Radio Bazgul bid farewell to its listeners in Faizabad Fayzabad, Badakshan. Some 30,000 residents will no longer be able to listen to the FM station whose voice permeated shops, offices, and homes. Lack of resources has forced the female-led radio station to close. Zakia Zhadat, the editor-in chief of the station, says a lack of support from the local government, donors, and nongovernmental organizations compelled Radio Bazgul to shut down.

Now the six women and two men who worked here will no longer have jobs. Zhadat, a university graduate, worked at the station since its opening in 2013. Layla Tabish, another journalist at the station, says she is worried that more media outlets in Badakhshan are likely to meet the same fate.

Background:
Badakhshan, one of the largest among Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, borders Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan. It currently has six newspapers, two radio stations, and three television stations to cater to its 900,000 residents. The government controls a print outlet while the state radio and television have local branches. The media in the region, however, is already in dire straits. Abdul Baseer Haqjoo, the head of Badakhshan’s journalists’ association, says 24 out of the 30 magazines and newspapers in the province have gone out of print.(20190411)