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Since the Taliban regained power, Afghanistan’s media landscape has faced severe restrictions. Al Jazeera English sat down with Lotfullah Najafizada, the former head of Tolo News, to discuss working in exile and keeping the spirit of Afghan journalism alive.
Afghan journalists in exile confront harsh challenges: after escaping Taliban persecution, they now endure poverty, threats of deportation, and years-long waits for humanitarian visas in Pakistan. Many now struggle with mental health crises as Western nations delay promised aid.
Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, detentions, imprisonments, and torture of journalists have surged, creating a “shadow of restriction and oppression” over press freedom in Afghanistan. Recently the Taliban have ordered TV channels in parts of Afghanistan to cease broadcasting images of living beings, after already banning music and female faces on screen.
The Taliban have aggressively targeted media freedom and journalists over the past three years. They have banned photography and filming, mandated pro-Taliban reporting, used violence against journalists and media staff, carried out arrests, imposed severe censorship, threatened to shut down media institutions, and exploited journalists’ vulnerable status.
In a new documentary four Afghan women – former parliamentarians, a past minister and a journalist — who fled their homeland after the Taliban-takeover of in August 2021, spotlight the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. “An Unfinished Journey” captures their resilience in exile as they advocate for women’s rights and strive to keep Afghanistan’s plight in global discussions.
After the Taliban took power, the journalist Hamed fled Afghanistan with his family – via a German government admission program. The government promised to take in 1,000 particularly vulnerable people, such as journalists, every month. In reality, only a fraction make it.
The Taliban’s new law on the “Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice” bans journalists from publishing or broadcasting content the de facto government believes violates Sharia law or insults Muslims. Article 17 describes several restrictions on the media, including a ban on publishing or broadcasting images of living people and animals which the Taliban consider unislamic.
Afghan media in exile remain economically fragile, even though they are a widely followed source of information, according to a report by the think tank for media professionals, The Fix, and the support fund for journalism in exile, JX Fund, created in 2022 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and its partners.
It is estimated that, nearly 2000 journalists have left Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in 2021. Many sought asylum in Europe and North America, while others settled in Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries. Despite severe challenges Afghan reporters in exile remain committed to keeping the flow of independent news from their homeland alive.
When the Taliban took power three years ago, the previously thriving Afghan media landscape collapsed. Many journalists were forced to leave the country and now work remotely. Others have stayed and continue their work despite all dangers. How do editorial teams in exile deal with the challenge of accessing sources on the ground?
The Taliban claim that there is freedom of the press in the country. Even Western Youtubers are allowed to come – if they report positively and adhere to strict conditions.
The Etilaat Roz was once the most widely circulated newspaper in Kabul, but everything changed in August 2021 when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. In this unique video diary, journalist Abbas Rezaie follows the tenacious correspondents as they continue to report the news.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is alarmed by a worrying increase in the restrictions imposed on journalists, with authoritarian directives on women journalists’ dress, restrictions on women’s access to the audiovisual media and a ban on filming or photographing Taliban officials.
The journalism landscape in Afghanistan has undergone a significant and distressing transformation following the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021.
Independent Afghan newspaper Etilaatroz faces challenges after the Taliban’s return in 2021. Journalists emphasize the importance of international support for press freedom, legal aid, and training.
The Pakistani government plans to deport 1.7 million undocumented Afghans. The international community has called on Pakistan to suspend the deportation plan and provide assistance to refugees.
This report highlights the Taliban’s controlled media strategy, allowing room for resilience. Despite ongoing repression, media in exile is gaining strength, effectively countering disinformation.
Amid Taliban’s media control, journalists confront threats and censorship. Still, exiled and independent media grow stronger. Technical and financial support play a crucial role.