Begum TV

Begum TV is a learning television broadcasting 24/7 in Afghanistan, via satellite, video courses covering the entire Afghan school curriculum, from 7th to 12th Grade, in both Dari and Pashto languages. Thus, every day, at a fixed time, schoolgirls and students attend their classes from home and listen to their favourite teachers for thirty minutes of intensive courses: 7th Grade @ 07:00AM (07:00AM-07:30AM in Dari – 07:30AM-08:00AM in Pashto) 8th Grade @ 08:00AM (08:00AM-08:30AM in Dari – 08:30AM-09:00AM in Pashto) 9th Grade @ 09:00AM (09:00AM-09:30AM in Dari – 09:30AM-10:00AM in Pashto) Etc… All video courses are rebroadcast in the afternoon and late evening to enable schoolgirls and students having missed the morning sessions to follow their studies. Overall, Begum Television’s pedagogical content has been conceived to complement Begum’s education provision: The Begum Academy – https://begum-academy.org/en/ - the free digital platform launched in Nov 2023, which hosts more than 8500 videos (covering the entire Afghan school curriculum from 7th to 12th Grade, in both Dari and Pashto languages). Thus, with the combination of television and Internet broadcast, almost all Afghan schoolgirls and students should soon have access to free education. If these video courses represent almost 80% of Begum TV programming, the channel also airs a three-hours daily prime-time (07:00PM-10:00PM, Kabul time) aiming at reaching a family audience and gathering in front of the screen children and parents to encourage fathers to let their daughters study as much as raise awareness (among the household) of some important issues, such as: Health problems, Psychological traumas, Gender issues, Domestic violence, Etc… This primetime is articulated around the concept of “edutainment” and proposes to Begum TV viewers two daily educational talk-shows, animated between Paris and Kabul. Produced in Paris, “Tabassoom” (“healing”) is a daily talk-show focusing on mental health and well-being and animated by a team of psychotherapists based in Paris and Kabul who answer Begum TV viewers’ questions and concerns (WhatsApp calls and posts on social media). Animated by two female doctors, “Matab” (the clinic) is a daily program which aims at popularising medical information. It offers health counselling and télé-consultations, answering questions of women and mothers to surmount the deficiencies and failings of the Afghan health system.