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AfghanistanRadio Free Europe banned by the Taliban
Radio Free Europe notably broadcast educational programs aimed at girls, deprived of schooling since the return of the Taliban to power.
Since their return to power, the Taliban have closed secondary schools for girls. (illustrative image)
AFP
The Taliban announced on Thursday that it had banned the broadcasting of the Afghan service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a decision denounced by this radio station financed by the American Congress.
Azadi, which means “freedom”, broadcasts in Dari and Pashtun and was partly devoted to educational programs for Afghan girls, banned from school since the Taliban took power last year.
A Taliban Information Ministry official, Abdul Haq Hammad, tweeted that Azadi, formerly Radio Free Afghanistan, was taken off the air for “non-compliance with journalistic principles and (for) its one-sided coverage”.
“Life buoy”
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which is funded by the US Congress but is editorially independent, upheld the ban, stressing that it was looking for other ways to provide its service to Afghans.
“Azadi is a lifeline for tens of millions of Afghans, which makes the Taliban’s decision all the more tragic,” radio station chairman Jamie Fly said in a statement. Azadi had already closed his office in Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 following the hasty withdrawal of US forces from the country.
The Taliban imposed an ultra-rigorous interpretation of Islam and gradually introduced increasingly strict rules, for example closing secondary schools for girls.
(AFP)