Afghan woman news anchor ordered by Taliban to stop working seeks help, says 'lives in peril'

An Afghan woman journalist has claimed that the Taliban have prohibited her from working at her TV station after the latter gained control of Kabul. In the video released online, Shabnam Dawran, a well-known news presenter wearing a headscarf and presenting her office card, said "Our lives are in peril."

To emphasise the point, one Taliban official sat down for a one-on-one conversation with a female journalist on television.
However, Dawran, who has worked as a journalist for the state-owned broadcaster RTA in Afghanistan for six years, reported last week that she was banned from entering her office while male colleagues were let in.

She stated in the video that she did not give up after the system update and went to her workplace. Despite displaying my workplace card, she was denied entry. Dawran went on to say that while male employees with office cards were permitted to enter the workplace, she was barred owing to a change in the system.

Dawran pleaded with the audience, saying that if the world is hearing her, then assist them because their lives are in danger.

Also Read |  Taliban celebrates Afghanistan Independence Day amid rising conflict

Miraqa Popal, an editor at Tolo News, a 24-hour channel in Afghanistan, was among those to share the footage. Taking to the micro-blogging site, he said: "Taliban didn't allow my ex-colleague here in @TOLOnews and famous anchor of the State-owned @rtapashto Shabnam Dawran to start her work today."

In the months building up to their country's takeover, the militants have also targeted female journalists in a spate of killings.

Also Read |  Ex-Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani vows to return, says 'Don't trust people who say I betrayed you'

However, after capturing power in a lightning attack, the Taliban has stated that women would be granted privileges such as education and employment and that the media will be autonomous and free. From 1996 until 2001, women were barred from public life, girls were barred from attending school, entertainment was prohibited, and harsh punishments were enforced.

• Afghanistan
• Shabnam Dawran
• Taliban