KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources in central Daykundi province confirmed that the local Taliban authorities have banned female journalists from working in media outlets in the province.
Speaking with KabulNow today, the sources said that officials from the Taliban Directorate of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice recently visited local media outlets and notified them that women are no longer allowed to work there.
According to the sources, there are currently two private radio stations and one state TV channel operating in the province. Since the Taliban’s order, the women who worked as news presenters at the private stations have been left unemployed.
Since their takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban have imposed increasing restrictions on journalists and media workers in the country, issuing over 17 directives that severely limit freedom of the press and access to information.
Female journalists have faced greater restrictions compared to their male counterparts. The ruling regime in Afghanistan has imposed gender-based segregation in workplaces and previously banned the broadcasting of women’s voices and phone calls in certain provinces.
The Afghanistan Journalists’ Support Organization (AJSO), a German-based Afghan media watchdog, reported in March that there are currently no female journalists in 19 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.
According to the AJSO, 95% of the media outlets still operating in Afghanistan have seen their female employees leave following the political changes, while those remaining are grappling with numerous workplace restrictions.
“Most of the government officials are not willing to talk to the female reporters either in person or by phone. Women have also been banned from participating in press and media conferences,” the watchdog said.
The Taliban’s enactment of the new so-called “Vice and Virtue” law, approved by its supreme leader and published last month, has exacerbated the situation by imposing further restrictions on media in the country.
According to the new law published last month, women are prohibited from raising their voices in public, singing, or reciting poetry, all of which are considered “awrah” (forbidden). This new regulation has increased concerns among female journalists and media workers about being forced to leave their jobs.
The regime’s crackdown on media has led to the closure of over half of the country’s media outlets, including TV and radio stations. Many journalists have either fled the country or gone into hiding for fear of reprisals.
