Radio Begum – Afghanistan’s only women-run radio station will resume broadcasts after the Taliban lifted their suspension over alleged cooperation with an overseas TV channel.

Radio Begum was launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, five months before the Taliban seized power.

The station’s content is produced entirely by Afghan women and aims to educate girls and support Afghan women.
Its sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and broadcasts programs that cover the Afghan school curriculum from seventh to 12th grade.

The station was raided by the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) and the Ministry of Information and Culture on February 4, leading to its closure and the arrest of two employees.

In a statement, the Taliban Information and Culture Ministry said Radio Begum had “repeatedly requested” to restart operations and that the suspension was lifted after the station made commitments to authorities.

The station pledged 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,” it added.

The ministry did not elaborate what those principles and regulations were. Radio Begum confirmed the ministry had granted permission to resume broadcasting. It did not give further details.

The Information Ministry did not initially identify the TV channel it alleged Radio Begum had been working with. But the Saturday statement mentioned collaboration with “foreign sanctioned media outlets.”

The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization (AJSO) announced that while the station has resumed broadcasts, its detained employees are still in custody.

According to the AJSO, this continued detention highlights the ongoing suppression of media and the severe restrictions placed on journalists in Afghanistan.

In the 2024 press freedom index from Reporters without Borders, Afghanistan ranks 178 out of 180 countries. The year before that it ranked 152.