As the Taliban tightens restrictions on media and visual documentation, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Sunday underscored the importance of safeguarding Afghanistan’s audiovisual heritage.
The statement comes as October 27 marks the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, an occasion dedicated to preserving historical footage, film, and sound archives worldwide.
UNAMA’s call highlights a need to protect tools and practices that preserve visual history in Afghanistan, emphasizing the importance of these records in maintaining cultural identity for future generations. “As archival officials work to protect these unique cultural collections, they preserve not only the content but also the devices that make this documentation possible,” UNAMA stated on social media. “Let’s honor their commitment and support tools and practices that help protect this heritage for future generations.”
The appeal coincides with the Taliban’s new directives prohibiting the filming and broadcasting of living beings, a policy instituted by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. These rules, which also impose strict controls on visual media in several provinces, have posed significant challenges for Afghanistan’s national archives, Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), and Afghan Films—state entities that have long preserved the nation’s visual and audio heritage.
“I recall the National Television, Bakhtar News Agency, Afghan Films, and the National Archive of Afghanistan, where dedicated individuals worked tirelessly to preserve our visual and audio heritage,” said Faqir Maiwand, a former adviser to the Ministry of Information and Culture.
According to media professionals, the Taliban’s stance on audiovisual content, along with broader censorship measures, has jeopardized much of the country’s media infrastructure. “National Television is on the verge of collapse. I hope the Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue recognizes the importance of keeping National Television alive,” said a journalist who requested anonymity for safety reasons.
Afghanistan’s audiovisual archives, which span nearly a century of the country’s history, offer a record of the nation’s complex past, from cultural milestones to periods of conflict. Radio Television Afghanistan and the Afghan Film Archive hold extensive collections documenting nearly 90 years of Afghanistan’s historical events.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Afghan media has faced escalating restrictions. In addition to banning women’s presence in RTA broadcasts, the Taliban has imposed dress codes for female journalists, restricted music broadcasts, and prohibited images of living beings. In May 2022, the group mandated that female presenters wear masks, banned women from dramas and entertainment programs, and segregated women’s and men’s roles in media.
Despite not completely halting film screenings and cinema activities, the Taliban’s restrictions and censorship efforts have pressured Afghan media to conform to the group’s policies, raising concerns about the long-term survival of the country’s audiovisual heritage.
Reporters at RTA, Afghanistan’s primary national broadcaster, say that the channel, which once held over 25,000 hours of audio and 15,000 hours of visual content, faces the threat of collapse. Media advocates worry about the future of Afghanistan’s cultural and historical archives under Taliban rule, fearing that this legacy of documentation may soon be lost.
