A fish depicted on a restaurant menu in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, is obscured by color and labeled simply as 'fish.' This image serves as a representation of the evolving landscape in Afghanistan under the Taliban's rule.
Journalists revealed to AFP on Tuesday that at least two television channels in a northern Afghan province have ceased displaying images of living beings during their broadcasts, adhering to directives from the morality police. The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (PVPV) announced on Monday that it has begun the phased enforcement of a law prohibiting news media from using photographs and videos of entities with souls—a category encompassing both people and animals. This legislation is part of the Taliban government's recent formalization of their stringent interpretation of Islamic law, which has been in effect since they regained control in 2021.
An AFP journalist in Takhar province reported that the private channel Mah-e-Naw aired only its logo accompanied by audio on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, the state-run RTA channel continued to broadcast national programming, which still includes images of people and animals, rather than the customary evening provincial news. PVPV officials, who declined to provide their names, informed AFP on Tuesday that all news media in Takhar are now prohibited from capturing and broadcasting images of living beings. Journalists in Takhar, who requested anonymity due to fear of retribution, stated that provincial broadcasters have curtailed their content following a meeting convened by the PVPV on Sunday.
According to one reporter, the PVPV mandated that all Takhar regional television media can only conduct radio reports post-meeting and are forbidden from using visuals that include living beings, under threat of legal repercussions. The reporter added, "After this, journalists working for national TV and other regional media will all be compelled to comply, and who will listen to their concerns?" PVPV officials have held meetings in at least two other provinces in recent days to inform journalists that the law will be gradually implemented nationwide. Ministry spokesman Saiful Islam Khyber stated on Monday that this gradual enforcement aims to persuade the public that images of living beings are contrary to Islamic law. He confirmed that the enforcement is currently underway in several provinces, including Takhar.
Among the law's extensive provisions detailing behavioral and lifestyle regulations—many of which have not yet been strictly enforced—it also mandates that media outlets must not ridicule Islam or contradict Islamic law. During the previous Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001, television and images of living beings were banned across the country. However, this similar decree has not yet been widely enforced since the Taliban's return to power.
