The Afghan group has said that female voices on television are “provoking men,” according to Hasht-e Subh newspaper
Taliban officials in Afghanistan have barred women from working as presenters or hosts on television, local media has reported.
The order was issued by the Taliban’s Directorate for Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Hasht-e Subh newspaper claimed on Wednesday, citing sources in the northwestern Herat Province. It is not clear if the ban only applies to Herat or to the whole country.
The group’s officials explained the move by saying that female voices on TV are “provoking men,” the sources said. The directorate warned media outlets to strictly follow its new decree, they added.
There have so far been no official comments on the report from the Taliban government.
Previously, Afghan females were allowed to work as presenters on television, but they had to cover their body and face, and could not appear on screen together with men.
On Friday, Hasht-e Subh reported that the Taliban authorities forbade women from hosting radio shows in Badghis Province, which borders Herat.
Since deposing the US-backed Afghan government in 2021, the Taliban imposed dozens of restrictions on women, who are now told to cover all parts of their bodies and are prohibited from working with men, studying at universities and schools after the sixth grade, traveling alone, talking loudly in public places, including with other females.
Last August, the group introduced the Law for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which banned depicting living beings in visual and printed media in most provinces. It allows the Taliban to prevent the publication of any content that includes such imagery.
