Afghanistan's media is now subject to more Taliban restrictions

In Afghanistan, a media group that runs several popular television and radio stations announced Thursday that it had been ordered by Taliban authorities to stop airing drama series. Moby Group, which owns Tolo TV and Lemar TV, said it was given the order by the Taliban. Taliban officials said the order was issued to promote Islamic virtue and prevent vice.

In response to the order, the group announced that foreign drama series would be "temporarily" ceased beginning Thursday night. According to a former Tolo News reporter, the Taliban detained three Tolo News employees, including the channel's director, after news was reported that the Taliban had banned drama series.

Television series, which are mostly Turkish and Indian, are watched by many Afghan households. The popularity of these channels has made them a financial lifeline for the troubled private media sector in the country.

“MOBY Group proposes that issues including the prohibition of broadcasting foreign drama series would be better discussed through a joint commission comprised of representatives of the Ministry of Information and Culture and media organizations, and, in accordance with government principles, the final decision would be officially announced by the Ministry of Information and Culture,” the group said in a tweet that has since been deleted.

According to media organizations, the Taliban had already severely restricted press freedom.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last August, closing over 230 media outlets and forcing thousands of journalists, mostly women, out of their jobs, according to a report by Reporters Without Borders. Over the past seven months, hundreds of Afghan journalists have left the country. Moby Group, which received funding from the U.S. before the sudden collapse of the former Afghan government, received assistance to evacuate most of its journalists and staff from Afghanistan last year.

The Taliban's Islamic Emirate bans the appearance and voice of female journalists and presenters on state-run television. According to Taliban authorities, most entertainment programs on private TV channels are not Islamic and morally inappropriate.

Various human rights groups have also reported Afghan journalists being detained and tortured by Taliban gunmen all over the country. "The Taliban government has engaged in censorship and violence against Afghan media in the districts and provinces, severely limiting critical reporting in Afghanistan," Human Rights Watch reported on March 7. Taliban spokesmen, on the other hand, have consistently denied media censorship and denied reports that they severely restrict Afghan journalists.