In Afghanistan, the slim chance that women might find their voice in the media is rapidly disappearing. The Taliban, now ruling since 2021, have progressively reinforced restrictions on women and now their latest order has hit at the very core of freedom of expression. Women journalists, who were once the face of Afghan television and newspapers, are being muzzled, their faces removed from newsrooms and airwaves.
In Kabul and other cities, women who used to be anchors, editors, or reporters were told to return home. Many weren’t even given an official letter only a straightforward message: *”You are no longer allowed to work.”* For them, the profession of journalism wasn’t work; it was how they told the stories of a troubled country. Now, their pens have been shoved down, their microphones shut off.
Prior to the Taliban’s resurgence, Afghanistan witnessed an increase in women in the media making their presence felt in spite of danger. They covered war zones, interviewed ministers, and even presented prime-time news. Their fearlessness had represented a nation attempting to rebuild itself. But today, all that progress is turned on its head.
A number of female reporters have testified from abroad, relating the fear and degradation they experienced. “We were informed that our voices are not necessary,” claimed one former reporter in Herat. “They want women’s stories to be absent in the country.” The Taliban argument is commonly couched in defense of “Islamic values,” but is called by critics a cover for eliminating women from public life altogether.
Human rights organizations have denounced the action, labeling it an assault on freedom of expression and gender equality. The United Nations has called for the repeal of the ban by the Taliban, warning that keeping women out of the media will further isolate Afghanistan in the world.
For the moment, most Afghan women journalists still write secretly, from secret networks or beyond international borders. Their voices may no longer resound through Afghan TV studios, but their tales are still out there, whispered in opposition, awaiting the day when they can again speak openly for their country.
