By Fatema Adeeb in ToloNews, Mar 18, 2023 at 8:40 PM
Afghanistan National Journalists Union (ANJU) in a report on Saturday said that after the establishment of the Islamic Emirate, 53% of journalists lost their employment and 50% of the media outlets were closed over many reasons, particularly financial issues.
The report is published on the occasion of National Journalist’s Day in Afghanistan.
“Most media employees have left Afghanistan. The media community is facing several problems. It faces economic difficulties, and restrictions have been placed on the media’s activities in Afghanistan. Besides this, the suspension or closure of the protective laws of the media community is a big challenge,” said Masroor Lutfi, a member of (ANJU).
Several journalists expressed concerns about the lack of information access and economic difficulties on National Journalists’ Day.
Journalists asked the Islamic Emirate to address their challenges, especially in the area of access to information.
“Twenty-seven of Hoot, the Journalist’s Day, is celebrated when the lack of information access continues to be considered a difficulty and this community is still dealing with major economic issues,” said Raqib Fayaz, a journalist.
“We ask government officials and related officials to pay serious attention to the problems of journalists and ensure their safety,” said Mustafa Shahriar, a journalist.
But the Ministry of Information and Culture said that it is committed to upholding journalists’ rights and that efforts are made to increase facilities available to them.
“We continue our cooperation with the media and journalists, and our effort in the future is to create facilities for all journalists,” said the deputy minister of information and culture for publications, Hayatullah Muhajir Farahi.
Previously, the Ministry of Information and Culture said that the law on the right to access information, with a few adjustments, had been sent to the Islamic Emirate’s leadership and would be implemented following their approval, but there has been no update on this. https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/attack-mediajournalists-182559
