Off Air: The Taliban’s Systematic Silencing of Women’s Voices in Afghan Radio
As one of Afghanistan’s last female-run radio stations is shut down, a former broadcaster offers an insider’s perspective on the Taliban’s crackdown on women in the media.
In the summer of 2021, as the Taliban made their rapid advance through Afghanistan’s cities, Alia*, a 22-year-old journalist, found herself at the forefront of crucial reporting, despite the growing danger surrounding her.
In the weeks leading up to the Taliban’s takeover in August, Alia’s voice had become a familiar presence across northern Afghanistan. She covered major events, including the withdrawal of foreign troops, the siege of government buildings, and the detention of former officials in her province. Above all, she reported on the escalating restrictions on women—restrictions she felt acutely herself.
Alia’s reporting reflected her personal experience of living under the looming shadow of the Taliban, a regime that had brutally suppressed women’s rights during its previous rule between 1996 and 2001. “I grew up with the history of the Taliban’s domination of women,” she says. “Much of my work focused on documenting how their radical ideology set back women’s progress in Afghanistan.”
Having joined the radio station straight out of university in 2019, Alia worked tirelessly for two years before the Taliban took over. Despite the constant threat of retaliation, she was passionate about her work and her commitment to giving voice to the experiences of women. “We showed the world that the Taliban had not changed, and it terrified them,” she says.
However, the Taliban’s arrival marked the beginning of a brutal crackdown on media freedom. According to the UN, between August 2021 and September 2024, there were 336 recorded incidents of journalists being arrested, tortured, or intimidated. Broadcast journalists, who could easily be identified by their voices and faces, were particularly vulnerable.
In the early days following the Taliban takeover, the situation for journalists became untenable. As violence spread and attacks on media workers escalated, many were forced into hiding or exile. To protect Alia, her employer temporarily removed her from the air, but she continued her work behind the scenes, focusing on women’s issues. Her stories often clashed with the Taliban’s narrative. In 2022, as the pressure mounted, her employer faced threats from local Taliban officials for hiring female journalists. Eventually, Alia was dismissed for her safety.
“I was forced out because of my gender,” she recalls. “I had wanted to amplify the voices of women. Never did I imagine that one day my own voice would be silenced.”
Over the last two years, the Taliban has progressively pushed women out of the public sphere and media. One of the last remaining female-run media outlets, Radio Begum, has now been shut down. Earlier this month, Taliban forces raided the Kabul-based station, arresting its staff and taking it off air.
While the Taliban accused Radio Begum of breaching broadcasting regulations, its staff maintain that they were simply offering educational services to girls and women in Afghanistan. In the face of the nationwide ban on women attending higher education, stations like Radio Begum have filled a crucial gap, offering young women opportunities to continue their education through radio programming.
The Afghan media landscape has drastically shrunk under the Taliban's rule. Before the takeover, Afghanistan had roughly 543 media outlets employing over 10,000 workers. By November 2021, 43% of these outlets were forced to close, and the number of active media workers plummeted to just over 4,300. Women have borne the brunt of this transformation. As of March 2024, only about 600 female journalists remained, down from 2,833 before the Taliban seized power.
“There’s no way to describe the hopelessness and despair I feel. You have to be an Afghan woman to truly understand what it’s like to give up everything you worked for,” says Alia. “We showed the world that the Taliban has not changed, and it terrifies them.”
While female voices are largely absent from most of Afghanistan’s media, some remain in isolated northern provinces, where differing views within the Taliban offer some degree of tolerance. Radio remains a particularly powerful medium in Afghanistan, where poverty and limited access to technology leave many families reliant on radio for news and information.
Alia believes radio plays a critical role in exposing the Taliban’s crimes against women and other vulnerable groups, and in raising awareness. “The media is the only way to shine a light on the Taliban’s abuses and to help Afghans stay informed, especially with programs like those on Radio Begum,” she says.
*Name has been changed for protection purposes.
Leave A Comment