Women's presence in journalism declines by 64% in Afghanistan

Afghanistan National Journalists' Union (ANJU) has announced that women’s presence in journalism has declined by 64% compared to in the past two years, since the Taliban took control of the country.

News Center- Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, women have been excluded from many fields, including public spaces by bans. One of the fields affected by these bans is the media.

In Afghanistan, where freedom of expression and freedom of press are restricted, everything about freedom is restricted. Before the Taliban, there were 17 women-owned media outlets, but today this number is just seven. Afghanistan National Journalists' Union (ANJU) has announced that women’s presence in journalism has declined by 64% compared to in the past two years.

Women journalists face economic challenges

According to Ahmad Shah Fana, chair of the union, there are no women journalists working in 22 provinces right now, and the activities of women journalists working in 12 other provinces are restricted. Ahmad Shah Fana said that women journalists face economic challenges. Many of them work for free to practice their profession.

According to the statistics of journalists’ organizations, 53 percent of journalists in Afghanistan have lost their jobs or had to quit journalism for various reasons in the past two years.