Afghan journalists and activists who played an active role before departure of US troops have expressed concern over a new “religious guideline” issued by Taliban rulers, saying the move is yet another form of control over women.
The Taliban, which took over Afghanistan roughly 100 days ago, on Sunday urged female journalists to follow a dress code and called on TV stations to stop showing soap operas featuring women, sparking fears over women’s rights and media freedom.
Akif Muhajir, spokesman for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, said “these are not rules but a religious guideline”.
However, activists fear it could be misused to harass female journalists, many of whom have already fled the country in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover on August 15.The Taliban has been accused of backing down on its pledge to protect women’s rights and media freedom. The latest move, which called on women to wear the hijab while presenting their reports, does not specify which type of covering to use.
Such restrictions, as well as tightening control on news reporting, has been done to preserve “national interest”, according to the group.
‘Muzzle the media’
Zahra Nabi, a broadcast journalist who co-founded a women’s television channel, said she felt cornered when the Taliban resumed power, and chose to go off-air the very same day.
“All the media is under their [Taliban] control,” Nabi, who established Baano TV in 2017, told Al Jazeera.
The network that was once run by 50 women was a symbol of how far Afghan women have come since the Taliban’s first stint in power in the 1990s.
With most of the network’s crew members now gone, Nabi has remained adamant about doing her job, and like many other established journalists in Afghanistan, she has had to work under the radar.
“We work in a very tough environment, and are even collecting reports under the burqa,” Nabi said, referring to an outer garment worn to cover the entire body and face used by some Muslim women.
“It is really hard for female journalists,” she said, citing a recent example where she had to enter the city of Kunduz as a humanitarian worker, and not as a journalist.
“I’m not showing myself as a journalist. I had to arrange with local women a safe office space to work in,” Nabi said.