The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has reported that the Taliban has imposed new media restrictions in Kandahar. According to a directive issued by the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture, broadcasting women’s voices on the radio is now “absolutely forbidden.”
The directive also orders all radio stations to refer to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada as the “Esteemed Amir al-Mu’minin, may Allah protect him.” Additionally, media outlets must refer to the Taliban government as the “Islamic Emirate.”
The restrictions extend beyond content regulations. Advertisements for medicine, cosmetic products, and healthcare services are now banned unless officially approved by the Directorate of Public Health. Radio employees traveling within Kandahar for reporting or programming purposes must also obtain prior authorisation from the Directorate of Information and Culture.
The AFJC condemned the new measures, calling them an escalation in the Taliban’s suppression of independent media. “Until now, no media outlet in Kandahar or any other province had been officially and publicly required to refer to the Taliban leader with such formal titles,” the organisation stated.
Previously, media outlets in Kandahar could still air some content featuring women, especially programmes produced in Kabul. However, with this new directive, Kandahar has become the second province, after Helmand, where the Taliban has officially banned women’s voices in the media.
Kandahar lacks local television networks. The national television station that once operated there was shut down and converted into a radio station due to Taliban-imposed restrictions on broadcasting living being images.
The AFJC denounced the latest measures, describing them as further proof of the Taliban’s increasing crackdown on press freedom in Afghanistan.
