Voice 1
Hello, I’m Rachel Hobson.
Voice 2
And I’m Mike Procter. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
You will recognize these sounds! Mobile telephones seem to be everywhere! Many people love them. They love the fact that they can carry them around. And they cannot imagine surviving without them.
Voice 2
Other people are not so sure. They do not like the way people talk loudly on their mobile telephones in public. They may become angry when telephones ring in quiet places like hospitals. And they do not like the idea that someone could call them at any time, wherever they are!
Voice 1
You may love mobile telephones. Or, you may hate them. But there is no question that they can be very useful. Communications technology is developing all the time. And telephone companies compete against each other for business. They are creating more and more complex telephones. There are now mobile telephones with cameras. There are mobile telephones that can play your favourite music. There are mobile telephones that can connect to the internet.
Voice 2
In fact, there are telephones on the market which can do all three of these things. For example, one such phone is the Apple iPhone. It is a mobile telephone. But the iPhone is also an internet communications device, a camera and a music player. From when it was first sold in mid 2007, it became very popular. Many people considered it a necessary product to own to be modern and “cool”! The price was four hundred dollars! Being cool does not come cheap.
Voice 1
Around the world, the mobile telephone has brought many changes. But in some places, these changes have affected the very structure of society - not just an individual’s way of life. Afghanistan is one such place. It has experienced many periods of conflict in its history. From 1996 until 2001, a particular Muslim group called the Taliban ruled the country. During this period, Afghan women had little freedom. They could not go to school. They could not appear in public on their own. They had to cover themselves from head to foot. Life was not always easy for these proud, independent people.
Voice 2
But now, the women’s situation is changing. And one of the reasons for this is the arrival of the mobile telephone. Four international telephone companies now do business in Afghanistan. They provide a communications service. Mobile telephone networks cost less than land telephone lines - especially as most people live in the country. And estimates say that almost four million [4,000,000] Afghans have a mobile telephone. A large number of those people are women. The telephone companies also work to help the local community. They organize social aid projects. And some of these projects provide women with free telephones.
Voice 1
Shahnaz lives in a small, dark house. She makes clothes. She describes how having a mobile telephone has expanded her business:
Voice 3
“I have seven children. And these three other children belong to my daughter. Her husband left her. My husband left us when my son was only fourteen days old... Then he got married again. We have nothing else. We only have the sewing machine. We are making money for the family. Most of the buyers call us. They give orders for clothes. And then I make them. That is why we have lots of buyers. And that is how we make more money. The mobile telephone has changed our business one hundred per cent. If we did not use mobile telephones we could not work very easily.”
Voice 1
Suheira’s eyes shine out from a half-covered face. She is full of courage and energy. And she has to be. She is only twenty-seven [27]. But already she has five children. She has a husband to care for. And, she runs a fruit and vegetable store. Suheira also has a public call office, or PCO, in her store. People go there and pay to use a mobile telephone. Suheira talks about her experience as one of the few Afghan women store-keepers:
Voice 4
“We are a poor family... My husband does not have a business... the mobile telephone is very good for me and I can get a lot of profit from the P C O. But it depends on how many people come to my store every day. Some days there are lots of people and some days, no one comes. At the very beginning I had difficulties with people. They were coming and saying, ‘Why do you have a store?’ It is very unusual for women in Afghanistan to have work like this. Some policemen from the government also came and said, ‘Why are you working here?’ They were trying to make problems for me. They said, ‘We cannot permit a woman to have a store.’ They told me to wait. But I told them that I wanted them to permit me to be the first woman in Afghanistan to have a store. And now I do not have any problems.”
Voice 2
The telephone network companies are helping women in other ways too. They employ some women in their call centres. Roshan is one of these companies. It operates a call centre in Afghan capital, Kabul. Young men and women sit next to each other in the office. And they answer calls from all around the country. This is a very different situation from only a few years before! Zermina works at the centre. She explains what the main problem for Afghan women is now:
Voice 5
“There is no problem between the men and women. They talk with each other. They work with each other. It is a unique environment. Getting permission from the family is also not a problem. The problem is that all the women are without education. Without education, they cannot do a job. Now they can go to school. And they should finish their education. To work in this call centre they must finish high school. They should also have some computer skills. And they should know the two main Afghan languages and English. During the difficult days in Kabul, I never dreamed this could happen! This is the new Afghanistan.”
Voice 1
A lonely woman, speaking to her family who live far away. A single woman, receiving orders for work that will help her support her family. A young woman, starting her first job in a call centre. In these small ways, the mobile telephone is helping to bring more freedom and hope to the women of Afghanistan.
Voice 2
The writer and producer of today’s programme was Ruby Jones. The voices you heard were from the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa. All quotes were adapted for this programme. This programme is called, “Telephones in Afghanistan.” Thank you for joining us today, goodbye. |