Afghanistan, truth is an act of courage that is paid for with freedom

Afghanistan consistently ranks among the worst countries in the world for press freedom. In 2025, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Afghanistan 175th out of 180 countries.
The picture painted of Afghanistan by Amnesty International on World Press Freedom Day is bleak: the Taliban fiercely repress freedom of expression with all kinds of intimidation, arrests, torture, and media closures. The voice of Afghan journalists is increasingly compromised daily by government restrictions, violence, censorship, and economic difficulties, leading to a decimated media landscape and a climate of fear for those who seek to inform the public.
The United Nations, through its rapporteurs and the UNAMA mission, joins the alarm and reports a worrying increase in violations of press freedom and arbitrary detentions, urging the immediate release of journalists and calling on the international community to support those who, despite adversity, continue to fight for the truth in a country on the margins of global press freedom.
The freedom of journalists in Afghanistan has drastically decreased since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
A significant number of media outlets have closed due to Taliban-imposed restrictions and the economic crisis. It is estimated that about 43% of media outlets disappeared in the first three months of their rule, an impressive number. Of the approximately 700 active broadcasters before the Taliban’s return, only about 400 are operational today, and in the last year alone, at least 12 media outlets have been forced to close due to new bans.
Although there have been no killings of journalists in the past year, violations of press freedom have increased by 24% compared to the previous year.
Journalists, particularly women, face daily threats of arrest, harassment, and physical violence from Taliban forces and the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI). Numerous cases of arrests and arbitrary detentions of journalists and media workers for courageously doing their job have been documented. The Taliban have raided the offices of broadcasters and newspapers in search of those who dared to contravene their bans.
Speaking freely in Afghanistan is almost impossible, as is conducting investigations, given that practically no one is willing to risk their life to be interviewed, and self-censorship to avoid retaliation is widespread.
Strict censorship has been imposed on content, with a ban on publishing anything that contradicts the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic values or Afghan national interests. One of the latest bans is on broadcasting images of living beings on local television stations, a further limit on freedom of expression.
Criticism of the Taliban is prohibited, and topics such as women’s rights, religion, and minority issues are off-limits.
In some provinces, journalists must submit articles to local Taliban authorities for approval before publication.
Journalists working for foreign or exiled media are particularly at risk, especially those who had been forced to take refuge in Pakistan and now risk being deported back to Afghanistan, into the hands of their tormentors.
Furthermore, the country’s economic collapse has also devastated the media sector, which no longer has any financial support.
With the decrease in international aid, media outlets struggle to survive, and journalism has become an increasingly precarious profession, with very low salaries, when guaranteed at all, so much so that many journalists are forced to take on other jobs to survive.
For women, it is doubly risky; they receive no recognition from the regime, which would prefer to silence them permanently, and they are often not supported by the social and family context, making their voice doubly precious. Despite the risks they run and the increasingly stringent bans, they continue to denounce to the world the situation their country is experiencing.
I, too, am currently protecting the anonymity of my sources, of those who generously opened up to me to recount what has been happening in Afghanistan in recent years—information professionals forced to hide because they are hunted by the Taliban, or to pretend to do another job while continuing their investigations. Courageous female and male journalists who defy an unacceptable world of barbarity, one that silences communication and the dissemination of knowledge.
My thoughts and the support of “Focus on Africa” go to them.