The IPI global network strongly condemns the closure of independent broadcaster Hamisha Bahar by the Taliban after authorities raided the outlet during a journalism training that included women journalists. The outlet was shuttered the following day for violating the Taliban鈥檚 higher education ban for women.
On July 31, a group of Taliban officers raided the offices of Hamisha Bahar, interrupting the training being held, which was part of a three-month basic journalism training workshop. , head of Hamisha Bahar, there were 16 journalists participating in the course, six of whom were women. During the raid, officers threatened those at the training and specifically verbally harassed the women journalists, including comparing the training to prostitution, .
The following day, to the offices and ordered the network to close, claiming that the training was a violation of policies that ban any form of that were established in December 2021. The broadcaster was .
The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) the Taliban to 鈥渄irect the local authorities in Nangarhar province to comply with the dictates of the rule of law by immediately withdrawing the order for the shutting down of Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV network, and henceforth desist from any such act鈥�.
Hamisha Bahar, an independent radio station founded in 2011, hosts a number of training programs, and that they have trained over 600 university students.聽
The outlet has also previously been a target of the Taliban, and , Taliban authorities are unhappy with the station鈥檚 news coverage. Stanekzai has been for his work at Hamisha Bahar, including in March 2022 by Taliban forces.聽
The media environment has deteriorated rapidy since the Taliban took power in August 2021. A number of independent outlets have been shuttered, and journalists, and particularly , operate in an increasingly hostile and . Between May 2022 and May 2023, the AFJC 213 press freedom violations, a 64 percent increase from the year prior.
鈥淭he shuttering of Hamisha Bahar Radio and TV for including women in a journalism training program is appalling and is a blatant violation of human rights鈥�, IPI Director of Advocacy Amy Brouillette said. 鈥淭his latest attack on the media is just another example of the Taliban regime鈥檚 intolerance for press freedom and their attempt to erase women from public life.鈥�