Afghanistan Activists Urge Use of Social Media
Free speech activists in Afghanistan have started a campaign on social media sites against the government to fight media restrictions as well as to dispel wide confusion being perpetuated by competing NATO and Taliban claims.
Both NATO and Taliban have been claiming victories over one another on twitter, while Afghani journalists are facing severe restrictions in the name of strict press freedom laws imposed by the government, leaving the public unaware about the current state of affairs.
In order to fight back, several media groups like Nai have come out in support of the use of social media sites, while encouraging the public to actively participate in the campaign to have more reliable and a somewhat more accessible form of information.
Previously, the social media has been used to raise voice in favor of limited women’s rights – an issue that the country’s mainstream media feels difficult to throw light on without public support.
“Social media is a free tool to use to transfer information without the influences of the government, warlords, or Talibs,” tells Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar, Executive Director of Afghan Media Advocacy Group Nai, to the media.
Though social media is a great platform to express your voice and thoughts, but Nai finds it hard to gather the audience for this purpose, as only a few million people have internet access in Afghanistan. According to estimates, two million people out of 30 million have internet facility in Afghanistan, and this is because of the previous Taliban regime during which Internet was banned to stop people from viewing anti-Islamic websites and other immoral materials.
According to Khalvatagar, Nai’s mission is to induce officials at the organization level to encourage their employees to use social media sites, and in turn allow them to express their thoughts.
“If we increase the number of social media users, we increase dissemination of knowledge. By giving people voices on social networks, you give them hope,” Khalvatgar says.
