Taliban have banned the broadcast of images of living beings — including humans and animals — in 16 provinces, while seven others allow them only selectively, according to findings of a field survey by Amu TV.
The field survey, based on reporting by journalists and local sources across all 34 provinces, found that only 11 provinces, including Kabul, Balkh and Herat, still permit television stations to broadcast such images. In 15 other provinces, respondents did not provide a clear answer about whether local TV stations were broadcasting images of living beings. In provinces where the ban is in place, news programs often replace video clips of people with footage of government buildings, landscapes or generic visuals while playing the audio of officials or interviewees in the background.
The survey shows that Taliban authorities are not unified on the issue. Differences exist both locally and at the leadership level, particularly between the Taliban Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and the their Ministry of Information and Culture.
The ban was codified in August 2024 when Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada signed their “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” law, or the morality law, declaring images of living beings “unlawful.” Since then, enforcement has accelerated, with provincial authorities pushing broadcasters to comply.
Provincial breakdown
According to Amu’s findings, in 16 provinces — Nuristan, Sar-e-Pul, Bamyan, Laghman, Zabul, Uruzgan, Helmand, Jawzjan, Faryab, Badghis, Farah, Daikundi, Kapisa, Panjshir, Kandahar and Maidan Wardak — broadcasting images of living beings is completely banned.
In seven provinces — Nimroz, Kunar, Logar, Nangarhar, Kunduz, Badakhshan and Samangan — images are broadcast inconsistently, depending on whether the content benefits the Taliban.
In 11 provinces — Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Ghazni, Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Ghor, Baghlan, Takhar and Parwan — images of people are still shown.
The ban has also led to significant disruptions in local media. The survey found that local TV stations in 14 provinces — including Panjshir, Kapisa, Farah, Badghis, Helmand, Uruzgan, Zabul, Laghman, Sar-e-Pul, Nuristan, Parwan, Ghor, Faryab and Ghazni — have gone off the air. In Kunduz and Badakhshan, some outlets have shifted their operations to social media and YouTube instead of local broadcasts.
Selective application
Local sources told Amu that enforcement is often “selective.” In some provinces, footage of Taliban leaders or events is permitted despite the ban.
A clear example is that when a Taliban spokesman delivers a statement, broadcasters may air a picture of the ministry building with his audio, instead of showing his face on screen. Yet when images serve Taliban propaganda interests, they are sometimes allowed.
Media analysts say the ban is part of a broader attempt to control information. “The Taliban want to stop information about the suffering of Afghans from reaching abroad,” said Abdul Majib Khalwatgar, executive director of the Afghan media watchdog Nai. “By banning images, whatever oppression they commit will never be documented.”
International rights groups and Afghan media organizations have described the measure as a clear assault on press freedom and called for its immediate reversal.
Religious scholars themselves remain divided. Cleric Mawlawi Waliullah Labib argued that modern photographs and videos are merely “copies, not actual images,” and therefore do not fall under prohibitions cited in Islamic texts.
Even within Taliban leadership, contradictions are evident. Some of their senior officials appear on camera during official visits or in state media broadcasts, while others release only audio messages and refuse to allow their images to be shown.
Since reclaiming power in August 2021, the Taliban have tightened restrictions on the media, banning music, entertainment programs, women’s voices, and now images of living beings. International watchdogs have recorded hundreds of cases of censorship, intimidation, detention and abuse of journalists in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
Analysts say the ban has deepened Afghanistan’s media crisis, silencing dozens of outlets and leaving many communities without access to independent news.
