TV Host Targets Afghan Women's Shelters

The televised images shown earlier this year on one of Afghanistan's most popular television shows were stark: several women wailed in a bare room while the host implied that international aid workers had forced them into prostitution. Acting on a tip from viewers, the show, "Sarzamin-E-Man," or "My Homeland," devoted a multipart series to investigating the place, which the host, 27-year-old Nasto Nadiri, said was an unauthorized women's shelter masquerading as an orphanage. Nadiri's report didn't say for sure what was going on at the orphanage, or what the women were doing there. But the show has helped to spark a popular backlash against all shelters, including those registered with the government. Nadiri, who is running for Parliament in September, says he wants a clampdown on women's shelters in Afghanistan. The TV host wields considerable power in shaping the national debate here, and has been using it to rail against women's rights and foreign aid organizations.