–Lori Swanson to stop ‘A Woman’s Place Is In The Home’ tour in wake of recent murders of female journalists
Female journalists have been banned from appearing in television shows since 2010 under a Taliban media edict, forcing many young women into internships to maintain their income.
Recently published reports about gender and ethnic discrimination in Afghanistan’s culture are more prevalent than ever with the arrival of more foreign journalists in the country and the killing of several female journalists.
New media experts with the Afghan Independent Television Network (AITN) told the BBC they have faced intimidation from the Taliban since October 2010, while some of the journalists then forced into internships have recently been threatened and turned away from promotions.
The new rules prohibit female actors from appearing in general-interest television programs because “their presence will distract others from the production.” In 2014, the Taliban also banned female photographers from working.
Meanwhile, in France, Genoa-based journalist Lori Swanson has cancelled her women’s movement tour, in light of the murder of two female journalists killed in Kabul by their private security guards last week.
The murders have shocked the world and she canceled her plan to give talks and workshops with community-based groups, The News Tribune reported.
Swanson told ABC News Friday the countries she was planning to visit “don’t want to have any association” with her.
“There are so many inspiring women in Afghanistan who don’t have access to women’s rights,” she said. “The rise of the Taliban showed women are still at the back end of the policy lines. They don’t matter.”