Phone contact with media banned for women in Southeastern Afghanistan

KABUL (Khaama Press): The Afghanistan Journalists Center reported that the Taliban in Khost province have deemed women’s telephone contact with the media as “illegitimate” and have prohibited it.

The Center published an official letter from the Talian bearing the signature of Abdul Rashid Omari, the Taliban’s security commander in Khost, stating that the Taliban have warned media officials that if they receive calls from women, they will face consequences.

In this official letter, Mr. Omari declares telephone contact with the media forbidden for women and girls in the Khost province.

The Taliban’s official letter, signed on Saturday, February 24th, accuses some private radios in Khost of promoting “moral corruption.” It explains that some women and girls call radios during social programs or school curriculum broadcasts, which the Taliban consider as “illegitimate contacts” and promoting “moral corruption.”

The letter emphasizes that local radios and televisions do not have permission from the Ministry of Education to broadcast school curriculum programs. It warns that if media officials disobey this order, they will be summoned and face legal consequences.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center states that alongside national radio and television, 15 private radios and three private televisions are operating in the Khost province under Taliban control.

The Center considers the security command’s threat to summon and prosecute journalists and media officials in this province as contrary to the laws governing public media.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center strongly condemns the unprecedented written warning issued by the Taliban’s security command in Khost, urging the Taliban to retract their heightened interference in media operations. Additionally, the center highlights the marginalization of the Commission for Addressing Media Complaints and Violations in Afghanistan, noting the direct and indirect threats posed by non-official authorities against the media.