 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2021) |
| Formation | January 2002 |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Broadcast Media |
| Headquarters | Kabul,Afghanistan |
Official language | Pashto,Dari |
| Owner | United States government |
Parent organization | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Website | azadiradio.org |
Radio Azadi (Pashto:د ازادي راډیو;Dari:رادیو آزادی; formerlyRadio Free Afghanistan) is the Afghan branch of theU.S. government'sRadio Free Europe / Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) external broadcast services. It broadcasts 12 hours daily as part of a 24-hour stream of programming in conjunction withVoice of America (VOA). Radio Free Afghanistan first aired inAfghanistan from 1985 to 1993 and was re-launched in January 2002. Radio Azadi produces a variety of cultural, political, and informational programs that are transmitted to listeners viashortwave radio, satellite andAM andFM signals provided by theInternational Broadcasting Bureau. According to Radio Azadi, their mission is "to promote and sustain democratic values and institutions in Afghanistan by disseminating news, factual information and ideas".[1]
On March 15, 2025, theUnited States Agency for Global Media terminated grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and its subsidiaries following a directive from theTrump Administration. All staff were put on administrative leave and programming has largely or entirely been suspended.[2]
TheU.S. Congress appropriated funding for broadcasting toAfghanistan in December 2001 following the U.S.-led ouster of theTaliban regime. Radio Free Afghanistan has since built a substantial audience in Afghanistan, with surveys showing it as the most popular radio station in the country. Radio Azadi produces a variety of programming—from special programs for youth and women to political satires and music and literary programs.
Recently Radio Azadi conducted a joint seminar withKabul University's School of Journalism on “Media and Democracy.Samiullah Mahdi is the bureau chief of Radio Azadi in Afghanistan since 2019."[3][4]
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty journalists in Afghanistan are under constant threat of intimidation from warlords, the Taliban, and other extremists. Attempts have also been made to tighten media control in the name of "respect for Islamic values." Concurrently, the number of private television and radio stations has grown in Afghanistan, leading to increased competition among media operating in the country.[5]
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty first launched this service on October 1, 1985, during theSoviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979–1989). Its purpose was "to bring objective and uncensored news and information to the population and resistance forces of Soviet-occupied Afghanistan."[6] The service initially consisted of twice-weekly thirty-minute broadcasts in Dari and later expanded to hour-long broadcasts five days a week inPashto andDari. Radio Free Afghanistan was the first expansion of RFE/RL's broadcast area in thirty years.[7] Broadcasts stopped in 1993 for budgetary purposes and began again in 2001 following theU.S. Invasion of Afghanistan. Congress authorized the appropriation of eight million dollars in operating costs forFY 2002 and nine million dollars in capital costs that would fund the construction of a newshortwave transmitter inKuwait.[8]
In May 2002, U.S. First LadyLaura Bush addressed the people of Afghanistan in a speech delivered from the Prague headquarters of RFE/RL.[9]
TheLibrary of Congress in Washington, D.C. recently launched a new exhibit named "Voices From Afghanistan" showcasing some of the thousands of handwritten scrolls and letters sent by listeners.[10][11][12][13][14]
Recent awards: David Burke Distinguished Journalism Award for “enormous courage in continuing to deliver the news to their fellow citizens”; two National Union of Journalists of Afghanistan awards for aiding the reconstruction of Afghan society through balanced and objective reporting and Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries award for excellent in reporting.[15]
In the run-up to Afghanistan's presidential elections in 2009, Radio Azadi hosted a historic presidential debate featuring PresidentHamid Karzai and two of his leading contenders. It was Afghanistan's first-ever debate to feature an incumbent president and was televised on Afghan national TV.[16]
In 2009, Congress appropriated six million dollars of additional funding to allow Radio Azadi to begin broadcasting to thePashto-speaking border regions on theAfghanistan–Pakistan border.[17]
In 2009, U.S.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to questions submitted by listeners in Afghanistan during an interview in Radio Azadi's studios in Prague.[18]
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