Afghanistan : the disturbing, escalating censorship suffocating the free press

Les autorités talibanes renforcent leur emprise sur l’information en Afghanistan.
Image:RSF
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The Taliban authorities are tightening their grip on the dissemination of information in Afghanistan. In the month of February alone, political programmes on television were banned, the women’s station Radio Begum was temporarily suspended, and two media workers were arrested.  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has published a list of the bans currently imposed on the media, which illustrates the Taliban authorities’ strategic muzzling of the press.

On 4 February, the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture suspended the emblematic women’s radio Radio Begum; the suspension was technically lifted 18 days later, yet the radio’s teams remain barred from accessing the premises, making it impossible to resume broadcasting. What’s more, two journalists arrested the day of the ban — one of the radio’s technical managers and a sports journalist from Jawanan Radio — are still in custody. The radio station had been accused of “multiple violations,” including providing content to a television channel based abroad.

This is just another example of the repression of journalism that has been steadily intensifying since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. RSF has counted over a dozen bans that stifle the circulation of reliable information in Afghanistan. The directives issued by multiple actors, such as the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, the Taliban spokesperson, and the provincial authorities, have gradually accumulated to strangle press freedom.

In 2024 alone, 12 media outlets were closed. According to RSF information, in February, the last television channels in Kabul still active received a verbal warning from the Ministry of Information and Culture prohibiting them from broadcasting political programmes and debates. According to several RSF sources, this directive extends to economic debates and any discussion critical of the government. To date, the ministry has not made any official statement on the matter.

"The Afghan media are suffocating under the weight of relentless censorship. The recent ban on political debates reveals the government's clear objective: eliminate all criticism and monopolise the media narrative. To do this, it enforces a series of vague regulations with imprecise provisions that place the media under constant pressure. Their arsenal of legislation is aimed at muzzling journalists, controlling the country's image, stifling any attempt to question their governance and imposing their propaganda. RSF calls on the Taliban supreme leader to immediately lift all bans on press freedom and calls on the international community to act against the media repression prevailing in the country.

Célia Mercier
Head of the RSF South Asia Desk

RSF monitors and documents all the bans imposed on journalists and the media, which are steadily increasing. Press freedom is now on the brink of extinction in Afghanistan.

  • A directive from September 2021 imposes 11 new rules on journalists, some of which are vaguely worded, leaving the authorities a wide scope for interpretation in prosecuting journalists — especially concerning the directive calling for “caution” when publishing information “whose authenticity is not known or approved by the authorities.”

  • A ban from September 2021 on referring to the de facto Taliban government by any name other than the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”  forces outlets to recognise the legitimacy of the Taliban regime.

  • A ban on covering demonstrations has been in place since September 2021.

  • A ban on broadcasting music programmes has been in place since October 2021.

  • A ban on interviewing dissidents or analysts critical of the regime has been in place since November 2021.

  • A strict ban on criticising the leaders of the Taliban government, which is considered a violation of Islamic law, has been in place since July 2022.

  • A ban on broadcasting and publishing images of living beings according to a new Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice law has been in place since July 2024. This ban is applied to the media in seven provinces.

  • Prohibitions targeting women journalists and the presence of women in the information space: women cannot work in the public media, nor can they appear on television without their faces covered. They can no longer work with men or interview or be interviewed by men. In the southern province of Helmand, female voices are banned on the radio, whether they are presenters or listeners who would like to speak on air. Similarly,  calls from women listeners to radio stations are banned in the eastern province of Khost.

  • Obstacles to the work of media in exile are abundant. Journalists working with media in exile have even been arrested and in May 2024, a ban was placed on working with the UK-based Afghanistan International channel.

  • A ban on broadcasting programmes of foreign media, such as those of the US and UK media Voice of America and BBC, has been in place since March 2022.

  • Political programmes have been censored since September 2024 due to a directive requiring these programmes to be recorded before they are broadcast so criticism of the Taliban can be cut out. Guests on political debates must be on a government-approved list. It is forbidden to challenge the laws, policies and decisions of the Taliban government or to criticise its officials without proof. This vaguely worded ban gives the authorities a wide margin of interpretation, allowing them to prosecute journalists at their discretion.

  • Television stations in Kabul have been completely banned from airing political discussions since 12 February 2024.

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