WASHINGTON: A survey conducted by a non-profit organisation stated that more than 6,400 journalists in Afghanistan have lost their jobs since the Taliban takeover.
A radical change was observed in the Afghan media landscape since the Taliban took power, according to a survey of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) with the collaboration of the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA).
As many as 231 media outlets have had to close and the hardest hit among all are women journalists as 80 per cent of them have lost their jobs since the Taliban took control of Kabul.
The RSF said in a statement, “Of the 543 media outlets tallied in Afghanistan at the start of the summer, only 312 were still operating at the end of November. This means that 43% of Afghan media outlets disappeared in the space of three months.”
Just four months ago, most Afghan provinces had at least ten privately-owned media outlets but now some regions have almost no local media at all.
“There used to be 10 media outlets in the mountainous northern province of Parwan but now just three are functioning. In the western city of Herat (the country’s third-largest) and the surrounding province, only 18 of the 51 media outlets are still operating – a 65 per cent fall,” the RSF said.
“The central Kabul region, which had more media than anywhere else, has not been spared the carnage. It has lost more than one of every two media outlets (51%). Of the 148 tallied prior to 15 August, only 72 are still operating,” it added.
Reports have emerged from Afghanistan of an increasing crackdown by the Taliban on journalists, whereas, the reporters covering protests and rallies have complained of being harassed.