afghanistan.
((Video 03:05 - 03:17))
((Nagina Anwari, Journalist (Female, Pashto)))
“I will always work for them. When we arrived here, our first campaign was about opening girls’ schools. We posted videos on social media. We are not staying silent.”
((NARRATOR))
The Anwari sisters say if the human rights situation improves and women are allowed to work freely, they will return to Afghanistan.
For Noshaba Ashna in Fairfax, Virginia – Roshan Noorzai – VOANEWS.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Fairfax, Virginia
Embargo DateMarch 7, 2022 21:12 EST
Byline Noshaba Ashna
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
