Afghan Girls Banned From Contacting Media In Eastern Province

The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has reported that Taliban police authorities in the eastern Khost Province have banned girls from contacting local radio and television channels and warned local media outlets not to accept phone calls from girls.

Regional security head Abdul Rashid Omari cited the potential for spreading immorality as the reason for giving the order in a letter he sent to the Taliban’s provincial Information and Culture department.

In the letter, published by the media watchdog AFJC’s website on February 25, Omari alleged that some private media outlets were spreading corruption by way of “illegitimate contacts” with girls through their social and educational programs.

The letter alleged that such contacts led to “inappropriate behavior” that was in violation of the hard-line Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.

It said that local media, some of which allegedly lacked the required permission to broadcast educational content, had been warned they could be summoned and prosecuted for violating the order.