RASC News Agency: Local sources in Herat have revealed that the Taliban have issued a directive barring female presenters from reading news on television, citing reasons such as “provoking us” and “provoking men.” On Tuesday, January 14, sources confirmed that this order was delivered to local media outlets by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. According to these sources, the Taliban ministry claimed that the voices of female broadcasters on television are a source of “provocation” for their members and the wider male population.
The ministry further warned media outlets against violating this directive, emphasizing strict adherence to their orders. Thus far, the Taliban have refrained from making any official statements regarding the matter. Since their resurgence, they have imposed severe restrictions on female journalists and broadcasters. Women and girls in Afghanistan have been systematically stripped of fundamental rights, including access to education beyond the sixth grade, higher education, employment, sports, travel, and recreational activities, as part of the Taliban’s oppressive policies.
As a deeply regressive and tribal group vehemently opposed to women’s presence and empowerment in society, the Taliban have, over the past three years, attempted to transform Afghanistan into a society resembling the tribal structures of southern Afghanistan. To achieve this, they first expelled women from government offices, closed schools and universities to female students, restricted their public mobility, deemed their voices as contrary to Islamic principles, and now assert that the mere sound of women’s voices in the media incites their members and like-minded individuals in society.
