A female presenter for Tolo News, Khatereh Ahmadi, while covering her face, works in a newsroom at Tolo TV station in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 22, 2022.ALI KHARA/Reuters
Afghan broadcaster Tolo News on Wednesday aired an all-female panel in its studio with an audience of women to mark International Women’s Day, a rare broadcast since the Taliban took over and many female journalists left the profession or started working off-air.
A survey by Reporters Without Borders last year found that more than 75 per cent of female journalists had lost their jobs since the Taliban took over as foreign forces withdrew in August, 2021.
With surgical masks covering their faces, the panel of three women and one female moderator on Wednesday evening discussed the topic of the position of women in Islam.
“A woman has rights from an Islamic point of view … it is her right to be able to work, to be educated,” said journalist Asma Khogyani during the panel.
The Taliban last year restricted most girls from high school, women from university and stopped most Afghan female NGO workers.
Ukrainian female soldiers walk past displayed Russian military vehicles destroyed in battle with the Ukrainian army, with their awards and flowers received from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on International Women's Day in Kyiv, Ukraine.ROMAN PILIPEY/Getty Images
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Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres (L) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R, background) attend an award ceremony for Ukrainian servicewomen on the occasion of the Internetional Women's Day, in Kyiv.SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images
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People attend a demonstration to mark International Women's Day under the heading "together we are powerful", in Berlin, Germany.ANNEGRET HILSE/Reuters
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Women celebrate International Women's Day by taking the plunge in the waters of the the estuary of Firth of Forth, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain.ALICIA BRUCE/Reuters
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Demonstrators hold a banner that reads "the government owes us" during an International Women's Day march, in Caracas, Venezuela.GABY ORAA/Reuters
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Demonstrators march to Taksim Square to mark the International Women's Day in Istanbul, Turkey.KEMAL ASLAN/Reuters
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A woman displays paintings made using local and waste materials, in the area of al-Salha near Omdurman during the International Women's Day.ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/Getty Images
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Women chant slogans during a rally to mark the International Women's Day as multiple demonstrations took place during a nationwide day of mass strikes and protests over the country's worst rail tragedy that killed 57 people last week in Athens, Greece.LOUISA GOULIAMAKI
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Women dressed in red form a human chain as part of a demonstration against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul and to mark International Women's Day, on a beachfront in Tel Aviv, Israel.AMIR COHEN/Reuters
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A group of women perform in a march marking International Women's Day, in Lima, Peru.Martin Mejia
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A demonstrator shouts slogans demanding greater rights for women during a march on International Women's Day, in Caracas.FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images
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A person holds a poster depicting a femicide victim during a Women's Day protest with the theme "Women united against injustice" in Valletta, Malta.DARRIN ZAMMIT LUPI/Reuters
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Women gather outside the United Nations during an International Women's Day rally in New York.TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
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Billie Jean King (C) after receiving "The Know Your Value Award" with Chair of the 30/50 Summit Mika Brzezinski (L) and Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) on stage at the Forbes 30/50 Summit International Women's Day Awards Gala 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.Francois Nel/Getty Images
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Demonstrators attend a rally in support to the women of Iran and Afghanistan on the International Women's Day in Berlin, Germany.Markus Schreiber/The Associated Press
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Another panelist, former university professor Zakira Nabil said women would continue to find ways to learn and work.
“Whether you want it or not, women exist in this society … if it’s not possible to get an education at school, she will learn knowledge at home,” she told the panel.
Due to growing restrictions as well as the country’s severe economic crisis, the International Labour Organization said female employment had fallen 25 per cent last year since mid-2021. It added that more women were turning to self-employed work such as tailoring at home.
The United Nation’s Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Wednesday called on the Taliban to reverse restrictions on the rights of girls and women, calling them “distressing.”
The Taliban have said they respect women’s rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture and that authorities have set up a committee to examine perceived issues in order to work toward reopening girls’ schools.
