Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
03-03-02022
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report
KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: A number of Afghan women reporters on Sunday said the restrictions by the Islamic Emirate against them have increased recently and this situation has made them worry about the future.
The reporters said that even in some press conferences held by Islamic Emirate officials they were not allowed to attend or cover the news.
“We went to cover two events; one event was organized by the Kabul governor and the other was by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum. We were not allowed to attend the events,” said Amina Hakimi, a TOLOnews reporter.
“Freedom of press in Afghanistan is facing serious restrictions and the continuation of this situation will create big obstacles in the way of reporters, especially female reporters,” said Suhaila Yousufi, a reporter.
The female reporters called on the Islamic Emirate to let them do their jobs and to cover events. “They should allow us to cover the news and make reports from newsworthy events,” said Nazifa Ahmadi, a reporter.
Meanwhile, a number of organizations supporting media and reporters in Afghanistan said restrictions against female reporters are worrisome. “Since the new government has been in power, the number of female media workers has decreased and this is worrying for us,” said Jamil Waqar, an official from the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee.
“We urge the decision-makers of this government to not have double standards against journalists. Female reporters have the same rights as male reporters to attend meetings (press conferences),” said Masroor Lutfi, a media officer at Afghanistan National Journalists’ Union.
The Islamic Emirate officials, however, said they do not intend to impose restrictions on reporters and the media. “So far, we have not received any specific complaints that female reporters are facing a problem,” said Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.
On December 2021, a survey conducted by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA) showed that 40 percent of media outlets were closed since the fall of the former government on August 15, 2021.
Earlier, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Friday published its annual report saying that 45 journalists and media workers were killed in 2021 in 20 countries, which shows a drop from 65 killings in 2020.
The IFJ says that since 1991, 2721 journalists have been killed around the world.
“The figure represents one of the lowest death tolls since the IFJ began publishing annual reports on journalists killed in work-related incidents, including targeted killings, crossfire fatalities as well as bomb attacks,” IFJ said.
According to IFJ figures, the Asia Pacific region has the highest number with 20 killings, followed by Americas 10, Africa 8, Europe 6 and the Middle East and Arab World just one case.
“While this decrease is welcome news, it is small comfort in the face of continued violence which claimed lives of journalists in countries like Afghanistan (9), Mexico (8), India (4) and Pakistan (3),” IFJ said.
Among these 20 countries, Afghanistan has the highest number of journalists being killed and thus was named “the most dangerous country for journalists in 2021.”
“These 45 colleagues we lost to violence this year remind us of the terrible sacrifice journalists across the world continue to pay for serving the public interest and we remain in the debt to them and thousands of others who paid the ultimate price,” said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger. “The IFJ believes that the only tribute fit for the cause to which they gave their lives should be unrelenting pursuit for justice to them. That’s why we continue to advocate for the adoption of a new United Nations Convention for the protection of journalists which would ensure accountability for journalists’ killings.”
