Afghan television personalities say the Taliban's new rules controlling women on screen will exclude half of the population from popular culture.
The Taliban’s reinstated Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice issued eight guidelines on Sunday, including a rule that media platforms should not broadcast “shows that depict women and women's body parts”.
The guidelines also forbid showing films and TV programmes that depict “foreign culture and values" and dictate that comedy shows should not insult human dignity and Islamic values.
Afghan artists said the new rules diminish women in the media, an already shrinking space for them since the Taliban seized control of the country in August.
“By removing women – half of the Afghan population – from TV shows, the Taliban want to erase our identities, as if women don’t exist in Afghanistan,” a 26-year-old Afghan actress identified as Mina told The National.
In the years before the Taliban's takeover, Mina overcame social and patriarchal hurdles to establish herself in Afghanistan's small but thriving entertainment industry.
“I had the opportunity to work on shows that portrayed strong female characters, alongside equally strong women in the production teams. They are all under threat now, some escaped, but many like me are in hiding,” she said.
Mina, who became a household figure for her roles on widely-acclaimed TV shows, has received many threats from Taliban fighters and sympathisers, who accuse her of insulting Islamic values.
“The history of culture and religion is made up of strong women, but the Taliban won’t acknowledge that. I don’t understand why they hate us so much,” she added.
The new rules require women journalists to wear the hijab on screen.
More than 153 media organisations were forced to close in the first month since the takeover, according to the International Federation of Journalists.
The number of women in Afghan media has declined from more than 1,300 in newsrooms across the country at the beginning of the year to almost none today.
Soraya Hashimy, 22, is among the hundreds of Afghan women journalists who are out of a job. She said that even before the new rules, women were forced from the profession.
“Even those women who worked in secret will not be able to do anything,” she told The National.
Ms Hashimy, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, spent the last four years specialising in video editing and shooting news reports, but she was laid off in the weeks after the takeover.
The new rules will discourage media companies from employing women.
“I don’t know what they mean by the hijab, since wearing a hijab has not prevented them from harassing me. I was recently out with my seven-month-old baby, buying medicines, dressed in full hijab, but was stopped by the Taliban fighter who questioned why my husband wasn’t with me. They detained me, and only left me when my husband arrived to collect me,” Hashimy said.
You are telling young Afghan boys that it is OK to dismiss women from society. That is not OK.”
Mina,
Afghan TV actor
Media observers said the once vibrant media landscape in Afghanistan is under threat.
“The new Taliban rules regarding the participation of women in the news media reinforces the erasure of women from the public space,” said Elisa Lees Muñoz, executive director at the International Women’s Media Foundation, an international media NGO that has supported women journalists at risk and in crisis since the Taliban takeover.
Reducing women’s voices in the media will affect society at large, Ms Muñoz said.
“When we are not hearing about the needs and interests of half the population, communities cannot flourish. There is ample research about the consequences of lack of coverage in segments of communities,” she said, urging the international community to support and extend solidarity for Afghan women in the media.
Mina worries for Afghanistan's future.
"You are telling young Afghan boys that it is OK to dismiss women from society,” she said, adding, “That is not OK.”
Brief scores:
Toss: Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi, chose to field
Environment Agency: 193-3 (20 ov)
Ikhlaq 76 not out, Khaliya 58, Ahsan 55
Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi: 194-2 (18.3 ov)
Afridi 95 not out, Sajid 55, Rizwan 36 not out
Result: Pakhtunkhwa won by 8 wickets
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Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
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Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)
Irish Open Missed the cut (72)
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Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
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Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
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5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
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Featherweight
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Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
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Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
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Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
