Afghanistan: CFWIJ Concerned About Safety of Beheshta Arghand

Location: Afghanistan, Kabul
Date: September 7, 2021

Female anchor Beheshta Arghand left Afghanistan due to the deteriorating political conditions in the country. Arghand came into public view after interviewing Maulvi Abdulhaq Hemad, a high ranking Taliban representative earlier in August for TOLO News. The interview got international attention since this was the first time a Taliban representative had given an interview to an Afghan woman journalist.

Arghand left the country soon after the interview. However, she has gone on record to say that she would like to return to it as soon as the situations become safer. "I left the country because, like millions of people, I fear the Taliban," Arghand was quoted by CNN. Arghand was assisted by Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousufzai in leaving the country behind. She had previously interviewed Yousufzai and got in contact with her to see if help could be arranged. On August 24, Arghand boarded a plane with her sisters, brothers and mother alongside hundreds of others who are fleeing the country due to the political crisis.

In an interview to Reuters, Arghand recalls her experience of interviewing Hemad. "Women - Taliban they don't accept. When a group of people don't accept you as a human, they have some picture in their mind of you, it's very difficult," she said. However, the interview went well and the international community hoped that this was a sign of some progressive evolution among the Taliban since they were in power last, two decades ago. The hope, according to Arghand, did not last very long. Soon enough after the interview the Taliban demanded that women be taken off-air on news channels. They also attempted to censor any criticism of the Kabul takeover. 

Amid the crisis, many Afghan journalists, including cameramen and photographers, are leaving the country. In a letter written to the UN, the international community, rights groups and media-supporting organizations, they called for protection against the threats they are facing. 

"Considering the increasing challenges and threats facing media workers, as well as their families and property, we urge the United Nations and donor countries to take action to save our lives and our families," said the letter.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is trying its utmost to aid and assist journalists currently present in Afghanistan and caught in the midst of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country. The CFWIJ is in the process of vetting applications by those seeking to leave the country, prioritizing and processing the cases with the most urgent needs. We urge the international community to play its part in supporting the Afghan journalist community at this time. 

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

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