Rights Of Media and Women Under Cloud in Taliban's Afghanistan

After the Taliban’s capture of Afghanistan, the rights and freedoms of women have come under question. Even as the Taliban has forbidden women from leaving their houses unescorted and to refrain from going to work, Afghanistan’s Telo news channel has started broadcasting with its female anchor.

The channel’s head Miraqa Popal tweeted about this, after which it has been a hot topic among media houses worldwide.

Popal tweeted that “We have resumed broadcasting from today with our woman anchor”. She has shared many pictures in which women can be seen reporting not just from the studio but also from the streets.

She tweeted pictures and videos of the female anchor interviewing a Taliban spokesperson in the channel’s Kabul studio. She also praised the anchor as a symbol of “bravery, determination, and sacrifice”. She said in a tweet that women are not only present in the studio but also reporting from the streets of Kabul.

Journalists hope for a genuine, actual ‘freedom of expression’. After President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and the Taliban captured Kabul, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward reported from the city in a burqa.  She commented that she never imagined seeing so many Taliban fighters outside the American embassy.

After the Taliban’s capture, the independence and freedom of the media have become a hot topic on social media, especially for women reporters and journalists. The Guardian quoted a woman news anchor saying that she had worked for years to raise women’s voices, but she saw her efforts go to waste after the Taliban’s return to power.  

In its report on August 3, Telo News through the Afghanistan Ministry of Information and Culture to inform that 51 media outlets had to cease their operations and the conflict between the Taliban and the erstwhile Afghan government intensified. 16 of these media outlets, including 4 TV channels, were based in Helmund province. The majority of closed media outlets were based in Helmand, Kandahar, Badakhshan, Takhar, Baghlan, Samangan, Balkh, Sar-e-Pul, Jawzjan, Faryab, Nuristan, and Badghis.

Telo News quoted the acting Minister for Information and Culture: “Till date, 35 media outlets have shut down operations, 6 or more have started supporting Taliban and are acting as a mouthpiece for their activities”

5 TV channels, 44 radio stations, 1 media center, and 1 news agency had to shut down their operation over a span of three months. Due to this, 1,000 reporters workers lost their jobs including 150 women. Apart from this, 2 journalists have been killed over the past two months.

This report presents data that shows there were 248 TV channels, 438 radio stations, 1,699 print media, and 119 news agencies are registered in Afghanistan.