In the wake of the Taliban’s reascent to power, the media landscape in Afghanistan has been decimated, with over half of media outlets shuttered and countless experienced journalists fleeing the country for safety. This terrorist group’s rule has upended the lives of more than 7,000 media workers, many of whom have been forced into hiding or abandoned their profession altogether. The Taliban’s regulations have effectively gutted press freedom in the country, leaving journalists and media activists to self-censor in fear of retribution, as critical reporting on the regime is met with harsh suppression tactics.
Since the Taliban seized power, violence against journalists at their hands has become a routine occurrence. As per the Afghan Journalists Center’s report published on December 31, 2022, the situation for press freedom and journalists in Afghanistan has deteriorated even further than before. “Alongside an unprecedented rise in violent attacks and threats against journalists, the media’s working environment has also been egregiously constrained,” the report notes.
The report reveals a dire state of affairs for Afghanistan’s media community, whose hard-won freedoms of the past two decades have been rapidly eroding since the Taliban’s return to power.
In 2022 alone, there were at least 260 instances of media freedom violations, including threats, arrests, and violent assaults – marking a staggering 138% increase from the previous year. The report identifies the Taliban as the primary culprits behind these violations, particularly their security and intelligence forces, while only a handful of violent incidents are attributed to other sources.
In 2021, the Afghan Journalists Center recorded at least 109 violations of freedom of the media and journalists, including eight deaths of journalists and media workers, as well as detentions and threats.
In 2022, the situation for journalists and media workers in Afghanistan has worsened, according to the Afghan Journalists Center. The organization recorded at least 260 violations of the freedom of the media and journalists. At least 119 of these incidents involved temporary detentions of journalists, many of which were accompanied by physical and psychological violence, insults, and humiliation of the detainees.
The report indicates that 58 cases of violence against journalists occurred in Kabul, while Kandahar and Paktia each had 11 cases, and Ghazni and Faryab had 7 and 6 cases, respectively. There were also 3 cases in each of the provinces of Herat, Samangan, and Bamyan, as well as in Parwan, Uruzgan, Logar, and Ghor. In addition, one incident of arrest was recorded in each of the provinces of Kapisa, Balkh, Takhar, Nangarhar, Khost, Helmand, Zabul, Farah, and Badghis. According to the report, many of these journalists have been detained and tortured due to their coverage of events and criticism of the Taliban group.
The Afghan Journalists Center reported that in 2022, 128 cases of threats to journalists and media workers were recorded, along with 11 cases of violence and beatings of journalists. According to the report, the majority of these incidents took place in Kabul.
More than half of the 600 audio, visual, print, and online media outlets in Afghanistan have been closed due to the Taliban group’s return to power, according to the report. Hundreds of journalists and media workers have fled the country.
“Women journalists have been particularly marginalized and the freedom of the media and expression have been severely curtailed due to the Taliban’s tightening of restrictions,” the report reads.
According to the report, the security apparatus in Afghanistan, including the intelligence department and the Ministry of Invitation, Guidance, Enjoining the Good, and Forbidding the Evil of the Taliban group, are directly and indirectly involved in suppressing freedom of the media and freedom of speech. The report states that journalists have been arrested, threatened, and intimidated, leading to an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, which has significantly impacted their ability to report independently.
“The possibility of preparing and publishing free and investigative reports or challenging media programs is severely limited in both Kabul and the provinces, due to severe restrictions on access to information and the fear of imprisonment and torture,” the report indicates. “As a result, self-censorship has reached its highest level.”
Over the past two decades, Afghanistan has been one of the most perilous countries for journalists, despite being a space for the expansion of freedom of speech and media. The Taliban group has been the main perpetrator of targeted attacks against journalists, significantly contributing to the deterioration of the situation.
Reporters Without Borders reported that over the past 20 years, 81 journalists were killed. The Taliban played a significant role in the conflict and was the leading cause of journalist deaths in Afghanistan during this period.
Since the fall of the republican government and the rise of the Taliban, the media in Afghanistan has encountered stringent limitations. Currently, the control, censorship, and restrictions imposed on the media have not only abolished free media activity but also increased the risk for journalists. The Taliban group, apparently, considers media control as a means to maintain their position in the eyes of the world, and hence, they have made media restriction one of their topmost priorities.
