Afghanistan: Journalist And Women’s Rights Activist Zarifa Yaqoubi Arrested By The Taliban

Location:  Afghanistan, Kabul  
Date: November 3, 2022

The Taliban arrested journalist and human rights activist Zarifa Yaqoubi, along with other women reporters, from a press conference in west Kabul. The Coalition For Women In Journalism vehemently condemns the arrests of women journalists by the Taliban. 

Zarifa Yaqoubi was attending a press conference held in Dasht-e-Barchi, a Hazara neighborhood in west Kabul, announcing the formation of the Afghan Women’s Movement for Equality on Thursday, November 3. According to sources, the Taliban disrupted the event, arbitrarily arrested women journalists and activists and took them to an undisclosed location.

The Taliban forces had initially surrounded the premises before invading the press conference, forcibly arresting the women journalists and confiscating their mobile devices.

Yaqoubi, is a prominent member of the Movement of Change for Afghanistan’s executive council, the country’s first political party to be led by a woman, Fawzia Koofi, the former member of the Lower House of the bicameral Afghan parliament.

The Taliban’s detention of the women journalists and human rights activists has enraged Afghan civil society and the media. They have demanded the Taliban’s urgent release of the detainees and an end to their oppression. 

Fawzia Koofi, along with one of the members of the Afghan Peace Negotiation Delegation, in response to the Taliban’s arrest of the women journalists and activists stated that the “Taliban must be held accountable for the arbitrary arrest of women human rights activists in Afghanistan.”

“This must end; women have the right to exercise their civic and social participation. More pressure will result in more resistance. Don’t push people to make hard choices,” said Koofi.

An official statement from the Movement of Change for Afghanistan party also demanded Yaqoubi’s immediate release. “We expect Ms. Yaqoubi and her colleagues to be released as soon as possible. We demand an end to arbitrary arrests of protesting women by the Taliban." 

The South Asia Campaigner for Amnesty International, Samira Hamidi, also reacted to the Taliban’s arrests by tweeting, “Another act of HR violation & abuse. Lack of accountability has enabled the Taliban to continue with these violations confidently.”  Hamidi alleged that the international community needs to hold the Taliban accountable for their human rights violations as the group continues to act with impunity.

Recognizing journalists as the “bedrock” of an independent press, a statement from the US Department of State on The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, November 2, called for justice for courageous journalists across the world.

The statement demanded urgent action by the international community against violent assaults, legal claims of intimidation, transnational repression, and regulatory pressures on journalists that suppress media and information dissemination.

Under the Taliban takeover 219 media outlets, including print, visual, and auditory outlets, have been shut down. This comes since the Taliban’s seizure of power in mid-August last year, with what the analysts call a “brain drain” in Afghanistan, many experienced journalists and adept media professionals were forced to flee the country, in fear of persecution.

The Taliban’s arbitrary arrests and repressive rules coerced on Afghan women journalists have unquestionably contributed to the drastically decreasing number of women’s presence in the media. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is outraged by the oppression forced on women journalists in Afghanistan by the Taliban. We demand the immediate liberation of all women journalists and activists currently imprisoned in the country.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

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