The local media outlet, the country’s first voice of women, has stopped broadcasting after unidentified gunmen threatened to kill Lina Mohammadi, an employee of Radio Barin in Parwan.
Lina Mohammadi, the host of Radio Barin in Parwan, told 8 Subh that she was beaten and threatened with death by two gunmen last Wednesday as she was on duty. “Last Wednesday, as I was walking towards the office, two gunmen stopped me in a square near the White Mosque in the town of Charikar and beat me,” Ms. Mohammadi told 8 Subh.
The radio host says that she did not want the issue to be covered in the media initially because of problems in the community and she feared that her family would impose restrictions on her; But later, with the motivation and cooperation of her colleagues, she made this issue public. She wants the issue to be investigated by the security services so that these threats and problems do not reach other female journalists.
Lina Mohammadi stated: “I am still mentally disturbed. “I even decided to say ‘no’ to journalism and the media, once, but my colleagues, friends and co-workers motivated me to keep on working.”
Radio Barin aired 16 hours a day. Areas covered by the radio were the northern provinces of Kabul – Parwan, Kapisa and Panjshir. Nawid Qaderi, the managing director of Radio Barin, told 8Sobh that after that incident, the female colleagues of this media have decided not to continue working with the media. According to the head of this radio, it has now been decided to stop the radio broadcasts; Because the employees of this media do not feel safe and secure.
He emphasizes that before the outbreak of the Corona virus, the number of female colleagues on the radio reached 18, but now their number has reached six, who also do not want to continue working.
On the other hand, Roshna Khalid, the social deputy of Parwan province and the owner of this radio, told 8 Subh that the decision to stop broadcasting is the work of the director and colleagues of this media and she cannot say anything about it.
Meanwhile, Parwan police chief Abdul Rauf Uruzgani told 8 Subh that he had been involved in military operations and was not aware of the matter. “But if this lady or the mentioned media has any complaints or petitions, we will pursue them seriously,” Mr Uruzgani added.
He also said that a group of intelligence and reconnaissance forces is coordinating with the media and journalists to seriously investigate such threats.
Meanwhile, Mujib Khilwatgar, executive director of Ney, or the Free Media Support Office of Afghanistan, criticized Parwan’s security forces in an interview with 8 Subh, saying that the local administration, especially the Parwan security agencies, should investigate the matter and inform the media.
According to him, the Ministry of Interior and the Parwan local administration should seriously consider such cases, given the current political situation in the country, so as not to cause more media outlets in the country to stop broadcasting. He added that whenever the security forces claim to be unaware of such cases, it adds to the confusion of the people and the media and creates problems.
Meanwhile, a number of civil society activists and residents of Parwan are worried that the media will stop broadcasting, saying that if the government does not pay attention to the situation with the media and journalists, behind-the-scenes groups will try their best to stop the media. They believe that the media, freedom of expression and human rights are important achievements of the people in recent decades.
Hasiba Effat, a former member of the Parwan Provincial Council and a women’s rights activist, told 8 Subh that the lack of security and the Taliban’s activities in most districts has exacerbated the situation. According to Ms. Effat, stopping the broadcasting of a women’s radio station, which was the voice of a silent generation in the society, will result in fear and panic among other women working with the media and women who have civic activities in the Parwan. She added that women activists in Parwan are currently worried about the current situation after the fall of four districts in the province, and this concern will reduce their activities.
Earlier, NAI announced that about 20 local media outlets in Taliban-controlled areas had stopped broadcasting.
