Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has announced that the Taliban have closed the office of Radio Khushal in Ghazni Province due to phone calls from girls to its programs and have suspended its broadcasts.
The agency, on Thursday, 5 March, issued a report describing the Taliban’s action as a clear violation of the fundamental rights of a free media to reflect the voices of all citizens, especially women, and condemned it.
According to the report, Radio Khushal’s operations were suspended yesterday, and the Taliban’s press office in Ghazni Province announced in a statement that the station had been closed by the provincial cultural committee for “violating religious, cultural, and social values.”
Afghanistan Journalists Center added that Radio Khushhal mostly broadcast educational programs, which were used by girls which deprived of continuing their education due to Taliban restrictions.
The agency has also stated that, in addition to the ban on higher education for women and girls, their phone contact with media outlets has been severely restricted, and in some provinces, media have been instructed that broadcasting women’s voices is completely prohibited.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center has described the Taliban’s closure of Radio Khushal as a clear interference in the affairs of a free media and has urged Taliban officials to immediately allow the station to resume its operations.
The agency has emphasized that free media must be able to operate based on professional journalism principles, and citizens, especially women who have been deprivedof the right to education, should not be deprived of even minimal opportunities for distance learning.
