PUL-E-KHUMRI - To promote good governance and highlight the important role civil society plays in strengthening government institutions, the first episode of a five-month television series aired this week in the north-eastern province of Baghlan.

The new series, backed by the regional office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), kicked off on Tanweer Television in Pul-e-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province, and also on Arezo Radio, reaching an audience estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

In the first broadcast, a journalist, along with civil society and provincial council members, discussed the activities of government institutions, highlighted the challenges they face in different sectors and discussed ways civil society can help overcome those challenges.

As the panel discussion turned to employment, Baghlan provincial council member Bsimillah Atash outlined the need for women to have more opportunities in government services, and characterized their employment by the government as “a key pillar of a democratic state.”

In the upcoming months, episodes in the TV series are expected to cover these topics and many others, including issues such as accountability and transparency in administrative affairs, and health, education and municipal services.

This new series is the third supported this year by UNAMA in the north-eastern region. The two other TV series airing earlier this year covered rule of law issues and the role of provincial councils in good governance in Kunduz and Takhar.

UNAMA is mandated to support the Afghan Government and relevant international and local non-governmental organizations to assist in the full implementation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights provisions of the Afghan Constitution and international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State party.