KABUL (SW) – The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expressed concern about increasing restrictions on female journalists in Afghanistan.
In the announcement of this organization, it is stated: “The police chief of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan has banned women’s calls during radio and television broadcasts. The Islamic Emirate has tightened the restrictions on women journalists and ordered them to wear only black clothes.”
Meanwhile, a number of female journalists in Kabul, in interviews with Salam Watandar, mentioned the fact that female journalists are not allowed to participate in a number of news conferences and the limitation of access to information as prominent problems of journalistic work.
Hajar, a reporter at the Killid Group (Radio Killid), considered the lack of work immunity, economic problems and limited access to information as a challenge to the journalistic work in Afghanistan. He wants the Ministry of Information and Culture to address the problems of journalists.
“Access to information is such that the officials refuse to answer and if they want to share something, we have to wait for days and if they share something with us, they share information that they accept, not what we wanted,” she said.
Setera Qaderi, a reporter for Noor TV, also says that female reporters are not allowed to cover some programs. “Female journalists are not allowed to cover some programs. We want the government to provide a better working environment for journalists.”
Officials from the Ministry of Information and Culture say that this ministry deals with the problems of media employees.
Hayatullah Mohajer Farahi, Deputy Minister of Publications of this Ministry, says that media workers in Afghanistan must take the recommendations of the The Ministry of the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (MoPVPV).
“Media workers should consider hijab and they should also take the recommendations of the Ministry of Promoting Virtues and Prohibiting of Vice,” Farahi added.
However, the officials of the Afghanistan Free Journalists’ Association (AFJU) say that the restrictions on access to information still exist for journalists in the country.
Hojatullah Mujadadi, the head of the Association, urged the caretaker government of Afghanistan to improve journalists’ access to information.
Mujadadi says: “Men and women do not have enough access to information and our desire and effort is to reduce these problems and speed up this process.”
It should be mentioned that the United Nations officials held a meeting on Tuesday to review the situation of female journalists in Afghanistan at the headquarters of this organization. The participants of this meeting have emphasized their support for female journalists in Afghanistan.
ENDS
