Highlights
- Both male and female journalists who remain in Afghanistan say they feel threatened by the Taliban
- Their colleagues in Australia have called on the government to make available more visas for members of the Afghan media
- A female broadcaster says the Taliban call for full face coverings has left her feeling intimidated
A report recently released by claims that since the Taliban came to power, 318 media outlets have closed and thousands of media workers, especially women, have lost their jobs.
Khatera Ahmadi is a female news and current affairs anchor at Tolo News, a privately-owned 24-hour news channel in Afghanistan.
She says that since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in mid-August, journalists face many problems including detention and intimidation.
Furthermore, she says the Taliban’s recent order which asks female journalists to cover their faces on air has left her seriously disappointed.
“Overall, male and female journalists face many problems, due to the restrictions, conditions and laws of the new government,” she said.
“Even now, the women who work as journalists should cover their faces when appearing on the screen, which is really uncomfortable and not pleasant.
If one thinks logically, even the religion of Islam and the Holy Qur'an, which is the book of God, has not said such a thing about women (wearing full face coverings).
Ms Ahmadi said she had been working as an anchor and journalist for the past five years.
While journalists face real threats and intimidation in Afghanistan, she says she still wants to continue working in the media and raise her voice for millions of women who do not have rights in Afghanistan.
Khatera Ahmadi prepares to go on air at a private TV station. Source: Susannah George/The Washington Post via Getty Images
“In addition to me, all my colleagues feel threatened, whether men or women. We are in the visual media, every moment, and every minute, we face threat and danger,” she said.
She said the reason Afghan journalists kept working was that it was important to fight injustice.
Many members of the Afghan media have reported feeling threatened by the Taliban. Source: MEAA
"We would not have witnessed such a day if the women who were before us fought. If we are fighting today, it's because we do not want other girls to face the same situation in the future," she said.
“I want to be the voice of those [millions of women] who were oppressed, at least to give them a positive spirit that we are here and will not be eliminated.”
‘Deeply concerned about colleagues’
Khalid* worked for seven years with various national and international media stations in Afghanistan. He is one of the journalists who were granted Temporary Humanitarian Stay visa (Subclass 449) after the collapse of the Afghan government last year. *We cannot disclose his real name and organisation for security reasons.
Khalid* says while he feels lucky and safe in Australia, he is extremely concerned about the lives of his colleagues in Afghanistan because of the deteriorating situation there.
“Journalists are currently facing severe psychological torture [in Afghanistan],” he said.
“Our female colleagues who remain in Kabul are not allowed to attend press conferences.
In addition, female reporters have been prohibited from working at the national Radio Television of Afghanistan and the Taliban want to ban female staff, even from the private media sector.
The Australian government has announced that it will provide 31,500 visas for Afghan nationals through its humanitarian and family visa program over the next four years.
Khalid* said he called on the government to also prioritise Afghan journalists in its humanitarian program.
Afghan journalists like Khalid are under mounting censure by the Taliban. Source: Supplied
“…the government of Australia should not forget the journalists, human rights defenders, civil society activists as well as women's rights advocates in their [humanitarian] program,” he said.
“It is hoped that the Australian Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Immigration will consider the journalists for humanitarian visas.”
‘Put pressure on the Taliban’
Mahmood* is an official who works for an organisation which protects the rights of Afghan journalists in Afghanistan *We cannot disclose his real name and organisation for security reasons.
Speaking from Afghanistan, he told SBS Dari that Afghan journalists had faced different issues such as censorship, arbitrary detention, no access to information and unemployment.
In the meantime, organisations which support the Afghan journalists are also under pressure, he claims.
Neither the media nor human rights activists have freedom of expression. We have documented dozens of cases where journalists have been arrested, received summons, and threatened over a report.
“Journalists are under so much psychological pressure and they can't talk about what's going on in the community.
“Journalist support organisations are also under serious pressure. They clearly cannot speak out about what is happening to journalists and media outlets in Afghanistan today.”
Mahmood* says that since the Taliban returned to power, 156 cases of violence against Afghan journalists have been recorded.
He called on the international community to raise its voice and put pressure on the Taliban.
“In addition, Afghan journalists strongly urge the international community to save the media from collapse and continue to support it financially,” he said.
“Although some of the restrictions existed before the collapse [of the Afghan government], the situation for media workers has worsened since the collapse.”
An Amnesty International spokesperson said that in 2020, at least 11 journalists were killed in Afghanistan and nearly all the killings were “carried out by unidentified gunmen” and “have gone uninvestigated”.
“Dozens of others have been injured, while journalists routinely receive threats, intimidation and harassment because of their work,” the spokesperson said.
“Faced with this dire situation and with multiple journalist ‘hit lists’ in open circulation, many journalists are fleeing the country.”
She said Amnesty International was urging the Australian government to allocate extra places in addition to existing programs.
“Among other measures, Amnesty recommends the Australian Government suspends visa requirements and/or expedites humanitarian visas for at-risk groups, allocates at least 20,000 humanitarian places, in addition to the existing program, to those fleeing the Taliban and enshrines the principle of freedom of the press, and the right to freedom of opinion and expression contained in Article 19 of the , in legislation,” she said.
