‘Sesame Street’ Goes to Afghanistan

Afghani children can now watch their own  version of “Sesame Street.”   The new children’s series hit the screens across that country this month. The producers of the original American version of “Sesame Street” have partnered with two popular Afghan television stations to produce “Sesame Garden,” or “Baghch-e-Simsim” in the local languages of Dari and Pashto. Like its American counterpart, “Sesame Garden,”  has a progressive message along the way. The show aims to challenge gender barriers and expand roles for women and girls. Show segments feature young girls going to school, and emphasize female role models in a variety of careers, including as doctors and engineers. Farhad Hashimi,  education and research director for the Sesame Street project at Tolo TV in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Sherrie Westin, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Sesame Workshop, discuss how “Baghch-e-Simsim” came into existence.