A group of women journalists and writers from inside and outside Afghanistan have come together to create a digital news website to tell the stories of Afghan women and LGBTI+’s who have historically been denied the opportunity to be heard: Zan Times.
Zan Times, a women-led newsroom that covers the human rights situation in Afghanistan with a particular focus on women, the LGBTQ community, and environmental issues, describes its mission as follows:
“Zan Times is a platform of journalists, writers, and activists to open a new perspective in journalism through honest reporting. It is a platform where women, queer, and other marginalized groups inform, shape, and influence public discourse. We are aware of the challenges, dangers, and opportunities of working in the media scene in Afghanistan and therefore we aim to make Zan Times a reliable source and an example of professional journalism in Afghanistan.”
Afghan Canadian journalist Zahra Nader is the editor-in-chief of Zan Times. Born in Afghanistan, she is from the Hazara community, an ethnic group that faces marginalization and violence. She began her journalism career in Kabul in 2011, before moving to Canada in 2017 to purse higher education. She is currently completing a Ph.D in Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies.
On 20 October, 2022, Zahra briefed the UN Security Council during the Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security. While at the UN, she spoke with UN Women about the Taliban, human rights in Afghanistan, and why women’s representation—in peace-building, in journalism and everywhere else—matters:
“Zan is the word for woman. And Zan Times is our way of saying that this is our time, that we will fight, that we will speak our truth, even if nobody’s listening, even if nobody is doing what we really need them to do. We are there and we will speak our truth. And that’s what we are doing at Zan Times: a group of mainly women journalists coming together and supporting each other.
And our sisters, our colleagues in Afghanistan are working. You don’t know how powerful they are. When I talk to them, I talk about security: like, you are on the ground. I am concerned for your safety. How do we protect you? And one of them just told me, look, the risk is already there. I am living the risk. My brother, my father was arrested because of what I did as a journalist. If there is no job for me to do—I don’t have food to eat, I have nothing; and then I don’t have a purpose to live. That is most important for me, that I can continue my work: even in this oppression, even in the corner of my house. At least I have a hope for the future. At least I feel that I’m fighting for my rights and the rights of my sisters.
And when I get those kinds of messages from my colleagues, I say, no matter what, we must do this work. We must make sure that your voice and the voices of the women that you are bringing should not be silenced. The world should hear this. If we don’t have women journalists on the ground, bringing these stories, we are missing most of the picture of what’s happening in Afghanistan, especially for women.”