Nearly 900 female journalists in Afghanistan have been forced to leave their jobs since the Taliban takeover of the country, according to the Afghan Journalists Support Organization (AJSO).
In a report released Thursday, the AJSO revealed the restrictions on the media and journalists under Taliban rule have increased to the point that many independent media outlets have lost their economic resources due to the stringent restrictions on reporting, and have had to drastically cut costs or stopped their activities completely.
Female journalists have been particularly affected. In 21 provinces* including Baghlan, Takhar, Nuristan, and Daikundi, women are not allowed to work in the media.
AJSO also found that the Taliban have banned female journalists from participating in news conferences in the provinces of Faryab, Samangan, Bamyan, Ghazni, Khost, Panjshir, Jawzjan, Nimroz, Baghlan, Badakhshan and Balkh.
According to AJSO records, the number of female journalists and media workers has dropped from 1,402 to 463 since the Taliban took control of the country. Of these, only 284 professionals are still based in Afghanistan.
In total, 899 female journalists in Kabul and the provinces have been forced to leave their jobs due to security threats, economic weakness of the media, restrictions on salary payments and cultural issues, and the ever-increasing restrictions of the Taliban against women.
The report also said that female journalists who still work face serious challenges in accessing information. AJSO has registered 25 cases of violence against female journalists in 2022 alone, which include illegal or violent arrests, beatings, and harassment.
It said many female journalists were arrested by Taliban forces while covering women’s street protests.
The Taliban’s restrictions have also directly limited women’s media work such as women not being permitted to interview men in the media or appear on TV screens without a mask.
*Provinces include Baghlan, Takhar, Kandahar, Nuristan, Maidan Wardak, Daikundi, Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul, Paktia, Paktika , Jawzjan, Farah, Ghor, Faryab, Logar, Farah, Faryab and Khost.
