Essay Sample on Press Freedom in Afghanistan

Introduction

Press freedom has been an ongoing debate over the years indicating that it is an issue that has a rich history. The recent political development in Afghanistan continues threat and murder of the journalists, and some of the very-well-known reporters are worth the world attention. Reports from the Freedom House covering data on media freedom from over 199 countries and territories indicate that much needs to be done in securing press freedom (House, 2019). Multiple factors have ganged up to stand on the way of press freedom despite the crucial role media plays in any country and across the world. Reporting and news coverage has always been a legal environment battlefield with journalists receiving all manner of legal threats and intimidation. Besides, the political pressures across countries have been the engine behind reporting in addition to the economic factors which affect the access to information.

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Picture 1: Friends and relatives of the journalists killed in suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 2018.

The attack on press freedom has been consistent, planned, and if anything well-orchestrated moves that will indicate all manner of pure media subjection to silence amidst political turmoil in Afghanistan. Shortly after the suicide bombing in Kabul that claimed close to tens of journalists, the story of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi hit the international media headlines. These are the only few cases that can be mentioned to indicate the threat of press freedom in Afghanistan. However, it was well in black and white that the April 2018 suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan could have been the fatal blow to media freedom (Sengupta, 2018). Loosing nine lives of journalists in a single day and scores getting away seriously injured is worth uncalled for in today's error. It never took long before another journalist was shot dead in Khost Province. It was unfortunate that the media fraternity could go to the graveyard to bury ten of its dedicated members in a single day in what could be seen as a threat to press freedom.

The number of journalists and reporters being killed, injured, tortured, and threatened in Afghanistan has been going up year after year. When news of the death of Jamal Khashoggi broke out, towards the close of last year, 2018 and crossed into the better part of January 2019, Afghanistan was ranked among the top countries that have experienced many deaths of journalists over the past two years (Sengupta, 2018). As at now, the number of pressmen who have been killed in cold blood in Afghanistan stands at more than 35 lives. This number is significant enough to create awareness in the local and international community that there is more need to call for media freedom in the country. As the issue stands unsolved even as the number of journalists being killed continues to increase, it is believed that more lives of journalists will suffer the same fate if the press is not given the freedom it deserves.

Afghanistan has been in political turmoil close to two decades since the fall of the Taliban regime that occurred in 2001. Therefore, all the attack on the media is connected well to the political situation in the country something that both the local and international pressmen have been struggling to cover and show the world (Sengupta, 2018). The happenings around these deaths indicate nothing but politically engineered threats and intimidation. The suicide bombing in Kabul that claimed nine lives of journalists happened when these journalists were covering an earlier explosion that has claimed over fifteen lives. Some of these journalists killed in the line of covering the situation in Afghanistan. These men have dedicated in the recording of the war happening in the country which the West has been giving very little attention following the withdraw of the international forces. Some murders have been committed on the executive orders such as the assassination of Shah Massoud who was against the Taliban regime. Massoud was a believer of press freedom. The journalists have been mostly the primary target by the Islamic fighting groups that have been carrying out a series of deadly attacks on innocent people across the country in a move to control it.

Conclusion

Afghanistan is not the only country where the press has been the target, but a series of deadly attacks and threats have been carried on many journalists even at the international platform. In the last two years, more than eighty press people were killed. In Turkey, more than 250 were imprisoned most of them by the government Sengupta, 2018). In Afghanistan, press freedom is being fought because of the crucial role the international and (local media has been playing in covering the silent killings against the groups by the Islamic groups. The idea to kill journalists is to ensure that the evil happenings in the darkness are not covered and the world is not aware that children and innocent mothers are dying in the country because of the leadership competition. It is time that the world and citizens of the kind wish to stand up and defend press freedom in Afghanistan and around the globe. The killings, threats, and intimidation against the press have to stop if we need to have a fair and democratic world.

References

House, F. (2019). Freedom in the World 2019. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Retrieved from: https://freedomhouse.org/reportsSengupta, Kim (2018).

Single deadliest day for Afghan journalists since Taliban highlights need for press freedom. The Independent. Retrieved from: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/campaigns/voicesindanger/kabul-bombing-attacks-journalists-killed-press-freedom-taliban-afghanistan-a8331191.html