There has been an 18% reduction in the number of women in Afghan media over the last six months due to security threats, the Journalists’ Safety Committee says, adding that the figures are concerning and signals a worsening situation for journalists in Afghanistan.

There were 1,678 women in the media in the first six months of the solar year 1399 that started in March 2020, and now it has been reduced to 1,377 women. 

The committee reported that based on its survey, over 300 women journalists and media workers have said that they have left their jobs over security threats, particularly recent targeted attacks, financial problems in media outlets due to COVID-19 and low salaries. 

The committee says that of the 1,377 women in the media, 321 are journalists and others are working in different departments of media outlets such as producers and in administrative sections.  

According to the findings, most of woman media workers are in Kabul, followed by Herat then Balkh.

Logar has only one woman working in the media.

There are no women reporters in nine provinces, including Ghor, Nimroz, Sar-e-Pul, Laghman, Parwan, Kapisa, Uruzgan, Wardak and Ghor, the committee said, while women are working in other departments of media outlets. 

The findings of the committee show there is no women media worker in five provinces, including Nuristan, Kunar, Paktia, Paktika and Zabul.  

Meanwhile, two women reporters who were working in Zabul and Paktia have left their jobs over the last six months. 

The committee says that four women reporters and two media workers have been killed in direct attacks during the current solar year that coincides with March 2020 to end of March 2021. This has had a negative impact on journalistic activities of women across Afghanistan, the committee says. 

This comes as three female workers of a local TV network in Nangarhar were killed in two separate attacks by gunmen in the city of Jalalabad last week.