Journalism Under Siege as Taliban Crack Down on Afghan Media

Journalism is in steep decline under the Afghan Taliban regime, where reporting the truth has increasingly become a criminalized act.

The regime continues to stifle freedom of expression through rising violence, arbitrary arrests, and strict censorship. These horrific attacks on the press, particularly targeting women journalists, have left the media industry in a state of crisis.

According to a report by The Afghanistan International, the Afghan Media Support Organization recently highlighted the arrest of female journalist Nazira Rashidi in Kunduz.

Reports indicate that she was detained on Tuesday, January 6, and subsequently transferred to an unknown location. Her family issued a statement expressing grave concern, noting that she has been in custody for several days without any information being provided regarding her wellbeing or whereabouts.

The Afghan Media Protection Organization has condemned the detention, stating it lacks any legal justification, and has called for her immediate and unconditional release while demanding that the regime clarify the reasons for her arrest.

The situation for women in the industry is particularly dire. Reports from the Afghan Media Protection Organization suggest that 93% of women in the field are living under a constant grip of fear and severe professional restrictions.

Statistics show that 55% of female journalists face direct personal threats and harassment from the regime, forcing more than 32% of them to work in secret through online and print media.

The international advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has also issued a troubling report on this deteriorating environment.

According to RSF, Afghanistan’s press freedom ranking plummeted to 175th out of 180 countries in 2025. This decline follows a year in which 12 media houses were forced to close and 80% of female journalists lost their jobs.

As the Taliban regime continues its systematic oppression of the press, many observers fear that freedom of expression and independent journalism in Afghanistan may vanish entirely due to a lack of decisive intervention from the international community.