World | Afghanistan
Afghanistan faces TV and culture wars
Indian soap operas described as opium are banned as they allegedly corrupt Islamic values.
- By Pamela Constable, - Los Angeles Times-Washington PostNews Service
- Published: 21:26 May 30, 2008
Kabul: Five nights a week, millions of Afghans put aside their dinner dishes, shush their children and turn on the television to gape at Indian soap operas acted out in impossibly lavish settings by stars in sequined gowns and wedding jewellery.
To their defenders among Afghan journalists and social analysts, the dramas are a harmless distraction from the hardships and tensions of life in a poor, war-torn country where dust invades every crevice and suicide bombings are common.
To their critics in the government and among Muslim clergy, the shows represent an invasion of foreign behaviour and beliefs - from glimpses of cleavage and Hindu shrines to story lines touching on such taboo topics as divorce, infidelity and illegitimacy.
This spring, the off-screen plot has taken a contentious turn. The Ministry of Information and Culture banned the evening dramas last month, and government prosecutors have now charged one resisting TV station with offending public morals and endangering national security.
"These are serious charges that carry prison terms," said Saad Mohseni, co-owner of Tolo TV, which still airs the two most popular Indian soaps. "They are trying to go after us from every possible direction. The things they object to in the serials are happening every day in our own society, but we bury our heads in the sand."
Highly sensitive
The government of President Hamid Karzai, although propped up by Western aid and defended against insurgents by Western troops, is also highly sensitive to religious emotions in this conservative Muslim society.
Members of the senior religious council had complained that the serials were offensive to Muslims and should be banned. They have expressed similar concerns about other TV shows, such as a version of American Idol, saying they encourage immorality.
"Our people are not against modern development or entertainment, but they should not turn our children away from the path of Islam," said Enayatullah Balegh, a member of the council. "I can control my daughter to not have illegal relations with boys, but TV is like Satan - it is something you cannot control."
The substance of Balegh's fears is plastered all over this chaotic capital of dusty bazaars and glittering new office facades. Posters of Indian pop stars adorn shop windows, and everyone seems to know the latest scandalous revelation on Tulsi, the nickname of the most popular Indian show.
Yet many Afghans who admit to enjoying the shows also say they disapprove of them. In conversations on campuses and in internet cafes, young people's comments reflected the contradictions of a society undergoing a confused transition from strict, insular tradition to constant electronic exposure.
"These shows have a bad impact on our traditions," said Babrak Yusufzai, 19, a political science student wearing jeans and a Yankees baseball cap. "Children are learning about Indian ceremonies instead of Muslim ones." Yusufzai said he liked the idol-search show called Afghan Star but added, "Why don't they have idols of learning or law, not just singing songs?"
Cult of celebrity
Alim Jamali, 27, a psychology student, said the Indian serials are "just like opium - they make everyone addicted and distract them from the work of rebuilding our country." All Afghans want education and rights, he added, "but they must be within the frame of Islam."
The cult of celebrity is also a booming business, whose proprietors say they are only offering what their customers crave and what their country's new freedom allows. At a busy shop in Kabul's Titanic Market, the walls are covered with mini-posters of Indian TV and film stars in sensual poses. "The older people don't like them, but the younger people love them," said the owner, Jamshid.
The conflict over TV entertainment is just one front in a broader battle over the role of television here. The medium, which was state-controlled until the 1990s and banned under extremist Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, is already the major source of information in a country where most adults are illiterate. To violent extremist groups such as the Taliban, television is both a religious offense and a political threat.
But conservative political factions headed by former militia leaders are trying to compete with private channels such as Tolo by establishing their own. With elections due next year, media observers say, TV is likely to become a vicious battleground, with propaganda masquerading as news and free speech.
In one form or another, Afghan observers here say, the media and culture wars are likely to continue until the older generation of leaders are replaced by a younger generation that is better educated and includes women in leadership positions.
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