World News
Afghan women-run radio resumes broadcasts after shutdown
ISLAMABAD -- A women-run radio station in northeastern Afghanistan has resumed its broadcasts, after officials shut it down for a week for playing music during the holy month of Ramadan, a Taliban official and the head of the station said Friday.
Sadai Banowan, which means “women’s voice” in Dari, was launched 10 years ago in Badakhshan province and is Afghanistan’s only women-run radio station. Six of its eight staff members are women.
Moezuddin Ahmadi, the director for Information and Culture in Badakhshan, said the station was allowed to resume activities on Thursday after it had obeyed the “laws and regulations of the Islamic Emirate” and agreed to stop broadcasting any kind of music.
Station head Najia Sorosh said after the station “gave a commitment to officials at the information and culture department, they unlocked the door of the station,” and they started broadcasting again.
The Afghan Journalist Safety Committee, an Afghan watchdog organization that promotes the safety of journalists and press freedom and which was involved in mediation for the station's reopening, welcomed the resumption of broadcasts.
“Following AJSC’s advocacy efforts, Sadia Banowan radio resumed its broadcasts,” it said in a tweet.
Representatives from the Ministry of Information and Culture and the Vice and Virtue Directorate had shut down the station a week earlier.
Many journalists lost their jobs after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Media outlets closed over a lack of funds or because staff left the country, according to the Afghan Independent Journalists Association.
The Taliban have barred women from most forms of employment and Education beyond the sixth grade, including university. There is no official ban on music. During their previous rule in the late 1990s, the Taliban barred most television, radio and newspapers in the country.
-
World News1h ago
Netanyahu Vows to Invade Rafah ‘With or Without a Deal’ as Hamas Ceasefire Talks Continue
-
World News1h ago
Exclusive: Donald Trump Calls for Evan Gershkovich’s Release
-
World News7h ago
Pro-Palestinian Boycotts Pose Existential Threat to Fast-Food Outlets in Some Countries
-
World News7h ago
Israeli Leaders Concerned About Possible ICC Arrest Warrants Over War in Gaza
-
World News13h ago
Scotland’s Leader Humza Yousaf Resigns
-
World News13h ago
At Least 40 People Die in Western Kenya After Dam Bursts Following Weeks of Flooding
-
World News1d ago
Hong Kong Transgender Activist Henry Tse Receives New ID Card After Yearslong Battle
-
World News1d ago
U.S. Intelligence Finds ‘No Smoking Gun’ That Putin Ordered the Death of Navalny