Podcasting for Afghan refugees in Pakistan
Deeba Jan Akbari Kakar has a business degree and loves to work. But forced displacement and traditional family values have limited her. A DW Akademie podcasting program has given her purpose and a challenge.
In the years before she married, Deeba Jan Akbari Kakar worked a lot and loved her job. After earning a degree in business administration in her native Afghanistan, a private bank there hired her, and she found great satisfaction in demonstrating her organizational and managerial skills.
But this wouldn't last. War and the regressive Taliban government led her, her husband and their three children to first flee to Pakistan, where they resided for about a decade before returning to Afghanistan. But threats there to their economic and personal security forced them out again, this time to Uzbekistan, where they spent five years as they applied to migrate to Germany. Those plans, however, also led nowhere, all of which leaves Kakar today, at age 35, with visible disappointment. She is today back in Pakistan, where she lives with her family among other displaced persons.
Migration upheaval
Worldwide, there are more than 120 million people displaced, according to the UNHCR , the United Nations Refugee Agency, which formally recognizes this population – and specifically the 43.4 million classified as refugees – on June 20, World Refugee Day. This displacement is due to conflict, persecution and violence.
The UNHCR estimates that close to three million Afghan refugees are in Pakistan. And they have been particularly vulnerable since 2023, when the Pakistani government then started deporting Afghan nationals, refugees and asylum seekers under its "Foreigners' Repatriation Plan."
"This was all really tough," she said, as she recounted broken promises and constant setbacks. Layered over that, too, is her regret at not being able to work in her chosen profession, partly because of the upheaval, partly because her husband's family discourages her from holding a job.
Deeba Jan Akbari Kakar has found purpose in podcasting news she gathers as a community reporter in Pakistan. An Afghan refugee herself, she reports on everyday challenges such as opening a bank account, fund transfers to family in Afghanistan, and the uncertainty and stress of being in constant transition. Image: Tabish Naeemi/DW
"I really love working," she said with infectious enthusiasm that sweeps away any rancor at her difficulties. Instead, Kakar's demeanor reflects acceptance and even gratitude. "In working, I learn new things about myself, what I'm capable of doing, and how I can put new skills to work – skills that I sometimes don't even know I have."
Community reporters learn valuable skills
With a positive attitude like that, it seemed fateful that Kakar last year would find herself participating in a program supported by DW Akademie where Pakistani media organizations train Afghan refugees like herself, aiming to both promote reliable and helpful news sharing in displaced persons camps and settlements – community reporting – and to transfer media skills like fact-checking and podcasting that could lead to paid work.
Kakar now works in a school cafeteria, where she earns about 10,000 rupees per month (about $30). To send one child to school, she continued, it costs about 30,000 rupees – an impossible sum, in particular, too, since she has three children all younger than nine years of age.
But while she may privately ruminate on her situation, she – and others – have found that putting her experiences to the good is a win-win.
"She has strong teamwork skills, creative thinking and a deep empathy for her community," said Fakhira Najib, the Managing Director of The Communicators Limited , a DW Akademie partner in Pakistan which offers the podcast training. "She consistently brings fresh ideas to the table, especially when it comes to highlighting the issues faced by displaced communities. Her ability to connect with people and translate their experiences into powerful stories makes her an invaluable contributor."
For now, learning podcasting provides an outlet for working within her circumstances, helping other refugees like herself and contributing in a possible way. The focus is on 'news you can use' for those living in marginalized communities and areas.
The challenges with this are plenty: a fluid society where following up with sources and how stories evolve can prove impossible, lived trauma from fleeing war and a lack of infrastructure to produce stories via media like podcasting or broadcasting.
But none of this has stopped Kakar, who, when she felt her professional options slipping away in Afghanistan, started writing down stories – with pen and paper – there, and then found she could secretly freelance for a magazine.
"I started talking with women who, like me, had received an education but were not allowed to work," she explained, adding that in one instance, a woman's husband showed up unexpectedly and chased Kakar out of the house. "These women were scared, understandably, so I gave them pseudonyms. I wrote about troubled marriages, and about them not being able to send their children to school....these were very emotional interviews. For both of us."
'In working,' says Deeba Jan Akbari Kakar, 'I learn new things about myself, what I'm capable of doing, and how I can put new skills to work – skills that I sometimes don't even know I have.' Image: Tabish Naeemi/DW
The Farewell Land
During the workshops, held last year in July and December and centered on podcasting tools and skills, Kakar swapped her pencil and pad for microphones, headphones and recording equipment, which she found superior to not missing any information and helpful in being able to double-check what subjects told her. She has also pursued stories that examine what refugees like her find so taxing in their lives: visa problems, opening and access to bank accounts, fund transfers to family in Afghanistan, and the day-to-day uncertainty and stress of being in constant transition.
"We're all trapped in a way," she said. "I have not seen my own mother in 10 years."
This is, in essence, the basis of a podcast Kakar developed during the DW Akademie training. Called "The Farewell Land," she explores refugees and their hope of one day being able to return safely to their homeland.
"It's a play on words, a way of saying that this is not goodbye," she said. "This is not the end, we will rise up, and we will find a way."
As part of the Displacement and Dialogue Asiaproject, podcast training and content production are funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project, thanks to the cooperation with our partners, is the first to integrate Afghans into the Pakistani media landscape. DW Akademie supports partners in Pakistan to train Afghan refugees to become community reporters. Participants learn skills and are mentored in producing content for digital platforms or radio.
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