New Delhi: Afghan woman journalist, Behesta Arghand, who made headlines for interviewing a member of the Taliban has fled the country.
Days after the Taliban took over Kabul, Afghanistan-based TOLO anchor Behesta Arghand interviewed a senior Taliban member on August 17, 2021.
However, after what was seen as an important move by the Taliban amid its claims of letting women work, TOLO journalist Behesta Arghand fled from Afghanistan and is now in Qatar.
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Speaking exclusively to ABP News, Behesta said that she did not want to work the way Taliban asked them to. She also said she was afraid and hence moved to Qatar with her family.
Behesta said that she left Afghanistan because she was afraid of the Taliban like everyone else. She further claimed that almost all the journalists of her organisation have fled the country.
"I could not have worked the way Taliban told (us) to do.. I was scared and that is why I came to Qatar along with my whole family," she told ABP News.
She revealed that the Taliban used to pressurise her to work according to their ways and there was an atmosphere of fear all around, so she decided to leave the country.
Expressing a fear for her life, the TOLO anchor added that only if she lives will she be able to pursue journalism. While the Taliban makes a lot of claims about their regime, the journalist wants to see if they will be able to live up to their promises.
"I would like to return to the country if the Taliban lives up to what they say," Behesta Arghand stated.
She pointed out that the Taliban do not accept women in the media or in the administration, so she would like to see whether the Taliban really give women their rights and what arrangements they make for the education of girls.
"The Taliban are everywhere and I was afraid of the Taliban regime," she reiterated, stating her reason for leaving the country.
Key Interviews & Taliban's Claims
During the interview with the Taliban member, Behesta had asked about the door-to-door searches in Kabul and the group's plans for the future.
Two days later, she also interviewed Malala Yousafzai, the activist who survived a Taliban assassination attempt. This was also an important interaction as it was the first time Yousafzai was interviewed by an Afghanistan-based news channel.
However, following the 2 major interviews, Behesta Arghand reached out to the activist for help. She then boarded a Qatari Air Force evacuation flight along with several of her family members to flee the country.
Taliban in its first press conference had announced that Afghan women will be given freedom and will be able to work under 'Islamic laws' as it vowed to respect women's rights.
However, a day after the interview Arghand, the Taliban banned female news anchors in a government news channel and replaced them with their representatives, as reported by New York Times.
Khadija Amin, a prominent anchorwoman on state television, informed the Taliban suspended her and other women employees, indefinitely.
Women's rights were severely restricted during the Taliban's rule of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. They were banned from studying and working, kept hidden in their homes, and violently assaulted if they were seen in public with their faces uncovered.