Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume operations after Taliban lifts suspension

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An Afghan radio station produced entirely by Afghan women will resume broadcasts after the Taliban lifted a suspension that was imposed over alleged cooperation with a foreign country’s TV channel.

Radio Begum launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, just five months before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the region.

The station’s sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and broadcasts content on Afghanistan’s school curriculum from grades seven through 12.

The Taliban banned education for women and girls in the country after sixth grade.

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This picture taken on November 28, 2021, shows students attending a class on-air at Radio Begum in Kabul. (Getty Images)

On Saturday, the Taliban’s Information and Culture Ministry said in a statement that Radio Begum had repeatedly requested permission to resume broadcasts.

The suspension was lifted after the station made commitments to Taliban officials, the ministry said.

Radio Begum agreed to conduct broadcasts “in accordance with the principles of journalism and the regulations of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and to avoid any violations in the future,” the statement said. The ministry did not offer details on what those principles and regulations may be.

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This picture taken on November 28, 2021, shows station director Saba Chaman, right, and her colleague working in a studio at Radio Begum in Kabul. (Getty Images)

The station confirmed it had been given permission to resume broadcasting, without providing additional details.

Taliban officials imposed the suspension after they raided the Kabul-based station on Feb. 4 and seized computers, hard drives and phones, and took into custody two male employees who do not hold any senior management positions, the outlet said in a statement at the time.

The Taliban have prohibited women from education, many fields of work and public spaces since they seized control of the country in the summer of 2021. Journalists, especially women, have lost their jobs as the Taliban control the media in the region.

This picture taken on November 28, 2021, shows students attending a class on-air at Radio Begum in Kabul. (Getty Images)

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Reporters without Borders ranked Afghanistan 178 out of 180 countries in the 2024 press freedom index, a dip from the year before when it ranked 152.

The ministry did not identify the TV channel it accused Radio Begum of working with, but its statement cited alleged collaboration with “foreign-sanctioned media outlets.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.