Shirazuddin Siddiqi
Country Director, Afghanistan, Shirazuddin is a former lecturer at Kabul University and fled to Pakistan in 1994, where he joined BBC Afghan Education Projects and was responsible for many projects including the long-running radio soap opera in Dari and Pashto, New Home, New Life. As Afghanistan’s Country Director, he launched TV debate show Open Jirga in Autumn 2012.
Blog posts in total 5
Posts
“I will be there even if my bodyguards refuse to accompany me.”
Not even a series of bomb blasts stopped people attending a national TV debate on the topic of women’s equality in Afghanistan.
Open Jirga: national identity in Afghanistan
When a TV debate show was filmed at the tomb of one of Afghanistan’s founding fathers it was clear how much a sense of ‘place’ is interlinked with ‘identity’. Shirazuddin Siddiqi reflects on an especially memorable Open Jirga.
“If you can’t be a father, I beg you Mr President, be a stepfather!”
Three years after its launch, Shirazuddin Siddiqi reflects on how Afghanistan’s TV debate show Open Jirga continues to provide a voice to Afghans amid insecurity and increased uncertainty.
Afghan elections: a battle between fear and hope
TV and radio show Open Jirga enabled Afghans to express their views and demand answers from presidential candidates ahead of the country’s momentous elections.
Open Jirga: Afghans question President Karzai
BBC Media Action’s Country Director in Afghanistan describes the build up to President Hamid Karzai’s appearance on debate show Open Jirga.
