Taboos are often created by outdated traditions and social norms, and misguided interpretations of religion. Taboos affect all segments of the community, but especially women, minorities and people with disabilities. They can control the choices people make and make them vulnerable to abuse and violation.

Tackling Sensitive Topics Through Podcasts

Podcasts are being used as an approach for education and outreach on social issues and societal taboos. In the regard, SOWT intended to employ podcast production to introduce key perspectives on social issues and raise awareness of human rights violations, as Podcasts are one way to provide information to the public on civil democracy and social development.

SOWT is a podcasting platform which produces and distributes high-quality audio programs in Arabic, with the goal of creating an environment in which dialogue on and discussion of topics important and sensitive to the Arab listener around the world is the norm.

The programs and podcasts of SOWT succeeded to tackle many essential and sensitive social and economic issues in the Arab world. For example, the Eib (عيب) podcast (which means “shame” in Arabic) deals with social taboos by showcasing everyday personal stories shaped by societal norms and gender roles. It is one of the top podcasts produced by SOWT as it featured topics that highlight taboo subjects. These have included pornography, street harassment, honor killings, and abortion. Other difficult social topics have included divorce, disability, and interfaith marriages. A gender role topic addressed the distribution of household chores with couples.

Another example is Masaha (مساحة) (which means “space” in Arabic). This is a platform for activists to discuss social and economic issues from a feminist perspective. Each weekly podcast episode gathers a group of women from across the region. It invites them to discuss challenges, strategies and solution to the economic and social problems Arab women face today.

How Podcasts Are Shaping Human Rights Advocacy

Podcasts are a dynamic platform that continues to grow rapidly, as have the number of global podcast listeners. There are millions of podcasts and over tens of millions of episodes. Unsurprisingly, podcasts have reached a diverse group of listeners and are most popular among younger audiences (ages 12-34). This makes podcast production a powerful media tool for engaging target audiences in promoting human rights. Podcasts offer a platform for raising issues of social justice, a vehicle for documenting stories and a way to access decision makers and activate listeners.

More Examples of Podcasting for Human Rights

Two other interesting examples highlight how podcasts are being used for documenting human rights stories:

• an episode of Mal Amal (ما العمل) podcast titled  “Illicit Egyptian Employment: Who is responsible?”. This episode documents the stories and struggles of Egyptian migrant workers. It highlights their struggles in pursuit for generating income for their families.
• Ya Rayeh (يا رايح) (which means The One Leaving in Arabic), shares stories of Arab immigrants who search for better futures outside their homelands. It highlights the extremely dangerous and difficult conditions they face.