Media development in Afghanistan

The international community entered Afghanistan in December 2001 to oust the Taliban. It promised reconstruction, development and democratisation. At the time, the trauma of 25 years of war had left civil society in Afghanistan shattered and the media had become mere tools in the hands of the dictatorial rulers. If the pro-Communist Governments had totally monopolised the media for their own propaganda, the Taliban banned TV in all areas under their control and ordered women journalists to go home. They had for their propaganda Radio Shariat, which only broadcast religious debate and sermons. Five days after the fall of Taliban, the first image broadcast by the public television channel Kabul Television, after five years of silence, was the face of a woman, Maryam Shakiba, no longer covered with a veil. The face of a woman presenter on national TV was regarded as a symbol of hope for change.