Will they have an imam character who issues a death fatwa against Bert and Ernie for being suspected homosexuals?
(Reuters) — Children in Afghanistan soon will be able to start their education the same way as millions of preschoolers elsewhere in the world: by watching the TV series “Sesame Street.”
Makers of the show worked with two Afghan television channels and the ministry of education to produce the Afghan series, which begins on Thursday and features footage of Afghan life and the Muppets from the original U.S. version.
OProdThe series aims to encourage a love of learning in Afghanistan’s youth. Around 45 percent of the population is under 15 and many will struggle to get an education, said Masood Sanjar, channel manager at TOLO TV, which will broadcast the show in Afghanistan’s Dari language.
“Less than two-thirds of children are enrolled in primary school,” he told reporters and children who had been invited to meet characters Grover and Ernie at a briefing in Kabul.
The series, funded by the U.S. embassy in Kabul and known in Afghanistan as ‘Baghch-e-Simsim’, will also be broadcast in the Pashto language on another channel, LEMAR TV.