The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Reporters Without Borders says the Taliban authorities are tightening control over the flow of information in Afghanistan, as a series of new restrictions further limit press freedom across the country.
According to the organization, political television programs
were banned in February, the women’s radio station Radio Begum was temporarily
suspended, and two media workers were arrested.
Reporters Without Borders said the measures reflect a
broader pattern of tightening media control since the Taliban returned to power
in 2021.
In updates cited by RSF, Taliban authorities in Farah
province on March 6, 2025, banned the broadcast of images depicting living
beings on the local branch of national public television.
On March 17, a directive in Kandahar province made it the
second province to fully ban women’s voices in the media and instructed
journalists to refer to the Taliban’s supreme leader as “His Excellency the
Commander of the Faithful, may God protect him.”
On March 27, the restriction on broadcasting images of
living beings was expanded to Badakhshan, Baghlan and Nimroz provinces,
bringing the total number of affected provinces to ten.
On Feb. 4, the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture
suspended Radio Begum, a women-focused radio station. Although the suspension
was lifted 18 days later, RSF said the station’s staff remain unable to access
their premises, preventing the resumption of broadcasts.
Two journalists arrested on the day of the suspension — a
technical manager and a sports journalist from Jawanan Radio — remain in
custody, according to the organization.
The radio station was accused of multiple violations,
including sharing content with a foreign-based television channel.
RSF said more than a dozen media bans have been imposed by
various Taliban institutions, including the General Directorate of
Intelligence, the Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Ministry of
Information and Culture, the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and
Prevention of Vice, Taliban spokespersons and provincial authorities.
The organization also noted that 12 media outlets were shut
down in 2024.
According to RSF sources, in February the last remaining
television channels in Kabul received verbal warnings from the Ministry of
Information and Culture banning political programs and debates. The directive
reportedly also extends to economic discussions and any content critical of the
authorities, although no official statement has been issued.
“The Afghan media are suffocating under the weight of
relentless censorship,” RSF said, warning that the restrictions aim to
eliminate criticism, control narratives and impose strict oversight through
vague and expanding regulations.
The organization called on the Taliban leadership to
immediately lift restrictions on press freedom and urged the international
community to respond to what it described as escalating media repression in
Afghanistan.
