HDNet has announced that a recent story on “Dan Rather Reports” featuring an Afghan family making a startling choice is now available for download on iTunes. The story, “A Family Secret” originally aired on HDNet on Tuesday, September 21, and was also featured in “The New York Times” and on “NBC Nightly News.”
The story exposes the surprising lengths to which some Afghan families will go, in order to allow normally unthinkable freedoms for their young daughters -“ by disguising them as Afghan boys.
Through months of investigative, on-the-ground reporting, “Dan Rather Reports” was able to trace a practice that reveals how families try to create a better life for their children in a country where ancient traditions rule, and where sons are valued higher than daughters. In interviews, dozens of Afghans confirmed that they were familiar with what they called a well-known practice, and told stories about female relatives and friends who had grown up as boys. But in a country where there is very little official data and where family life is strictly private, nobody knows how many girls live in Afghanistan, passing for boys.
The report is now available by going to the iTunes store and typing in “Dan Rather Reports” in the search box. A DVD is coming, as well.
