Some leaders have argued that taking photos and videos of living bodies is against the religious code.
This statement was originally published on afjc.media on 21 February 2023.
The Taliban must immediately lift the ban on journalists from taking pictures and producing video stories in the southern Helmand province, the Afghanistan Journalists Center said on Tuesday.
A representative of the provincial governor of Helmand informed a group of journalists in a meeting about the order of the local administration, said a journalist in Helmand who spoke to AFJC on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal.
“Journalists are banned from taking pictures and videos during their interviews with officials or from the Helmand residents,” according to the journalist. “Also, in a rare development, the daily reportages of the province were shared with the local journalists without pictures and video.”
Meanwhile, another source in the province, who didn’t want to be named, told AFJC that the government departments in the province were warned for letting journalists take photos or video interviews. “There are some people among the leadership that would enforce their strict interpretation of Islam and who view photography and the filming of living bodies [as being] against Shariah (the Islamic legal code),” the source stated.
AFJC said: “The Taliban ban on journalists from taking pictures, and producing video stories in Helmand province is a serious violation of media freedom. AFJC calls on the authorities to immediately lift the ban and allow the journalists to work freely and without fear.”
