Since the return to power of Taliban, 117 Afghan radio stations have closed due to economic hardships, displacing 1,900 people including 1075 women from their jobs, according to a report released by Afghan Independent Journalist Union (AIJU) on World Radio Day on February 13.

345 radio channels operated in Afghanistan, employing nearly 5,000 people including over 1,200 women before the Taliban seized power in Kabul in August 2021.

The media watchdog said only 223 radio channels, employing 1,881 workers, remained 19 months after the Taliban takeover.

Abdulhaq Hemad, director of Publications of the Ministry of Information and Culture, told TOLO news: “There are now more than 200 operating radio stations in Afghanistan. After the Islamic Emirate came to power, 44 radio stations ceased operations.”

The economic crisis in the country due to international sanctions and the blockade of funds has multiplied the media challenges in the largely aid-dependent country.

Increasing censorship and alleged abuses of journalists by the regime has led to the deterioration of press freedom.

In November last year, the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said more than 200 journalists have suffered abuses like arbitrary arrests and threats in Afghanistan since the Taliban came to power.