This photo of the Kabul-based Radio Begum dates back to November 28th, 2021, and shows teachers and students attending a class on-air..
The Taliban suspended the operation of Afghanistan’s only nationwide women’s radio station after raiding its premises on Tuesday, deepening the exclusion of women from public life and society since the group took power in 2021.
Kabul-based Radio Begum – a station run by women with content aimed at women’s education – said officers from the Taliban’s information and culture ministry restrained the station’s staff as it searched its premises in the nation’s capital.
Officers “seized computers, hard drives, files and phones from Begum staff, including Begum female journalists, and took into custody two male employees of the organization who do not hold any senior management position,” the station said in a statement on Tuesday.
The ministry later confirmed the station’s suspension, citing several alleged violations of “broadcasting policy and improper use of the station’s license,” including “the unauthorized provision of content and programming to a foreign-based television channel.”
It did not identify the foreign TV channel in question, but said it will determine the station’s future “in due course.”
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an independent rights group, condemned the suspension and demanded its immediate reversal.
Before Tuesday’s ban, Radio Begum broadcast six hours of lessons a day, along with health, psychology and spiritual programs to women across most of Afghanistan. The station said it provides education to Afghan girls and support to Afghan women, without being “involved in any political activity whatsoever.”
Its sister channels also offer lessons online filmed in studios thousands of miles away in Paris. The televised classes cover a wider array of subjects, providing education in a country where girls are banned from school after sixth grade.
At the Astana International Forum, senior officials from Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan held talks to strengthen bilateral cooperation, with a focus on trade, economic collaboration, and regional stability.
Afghanistan is ramping up its regional diplomatic efforts, aiming to bolster both economic and security ties across Asia.
The World Food Programme has issued a stark warning over Afghanistan’s deepening hunger crisis, urgently appealing for $555 million to continue life-saving food assistance for millions at risk.
Afghanistan is stepping up calls for international climate support as NEPA chief Mawlawi Matiulhaq Khalis leads talks on rising food insecurity and water shortages, warning of severe environmental threats including Kabul’s looming groundwater crisis.
China has restated its steadfast support for Pakistan during high-level talks in Beijing, even as it calls for peaceful resolution of conflicts and enhanced regional cooperation in South Asia, where tensions have been on the rise.
Leaders of Central Asian countries and Italy convened in Astana for the first Central Asia–Italy summit, culminating in the adoption of a Joint Declaration aimed at deepening political, economic, and cultural cooperation.
At the Astana International Forum, senior officials from Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan held talks to strengthen bilateral cooperation, with a focus on trade, economic collaboration, and regional stability.
In a landmark moment for artists’ rights, Taylor Swift has officially bought back the master recordings of her first six albums, ending a long-running dispute over who controls her music.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed Friday that COVID-19 vaccines are still recommended for healthy children aged 6 months and older—if their doctors agree.
A 61-year-old man in Alaska rescued after being trapped facedown under a massive 700-pound boulder in a freezing glacier-fed creek for three hours.
AnewZ takes to the streets of Yerevan and Baku to ask a simple yet deeply complex question: How do you see peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan? In the first part of our special report, we hear the hopes, doubts, and scars still shaping people’s perspectives on both sides.
On May 28, the inauguration ceremony of Lachin International Airport was held.
A car drove into crowds of Liverpool fans celebrating the club’s Premier League title in the city centre on Monday evening, injuring dozens including 4 children. A 53-year-old man believed to be the driver was arrested at the scene.
EU ministers have greenlit a massive €150 billion defense investment fund—dubbed the Security Action for Europe (SAFE)—as the bloc ramps up its military readiness in response to Russia’s aggression and growing uncertainty over U.S. security guarantees.
Brazil’s economy is expected to have regained momentum in the first quarter of 2025, driven by a surge in household spending and private investment, according to a Reuters poll of economists conducted from May 21–26.
In a landmark moment for artists’ rights, Taylor Swift has officially bought back the master recordings of her first six albums, ending a long-running dispute over who controls her music.
A 61-year-old man in Alaska rescued after being trapped facedown under a massive 700-pound boulder in a freezing glacier-fed creek for three hours.
Two foreign nationals were indicted Friday in California and Wisconsin for allegedly trying to smuggle sensitive U.S. military technology to China and target an American dissident critical of Beijing.
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered an accident investigation into SpaceX’s latest Starship test flight, which ended with the spacecraft spinning out of control and breaking apart over the Indian Ocean.
Czech Justice Minister Pavel Blažek resigned Friday after opposition parties called for his removal over a controversy involving bitcoins donated to the Ministry of Justice.
Leaders of Central Asian countries and Italy convened in Astana for the first Central Asia–Italy summit, culminating in the adoption of a Joint Declaration aimed at deepening political, economic, and cultural cooperation.
At the Astana International Forum, senior officials from Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan held talks to strengthen bilateral cooperation, with a focus on trade, economic collaboration, and regional stability.
In a landmark moment for artists’ rights, Taylor Swift has officially bought back the master recordings of her first six albums, ending a long-running dispute over who controls her music.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed Friday that COVID-19 vaccines are still recommended for healthy children aged 6 months and older—if their doctors agree.
A 61-year-old man in Alaska rescued after being trapped facedown under a massive 700-pound boulder in a freezing glacier-fed creek for three hours.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment