Human Rights Watch: Taliban Have Reduced Women’s Presence in Media to Zero

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Human Rights Watch has said that since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, they have carried out an unprecedented crackdown on press freedom and have nearly eliminated women’s presence in the media.

In a report released on Thursday (October 23), the organisation stated that over the past four years, media outlets in Afghanistan have operated under strict censorship and surveillance by Taliban intelligence, while local officials of the group have arbitrarily enforced rules that have severely restricted the media environment.

According to the report, “media outlets have reported that agents from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice make repeated visits to monitor compliance with regulations, especially the segregation of workplaces for men and women and ensuring that women wear the hijab.”

Human Rights Watch stressed that these restrictions have led to a dramatic decline in the number of female journalists, with many provinces now having no women working in the media at all. Female reporters said that when working outside urban areas, they are required to travel with a male guardian and are not allowed to interview Taliban officials.

Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “While all Afghan journalists have suffered and many have left the country, women journalists have been hit the hardest.”

According to the organisation, the Taliban have forced women journalists to comply with their strict dress codes and have severely limited their appearance in television and media programmes. The broadcast of dramas and shows featuring women has also been banned.

The report noted that the Taliban review media content before publication and censor anything they believe “undermines morale or public attitudes.” These pressures have driven many journalists to practise self-censorship, restricting their reporting to official and ceremonial events such as award ceremonies, diplomatic meetings, and development projects.

A Kabul-based journalist told Human Rights Watch that he had been detained twice for failing to cover government events. Another said that after refusing to attend an official ceremony, he was barred from continuing his reporting.

Human Rights Watch also drew attention to the dire situation of Afghan journalists in exile, saying that many of them face the risk of forced deportation from neighbouring countries. The organisation urged host governments to uphold the principle of non-refoulement and to protect Afghan journalists, especially women, from being forcibly returned to Afghanistan.

Fereshta Abbasi emphasised: “The Taliban’s escalating crackdown on the media comes at a time when Afghanistan needs free and independent journalism more than ever.”

She added: “The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other countries that have pledged to resettle Afghans should expand their support for at-risk Afghan journalists and halt all deportations to Afghanistan.”

Human Rights Watch also called for increased resettlement of Afghan refugees from Pakistan to third countries and for stronger support for Afghan media outlets in exile, particularly for women journalists.

Since the Taliban’s return to power, they have imposed sweeping restrictions on media and journalists. These measures have forced the closure of numerous outlets and driven hundreds of journalists, especially women, into exile.