As expected form their ruling style, the Taliban government recently demanded at least two television stations in a northern Afghan province to cease transmitting images of living creatures. This in effect was a directive from Afghanistan’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a sign of growing media fascism in Afghanistan. The ban on portrayals of living creatures, people and animals is a stricter adherence to sharia law as the Taliban has practiced throughout the years, conservative and autocratic. This policy decision has profound implications for Afghan journalism, freedom of speech and the identity and belonging to international community of Afghanistan.
This ban and exploitation by the Taliban show a negative mentality and raise Afghanistan to the level of ideological extremism. In the meantime, as the entire world gets into a process of social modernization and the technological revolution as well as increasing globalization, Afghanistan is being led towards marginalization. Sharing of visual media has become a core competency when it comes to trading of information in today’s world. This is not the Taliban simply censoring material that is the organization is eradicating Afghanistan’s media and rendering it incapable of engaging honestly and efficiently with the remainder of the global community. This policy thus ensures that the Afghan population is locked in a kind of info vacuum, a situation that denies the society the right to be connected with the rest of the world which is very important for any society’s growth and development.
Indeed, graphic techniques, especially pictures and movies, are among the most effective means for conveying messages. Media substrates give journalists the opportunity to narrate the life as it is with those all hues and shades that are shared by the local people as well as the globe. Such things as photographs of damaged places or videos of people’s protests or interviews of the affected will elicit much more emotion than just writing about the affected places or events. In doing so, the Taliban are not only undermining the profession of journalism, but instigating its principle asset, the ability to portray true to life situations. Consequently, they are negating the impact of what the images generate in terms of compassion, sympathy and audience sensitivity within Afghanistan and in the outside world.
Pictures of war, suffering, and survival and have soared high for many years have been instrumental in mobilizing the international community towards the Afghanistan humanitarian crises. Copies image coverage from the Afghan reporters has influenced the outside world’s perception of the war and the Afghan people. Use of visuals cannot be overemphasized in advocating for change, combating for human rights, and raising funds to support such refugees or victims of violence as those from Afghanistan. The very act of the Taliban banning these images negates these attempts and might potentially sap the interest of the international community. Lacking the strong imperative images that can stir emotion in human souls, the rest of the world can always shut its eyes to the woes of Afghanistan, thus leaving the country isolated once again.
This action by the Taliban is not an arbitrary one of this year but it has been a constant process of suppressing democracy within Afghanistan by eradicating any freedom of speech and imposing a highly authoritative agenda regarding freedom of speech. The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has endeavored to regulate nearly all facets of Afghan life, playing the role of morality police was seeking to dictate whether women should wear burkas, and what Afghans can watch on television. The Taliban fear the free exchange of ideas which is the foundation for any society to develop intellectually and creatively: This is why they strive so hard to control the media. Through the current media censorship, they are suppressing not only the opposition, but also creativity, analysis and social development.
Media is an important part of the society because its growth and development is crucial in any society. It allows discussion, demonstrates competition, and gives people a chance to express themselves and their opinions. The media plays a grand role of educating people through its showing mirror to society by informing the bad and the good that the society has and it informs the society on the deeds of leaders. The Taliban restrictions on images and manipulation of the message strangles these democratic values causing Afghanistan to move in a wrong direction of no intellectual freedom and restricted cultural exchange.
Even more important, they foster environment where extreme forms of governance may emerge. Through recreating an environment that discriminates against freedom of speech and free-thinking, the Taliban are creating a future of more fanatical extremism. New interviews are even taken by those in power where people are deprived of the right to an open discussion, much less, the right to pass dissenting judgments. In this case, the Taliban’s restrictions do not only undermine the stability of Afghan society but can also negatively contribute to the development of tension on the states of the region and even become a threat for the world security. An Afghanistan unable to interact with the rest of the world and in which extremists dictate the rules and suppress opposition can again turn into a source of terrorism and chaos.
In addition, the policies of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice signify a complete lack of respect for the Afghan people’s wants and dreams. When people of Afghanistan are suffering from poverty, unemployment and worst humanitarian crisis the Taliban are worried more about enforcing what they call as Islamic Emirate. While governments invest in infrastructure, employment opportunities, education and health care departments, the Taliban invest themselves in managing the stories and ensuring their dominance in the country.
Unfortunately, the Afghan people continue to suffer under tyrant rule and they deserve much more – much better lives than the one they are currently constitutionally living. They need a government who will hear and understand them, one that will safeguard their interests, and enable them interact with others. They deserve a media environment which the media can freely speak the truth, the society of Afghanistan may be represented in whichever way this media wants and air the stories of the Afghan people without any forceful suppression from those in authority. The rights of the people of Afghanistan are once again being violated this time on the aspect of media freedom, Taliban often strikes an ideological blow that stifles the identity of ordinary Afghan citizens.
As such, restrictions concerning illustration of living beings in media by the Taliban is as dangerous a regression as one could ever imagine the future of Afghanistan. This damages the very essence of journalism, curtails freedom of speech and puts the Afghanistan nation out of reach from the global community. This policy clearly stems from an authoritarian mentality of the Taliban, one that is regressive rather than progressive and has immense consequences for Afghanistan as well as the region and the world at large.