110 Cultural Post: Journalism and the Afghan Society

Afghanistan has over a hundred-year long history in journalism, but the route of journalism is still unstable and unclear. This cultural post provides a brief overview of the history behind journalism in the past and how it has weaved itself into the Afghan culture today.

It was in 1873 when the arrival of the first printing press (Lithography printing) publications started, a response against the idea of British Colonialism in Afghanistan. However, it was forced to shut down soon after as it wrote in opposition to the monarch and the conservative religious leaders. Decades later, King Mohammad Zaher Shah declared that while "every Afghan has the right to express his thoughts in speech, in writing, in pictures, and by other means" it has to be" by the provisions of the law." What this accordance with the law meant was that without prior screening by state authorities, nothing could be published. At the same time, the King made sure to forbade any "matter implying defamation of the principles of Islam or was defamatory to the King."

King Mohammad Zaher Shah

In 1973, after Mohammad Daud led a coup d'etat that ended the country's monarchical system, the media and journalism fell into the control of Soviet influence during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet regime used the Afghan media for their purpose. However, just like other colonists powers, the Soviets too did not last too long as other groups such as the Mujahideen and the Taliban became in power. Until the Taliban regime, other groups did allow some form of media to operate; however, the press became very limited under the Taliban Regime as they saw it against the culture. They even banned having television or radio because of being "morally corrupt". During this era, the Taliban destroyed television sets and radios. They also punished those who were caught listening to music.

Russian Invasion of Afghanistan

Upon the fall of the Taliban regime, in early 2002, a relatively free diverse media emerged. The new government held a national jirga (gathering) and declared a committee to develop law for media and start operating television stations. This was the start of a new wave of journalism in Afghanistan that would weave itself into the Afghan society more potent than ever before. Journalism became popular across the country and its social position rose considerably.

The Taliban Regime

This populism did not stop the fundamentalist from attacking journalists. To this day, journalists live amidst challenges such as working within the culture, getting their work censored by those in power and having to abide within the religious framework. The other major obstacle in the way of journalists is a lack of security. According to Reporters Without Borders, Afghanistan is ranked second-worst place for journalisms to be. The reality is that at least about 10 reporters are killed every year. National security cannot assure the safety and protection of those dedicated in this line of work. Additionally, working in the red zones such as Kandahar, Helmand and the northern provinces makes it impossible for journalists to be protected as they become the number one target of terrorist organizations.

Journalism Today

Despite these difficulties, journalism has made its way into the Afghan culture, encouraging people to become journalists, including the women. In the past ten years, it has become easier for women to find jobs with media outlets. Most of the current television stations have female reporters and anchors. Given the rise in popularity to serve as journalists, the number of journalism students is also rising. Today, there is an estimate of 500+ students currently in the faculty of Journalism at Kabul University. What was considered as a stain on the Afghan culture, now journalism has become an essential part of the Afghan society; acquiring a better reputation in the Afghan community.