Mursal Amiri. The mirror of the women of Afghanistan
“Nothing will be left without searching, especially if the issues and subjects are about women in Afghanistan” promises Mursal Amiri. An Afghan journalist that is working as a reporter on MehrTV. A local TV channel in Balkh province. “I am closer, to the problems of women in my country comparing with the male journalists. That is why I am proud of my work and I do not mind the warnings from the armed groups like the Taliban who stand against our government. All this gives me more power to continue «she adds.
Mursal Amiri has set as the goal of her life, to break the constraints and traditional way of thinking the families in Afghanistan. She wrote her first article when she was 16 years old. It was a story called “In a moony night” and was published in a daily newspaper in Kabul. That publication gave her an incentive to pursue a career in journalism. Over the last seven years, she has worked in radio and newspapers in the region. She is currently a reporter at Mehr TV, and graduated from Islamic or Sharri Faculty of Balkh university of Afghanistan.
“I would never get tired from my job if nobody insults me. The only thing that stands to hurt me is when I hear comment like “wow! What a breast you have” or “ how a big ass you …” or “May I have your phone number and what is your number?”. These sentences are bullets that go through to my heart” says Mursal Amiri. Afghanistan is a third world country and its inhabitants follow the traditions that put limits on women and make the world skeptical towards them. The traditional way of thinking destroys any efforts that women journalists try to do. Yet, several women in Afghanistan are trying to break stereotypes and escape the role that tradition imposes on them. Mursal Amiri is a shining example of this change.
In her work, she tries to overcome two main obstacles to Afghan society, she says, adding: “The first obstacle I had to overcome when I decided to start working as a journalist was that I had to convince my family to give me their permission to work. I made it. I took their permission and so I started. It was not easy to convince them to let me. The second obstacle is the general picture in my country as far as journalists are concerned. With the Taliban and the kidnappers out there, it is very difficult and dangerous to do that work. When I was engaged, I had to convince my fiancée and my family of my choice to continue working as a journalist. I had to explain and persuade them about the role the woman should have in our society and how I could be the voice and the mirror of these women. When I started publishing articles, both my family and my fiancée were convinced. They started to trust me and now they are proud for me “.
Mursal Amiri is one of the mirrors who reflect women issues and affairs since many years ago. She has made four investigative reports about women and their situation in a magazine. Mursal as a reporter at Mehr TV right now and she is trying to carry the positive energy to other girls and women to motivate them to stands on their feet.
By Sayed Ahmad Sadat 
