KABUL, Afghanistan — The European Union mission in Afghanistan emphasized the importance of visual media for education and development on World Television Day, as the Taliban’s new restrictions on broadcasting and filming living beings continue to force TV channels across the country to shutter operations.
The EU described “responsible and independent” audio-visual media as “crucial” for a nation’s progress, reiterating its support for independent journalism in Afghanistan.
“Television, as the largest audio-visual medium, plays a vital role in fostering education and development. The EU supports independent journalism for a well-informed public in Afghanistan,” the mission said in a statement.
Taliban’s ban on visual media
The statement comes as the Taliban expand enforcement of a law banning the broadcast and filming of living beings. The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has implemented the ban in at least five provinces, barring officials from giving visual interviews or sharing photographs with the media.
In early November, the ministry announced plans to gradually enforce the morality law, which extends beyond media to other aspects of life.
“It’s never possible for any law to be fully implemented in a single day or year,” Saif Rahman Khyber, a ministry spokesperson, said. “We proceed step by step in enforcing the law, whether it pertains to the media or any other actions outlined as immoral.”
Growing restrictions on journalism
On November 13, the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) reported that Nangarhar Province became the fifth region where the Taliban barred public officials from being photographed, participating in video interviews, or sharing images with media outlets.
The restrictions are the latest in a series of measures that critics say are strangling press freedom in Afghanistan.
Independent journalists and media watchdogs warn that the Taliban’s escalating restrictions will further stifle already constrained reporting in the country, depriving Afghans of access to critical information.
The EU’s reaffirmation of its support for independent journalism underscores growing international concern over the Taliban’s tightening grip on Afghan society, including its clampdown on freedom of expression and the media.
