Government Morality Department: Taliban exhorts state broadcasting to avoid displaying images of animate entities
In the northern Afghan region of Takhar, authorities from the Taliban have guided state-run media outlets to abstain from displaying images of living entities, as shared by a representative from the Taliban's Morality and Modesty Committee to the German Press Agency. This instruction is in accordance with the Taliban's Morality Regulations, released in August this year, and presumably pertains to the representation of both human and animal life.
According to reports from the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC), independent media in the region have also received orders to avoid broadcasting footage featuring living beings. Some television stations have reportedly ceased their operations due to these directives. The AFJC regards this development as concerning for press freedom in Afghanistan.
The Taliban's Morality Regulations, introduced in August, have elicited international criticism. Besides curbing media liberties, these regulations also target women's rights, implying that women are forbidden from performing or reciting publicly, and they must conceal their faces and bodily forms in public. Men's facial hair and trouser length are also subject to regulation under these laws.
Since their resurgence in power in August 2021, the Taliban have implemented over 20 media guidelines that have significantly impacted Afghanistan's media freedom, as reported by the AFJC. Analysts suspect that the ruling regime is endeavoring to shape a media environment that solely echoes their viewpoints and serves their objectives. Local advocates for press freedom assert that Afghanistan has now joined the ranks of countries with some of the strictest censorship systems worldwide.
Television broadcasters in Afghanistan have been urged to adhere to the Taliban's Morality Regulations, which prohibit the display of living entities in media content. Consequently, several television stations have had to suspend their operations due to these restrictions.
