KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has expressed deep concern about the Taliban’s new vice and virtue law, warning that it imposes further restrictions on media in Afghanistan.
In a statement on Monday, August 26, AFJC called on the Taliban to reconsider the law and its policies towards media and allow media outlets and journalists to exercise their rights in accordance with Afghanistan’s media laws.
The Taliban’s new so-called Vice and Virtue law, signed by its reclusive supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, imposes extensive restrictions on the population, particularly on women and girls, with several articles imposing further restrictions on media operating in Afghanistan.
Article 17 of the 35-article law mandates the Taliban’s morality police to compel media officials to prevent the publication of content deemed contrary to Sharia and images of living beings.
The media watchdog argues this article of the law is “ambiguous” and open to varying interpretations, potentially leading to further suppression of free media and journalists.
Furthermore, Article 29 of the law prohibits the “misuse” of tape recorders, radios, and similar devices, as well as the “unauthorized” taking or viewing of photographs and videos depicting living beings on computers and mobile phones.
AFJC voices serious concerns about the impact of the new law on the work of media professionals and journalists, particularly women still working in media in Afghanistan.
“The new restrictions represent a continuation of the ongoing suppression of free media that began following the Taliban’s return to power in mid-August 2021 and have since been enforced through various media directives,” AJFC said.
“These restrictions contradict the country’s mass media law, which the Taliban government has selectively acknowledged,” it added.
The new law grants the Taliban’s morality police, overseen by the regime’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, extensive powers to enforce these rules across Afghanistan.
It also outlines penalties that include warnings, imprisonment for offenses ranging from one hour to three days, property seizure, and referral to the court for repeated offenses.
Since the Taliban’s return, Afghanistan’s once-thriving free-press sector has nearly collapsed, with dozens of outlets closed or silenced under various accusations, and hundreds of journalists and media professionals arrested, tortured, or even killed across the country.
In a report in March, the Afghanistan Journalist’s Support Organization (AJSO), a German-based Afghan media watchdog, revealed that following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, only 13 out of 91 print newspapers, 68 out of 248 TV channels, and 211 out of 438 radio stations remain operational in the country.
According to the AJSO report, the remaining outlets either relocated outside the country or shut down due to Taliban restrictions or financial challenges.
