Thousands of miles away from their audience, Afghanistan’s media wins the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)’s Democracy Award in Journalism. The Award was presented on Tuesday, November 14, in an event in Washington.
Damon Wilson, president and CEO of NED said that the giving the award to Journalism serves as a testament to the crucial role played by Afghan independent media in preventing the Taliban from isolating the Afghan people, underscoring the ongoing struggle for freedom, human rights, and democracy in the face of adversity.
Nazia Hashemyar, a journalist at the newly established Amu TV received the award on behalf of Afghanistan’s independent media while veteran journalists from Afghanistan, including her boss, Lotfullah Najafizada, Zaki Daryabi, the founder of Etilaat Roz, and Sanjar Suhail of 8Subh Daily were present in the audience. The symbolism could not be stronger as journalists and women are oppressed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The nascent Amu’s representation of the Afghan media showed the audience that Afghanistan’s media scene is only flourishing, even in exile.
In her acceptance speech, Nazia Hashimyar spoke about what the award meant to her country’s media. “It is a powerful reminder to us journalists, that our voices are vital and that our contributions to society are invaluable,” said Nazia. For Hashimyar, a journalist forced to go to exile by the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, and her colleagues, the focus remains on the future, “this is not only for our past achievements but also a beacon of hope for a future where free speech remains an important part of a free Afghanistan.”
The Democracy Award is given each year by the National Endowment for Democracy, a congressionally funded independent organization supporting civil society around the world, to people and institutions who have shown courage and commitment to promote freedom. Since 2002, activists and NGOs around the world, most of them at odds with their governments, have received recognition. In 2017, Khalil Parsa, an activist in Herat, shared the award with four other activists from around the world for their campaigns against corruption. Barbara Lee, a U.S. congresswoman, who spoke at the event and plauded Afghan journalist’s resilience in the face of oppression, said, “despite facing an existential threat, independent media, including NED partners like Amu TV and Etilaat Roz newspaper, and 8 AM media has shown remarkable resilience.”
This recognition comes at a time when the Taliban’s grip on the media has intensified, stifling meaningful dialogue and challenging the media’s ability to hold the government accountable. Sakhidad Hatif, Chief Editor of Etilaat Roz, Afghanistan’s largest newspaper, worries about the vanished supervisory role of the media under Taliban governance and the people being forced to accept the regime’s propaganda without criticism.
Afghanistan’s journalists have faced severe challenges since the Taliban takeover. Over 50% of the country’s media have shut down and many journalists have fled, leading to a significant loss of jobs, especially impacting women. Despite severe consequences for coverage not approved by the Taliban, Afghan journalists have shown resilience, using innovative solutions and global collaboration to share crucial information as the space for free press shrinks. Sanjar Sohail, founder of Hasht-e-Subh newspaper, who had attended the award ceremony, believes that the Taliban’s fear of truth, freedom of speech, and media independence comes from the ability of these tools to undermine their regime.
Taliban rule has forced a shift in media focus, with journalists constrained from addressing political, legal, security, and women’s rights issues. Hatif underscored the disappearance of the media’s role in monitoring ruling regimes, allowing the Taliban to act with relative impunity, resulting in one-sided reports leaving Afghanistan.
With journalists on the ground and headquarters around the world, Afghanistan’s media in exile have relied heavily on international support to continue operations. Sanjar, who shared an Ammy Award in September as part of a New York Times team exposing Taliban’s extrajudicial killings, believes that non-political support such as those provided by NED and other similar organizations throughout the years is critical for the survival and growth of media in Afghanistan. “As long as citizen-journalism participation fills institutional voids, media operating in exile can contribute to prosecuting those who have committed systematic crimes, requiring continued support for human resources and technical and financial capacity,” said Sanjar.
