Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – Journalists in Afghanistan are raising alarms over a new Taliban directive banning images and videos of “living things,” which they say will effectively cut off documentation of life in the country, including human rights violations.
The Afghan Ministry for Vice and Virtue has enforced this prohibition in several provinces, forbidding the display of photos or videos of people and animals. The ban, part of the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law, threatens to suffocate media coverage and devastate the livelihoods of photojournalists.
“This puts an end to our work,” said one photojournalist, speaking anonymously to avoid reprisal. “If I don’t take pictures, I don’t get paid.”
While Taliban leaders remain exempt from the ban, the restriction severely limits journalists’ ability to cover key events, further isolating Afghanistan from the international community. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Massoud Hossaini warns the move may signal one of the last opportunities for the world to witness the atrocities occurring under Taliban rule.
The international community is being urged to intervene before Afghanistan’s media goes dark.
