FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan — There’s no crackle of static or catchy radio jingle to be heard. Squeezed into a cramped plywood room adorned with Afghan flags and stacked with electronic equipment, the two women could be speaking among themselves.

But they are speaking to a much larger audience via a radio transmitter the size of a small refrigerator.

With a target audience of women and families, the weekly show — called in Pashto “Da Kor Rana,” or “The Light of the House” — is broadcast from Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak to the booming border areas in southern Afghanistan.

On this day, host Zubiah Fedaie, an Afghan linguist with the base’s civil affairs unit, is interviewing Capt. Noorul Hayat, a pioneering, female member of the Afghan Uniform Police.

The pair take calls from locals — men and women — asking how to join the Afghan police forces.

Nearly three dozen calls come in, but with time limits and many dropped calls, four people make it onto the show.

“It attracts a lot of attention and helps our outreach to women, men and families,” Hayat said through an interpreter.

Other topics discussed on the show during the four months it has been running have included wedding traditions, medical issues, education, drug addiction and corruption.

Before starting as host of the program — a rarity in a patriarchal society in which women are seldom accepted in public life — Fedaie said she was warned to expect threats, but so far there haven’t been any.

“I was told people would swear at me, but in all the months I’ve done it, I’ve had no disrespect.”

The show is part of a U.S. Army program in which Afghan DJs run a radio station using “radio-in-a-box” technology. The technology has been used by the military for years to set up radio stations in Afghanistan as an overt effort to counter or displace Taliban messaging.

But “Da Kor Rana” is breaking new ground, Army officials say.

“The thing about the program at Spin Boldak is that it is definitely unique,” said Sgt. 1st Class James Grindle, a soldier with military information support operations — commonly known as PSYOPS (Psychological Operations) — who helps oversee the area’s programs. “Although radio broadcasting stations, themselves, are in multiple locations throughout Afghanistan, there has never been a security situation stable enough to conduct live broadcasts with female key communicators and members of the Afghan National Security Forces.”

The show, and especially the involvement of female leaders like Hayat, is evidence of a social shift, Grindle said.

“The fact that women are openly advocating for their own rights and want to be an integral part of a productive Afghan society and join the Afghan National Security Forces is definitely new to areas traditionally dominated by males.”

The station, dubbed “The Voice of Spin Boldak,” runs a variety of music, talk shows and public service announcements, both locally produced and culled from international services. The only other local radio options, operators say, are stations in Kandahar, more than 65 miles to the north, and in Pakistan.

Spin Boldak is located in what used to be the heartland of the Taliban movement, roughly halfway between Kandahar and the Pakistani city of Quetta — where the insurgency’s exiled leadership is thought to be based.

Besides setting up the station, soldiers with a PSYOPS unit pass out hand-crank radios during patrols to help build audiences.

Army officials insist the station’s programming is designed to boost civic engagement, not to push propaganda.

“We would lose listeners if it was all just propaganda,” said Staff Sgt. Chungkai Yang, a former news reporter and member of the 361st Psychological Operations Company, who oversees the station at Spin Boldak. “The main priority is that locals know their government is taking steps to ensure their safety and stability.”

And local leaders seem to agree.

Haji Feda Mohammad, a resident of Spin Boldak and member of the Kandahar provincial council, said “Da Kor Rana” is heard by many people in the area.

“The show is very good for the people,” he said through an interpreter. “They talk about how to live well in a society, respect others, respect women’s rights and a lot more things.”

He said the local radio station has attracted many listeners who are coming to recognize the power of media.

“People know that radio shows are important to learn something, so everyone listens to it, if they are in the mountains, desert, farms or in towns,” he said.

Like many other things, the station’s equipment is set to be handed over to the Afghan government in the coming months as U.S. forces withdraw.

What happens to the programming at that point is anybody’s guess, and American officials acknowledge a concern that the expensive equipment and its ability to deliver a powerful message could be commandeered for subversive purposes.

But Yang said he has been working to instill an appreciation for the power of media in local leaders. In fact, he said, Afghan leaders often prefer radio over television because it allows them to connect directly with citizens while helping to preserve a certain amount of anonymity. “It’s a way to reach out without risking their lives,” he said.

Zubair Babakarkhail contributed to this report.

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