The deteriorating situation of freedom of expression in Afghanistan
One journalist’s take on press freedom in the post-Taliban era.
This is part of an ongoing series looking at press freedom around the world, leading up to World Press Freedom Day on May 3. Find out more about the series below the story.
Editor’s note: This piece was originally written in Farsi and translated into English.
By Mukhtar Wafayee
After the fall of the Taliban regime, the international community, alongside numerous civil-rights activists, helped resume democracy in Afghanistan. In the past 13 years, freedom of expression has gradually taken its place in the country and has had a very positive effect on people’s lives.
If we look at the media in the country, many radio stations, TV channels, newspapers and magazines have started up, both in the capital, Kabul, as well as in remote provinces. The government’s move to support Article 34 of the Afghan Constitution, which says that “Freedom of expression is inviolable,” has also been helpful in this regard.
By revealing and criticizing various violations of power by leaders, Afghan media have helped introduce the idea of freedom of expression as a value to the Afghan people. It has encouraged the spirit of inquiry and the idea of speaking up to average citizens.
But besides all these positives, I still believe Afghan leaders and those who hold power haven’t accepted freedom of speech and expression wholeheartedly. Those who are in power tend to grudgingly accept values of democracy and freedom of expression due to various internal and external pressures and interests.
During the Afghan presidential election in 2014, I revealed some disturbing facts about a local lawmaker. But the story cost me a lot.
It was decided that I should be physically removed from the scene, and I was beaten up by his supporters. The candidate was involved in election violations, and since he was a powerful man, security officials didn’t take any steps and closed the case.
What has been a concern for Afghan media lately is that we have to self-censor our reports. We can’t write about every fact we notice, because it could be too dangerous to do so. Currently, self-censorship is clearly visible in the writings of every journalist in Afghanistan. This is mainly because of the lack of security for journalists and the increase in local powers dependent upon the government.
There are serious challenges that I think negatively affect our work in getting the right information to the people, which can deteriorate the future of our country’s media:
- The government’s hostile view toward the media. Afghanistan’s new coalition government is putting limits to how much information we can get from the government. For example, two months ago, security officials ordered all officers to not talk to media about the security situation, ISIS or the number of victims.
- The strengthening and reshaping of various Jihadi groups in Afghan provinces is also a growing challenge and a threat to the media.
- The decrease in the financial support to independent Afghan media from the international community.
- No follow-up from the police or authorities in cases of intimidation, attacks, insults and threats to Afghan journalists.
In Afghanistan, we have three types of journalists: those connected to political parties, those who have foreign support, and those who are freelancers. If the above-mentioned threats against freedom of expression in Afghanistan can’t be resolved, we will lose those freelance journalists who work independently.
Mukhtar Wafayee is an Afghan journalist and editor of Howeda weekly magazine.
This post is part of a week-long AJ+ series looking at firsthand accounts of press freedom worldwide — and we want to hear from you.
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