Women Journalists Become Extinct in Afghanistan

Despite the Taliban's assurances that they would respect female journalists' rights to continue working, the latest data indicates the opposite. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the number of women journalists has declined to unprecedented lows. 

After the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, women journalists rapidly disappeared while fewer than 100 women journalists still hold journalism positions in privately owned media stations in the capital. Investigations by Reporters Without Boards’ (RSF) and the Centre for the Protection of Afghan Women Journalists (CPAWJ) revealed this dire reality. Data shows that only 76 of the 510 women journalists working for eight of the largest media outlets are still employed.  In most of Afghanistan's provinces, women journalists were ordered to stay at home while private media outlets have ceased operations.  

Several reports have documented cases of Afghan women journalists harassed by Taliban militants. According to reports, a female journalist (Nahib Bashardost) was beaten by the Taliban while reporting near Kabul airport. Additionally, Taliban guards were spotted outside news outlets preventing women journalists from going in or out to report on stories. Taliban officials reportedly instructed a private radio station not to use the voice of women or music in its programming. At the state-owned Radio Television Afghanistan, the Taliban restricted all female journalists from returning to work. Other news outlets followed the Taliban's directives to prevent women journalists from performing their correspondent duties until further notice. 

Despite the Taliban's spokesperson's commitment that it will be a matter of time before women can get back to work, the Taliban have yet to show any sign of letting them back.