Afghan Human Rights News was an online human rights media platform in Persian that we launched in 2009, and we continued our mission to speak up, protect the human rights of all Afghan citizens regardless of their religion, political views, social status, gender, or ethnicity.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has warned that Afghan journalists, media makers face extreme dangers amid the Taliban takeover, and dozens of Afghan artists, journalists, and media makers, are currently trapped in Afghanistan and fear for their lives. This is not the first time the Taliban has taken a stand against the arts and freedom of expression in Afghanistan. When the Taliban was last in power, from 1996 to 2001, the regime defaced public paintings and destroyed cultural heritage sites around the country. In 1996, members machine-gunned an iconic fountain in the city of Herat, in western Afghanistan; while in 2001, they blew up two colossal statues of the Buddha that had looked over the Bamiyan Valley for 1500 years. Most forms of music were banned, and television was declared un-Islamic.
Under the recent difficult situation, our team has made the difficult decision to go hide somewhere safe, perhaps Afghanistan isn't safe for any of the Afghan Human rights activists and so is our team too. Few of our journalists crossed the borders to Pakistan, some of them are still there in Afghanistan.
About a dozen journalists and media workers have been killed since the intra-Afghan peace negotiations started in September 2020, more than 100 local media companies and radio stations around the country have stopped operating, having either been closed down, taken over by the Taliban, or forced out of business and hundreds of Afghan media workers are under threat.
Afghan Human Rights news’ mission is to protect the human rights of all Afghan citizens regardless of their religion, political views, social status, gender, or ethnicity. We respect and defend freedom of speech, association, and press. We oppose any capital punishments and executions including stoning. We strive to protect and document all facts on human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, labor rights, gay rights, and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities.
We at the Afghan Human Rights home sincerely request respective donors to stand with our team, help with your giving, Christmas charity and take action for saving our team across Afghanistan and Pakistan.
With your help, we collect, process, and distribute news on human rights violations throughout the country using a pool of reporters. News stories are published to inform the general public as well as various groups in Afghanistan and international activists abroad.
“When the media puts a spotlight on human rights, people start talking about the issues and demanding change. A strong, independent media is a referee between governments and citizens. When human rights are protected, governments are more accountable and people’s lives improve.” Journalists for Human Rights.
Your support goes to:
Shelters and safehouses
Food, clothes, blankets, and other utilities for journalists and their families
Ongoing support to ensure our team in Pakistan independently may continue publishing and documenting human rights abuses.
Read more here: https://afghanhumanrights.org/
