Taliban authorities in Afghanistan began removing images of women from billboards and shop window in Kabul. On Monday, Kabul city councils announced the abolition of advertisements that violate Islamic law. According to the notice, business owners must adhere to “ethical values” when printing posters and other advertisements.
The posters, which were posted on the Taliban’s Twitter page early on Monday, were seen on posters and billboards, including in the galleries of beauty salons, where pictures of the women have been painted or scraped.
Nematullah Barakzai, the city’s spokesman, told the German news agency (dpa) that they are compelled to do so following a decision by the Taliban government.
The Taliban have significantly curtailed women’s rights since coming to power in August. In many cases, for example, women were unable to return to their previous jobs or studies. Extremists violently opposed the street.
But not only women but also journalists suffer under Taliban rule. Reporters Without Borders and the Independent Afghan Journalists Organization (Agia) said on Monday that 43 percent of press outlets in the South Asian country have been forced to close since August, while 60 percent of Afghan journalists are out of work. In this regard, the situation of female media workers is particularly worrying, as 84 percent of them have lost their jobs. In 15 out of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, women no longer work in journalism at all.
Reporters Without Borders reported that out of the 543 press outlets registered in mid-August, 312 remained as of the end of November.
“Four months ago, there were at least ten privately owned press outlets in most Afghan provinces,” the organization said, adding that some areas are now left without a local press. In Kabul, where most newspapers and television channels operated before the Taliban seized power, 51 percent of media companies, or 72 out of 148, closed.
(MTI)
