Extreme restrictions on media workers mean life in Afghanistan – including human rights abuses – will go undocumented, journalists say

Extreme restrictions on media workers mean life in Afghanistan – including human rights abuses – will go undocumented, journalists say

The Taliban’s ban on images and videos of “living things” will make it harder to cover Afghanistan, journalists in the country said.

The Afghan ministry for vice and virtue has directed media platforms in Maidan Wardak, Kandahar and Takhar provinces to not show images of “living things with a soul”, taken as meaning people and animals.

A ministry spokesperson, Saif ul Islam Khyber, confirmed to the Associated Press that Taliban-run media stopped showing images of living things in some provinces on Tuesday to comply with the new law.

The ban, part of a set of “morality laws” published by the ministry in August, does not extend to visuals of the Taliban’s more prominent leaders.

In effect, this means journalists can no longer take pictures or videos of people and animals. Photojournalists in particular fear that the restrictions will harm their livelihoods.

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    16·
    7 hours ago

    This kind of shit is 100% about control, right? Or are there like high level Taliban that actually believe there is something immoral about taking a photograph of an animal?

    • 52fighters@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      9·
      6 hours ago

      I think they believe that images of living things become idols. If I recall, Amish have similar concerns, but they don’t try to enforce it outside of their community. Fortunately, there was no such thing as audio recording when their religion was invented, so hopefully at least that’ll be tolerated. Radio broadcasts are better than no broadcasts.

      • TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org
        3·
        6 hours ago

        Fortunately, there was no such thing as audio recording when their religion was invented

        I think I remember a video where they found audio vibrations scratched into a piece of pottery or something, because some straw or a twig was resting on it while it spun and was being molded and it picked up the ambient noise. It wasn’t an intentional recording though, and the audio they were able to extract is right on the edge of being something somewhat recognizable from pure noise.

    • Phineaz@feddit.orgEnglish
      2·
      6 hours ago

      I think there used to be a teaching that depiction of humans was - for some reason - forbidden. But my source is the novel “Der Medicus” , so take that with a teaspoon of salt.

  • ZapBeebz_@lemmy.worldEnglish
    19·
    9 hours ago

    So by implication, the more prominent leaders of the Taliban don’t have souls? I suppose that tracks?

    • Ogmios@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      13·
      9 hours ago

      So by implication, the more prominent leaders of the Taliban don’t have souls?

      Unironically, public figures within the social systems we have developed really do have to act more as a figure than a person.

  • Mr_BlottEnglish
    4·
    7 hours ago

    Fantastic news for nature documentary makers who are married to taxidermists