According to a statement released by the RSF campaign group on Tuesday, a Taliban spokesman has guaranteed that journalists will not be punished in Afghanistan and that women will be permitted to continue working in the media.
The guarantees were offered by Zabihullah Mujahid in a conversation on Sunday as the terrorist group was taking over the capital Kabul, according to RSF, a Paris-based media freedom organization.
“We will protect press freedom since media reporting is beneficial to society and may help remedy leaders’ mistakes,” Mujahid was reported as adding. “We signal to the world through this statement to RSF that we recognize the importance of the role of the media.”
He said, ” “Journalists who work for government or privately owned media are not criminals, and they will not be persecuted. These journalists, in our opinion, are citizens and, moreover, smart young people who contribute to our diversity.”
All media was outlawed in Afghanistan during the first period of Taliban control, from 1996 to 2001, save for the Voice of Sharia radio station, which “played nothing but propaganda and religious programmes,” according to RSF.
Only time will tell if the statement should be taken seriously, the group added, pointing to the fact that about 100 media outlets have shut down since the Taliban’s fast progress in the nation.
When asked about women journalists, Mujahid indicated they would be permitted to continue working as long as they wore a hijab, or head covering.
In the interim, he claimed, a “legal framework” will be built, and they should “remain at home, stress-free and fear-free.”
“I tell them,” he added, “that they will return to their employment.”
Given the Taliban’s history of breaking deals and deadly enmity toward anyone viewed as acting against their interests, many observers advise caution in taking their promises at face value.
In order to acquire international prominence, the group is also thought to be keen on projecting a more moderate image.
According to the Afghan Federation of Media and Journalists, Afghanistan has at least eight news agencies, 52 television channels, 165 radio stations, and 190 print periodicals.
According to the same report, it has a total of 12,000 journalists.
