Helmand Province Bans Media Images Under Taliban Morality Laws

The Taliban-controlled Helmand province in Afghanistan has banned media from displaying images of living beings, aligning with the Taliban's strict morality laws. These directives reflect a wider crackdown on media and personal freedoms, emphasizing religious texts and removing material deemed contrary to Islamic and Afghan values.

In a decisive move to enforce Taliban morality laws, Helmand province in Afghanistan has prohibited media outlets from showing images of living beings. This measure, announced by Helmand's Information Ministry on Thursday, underscores a broader campaign affecting media freedoms across the nation.

Under these new regulations, the Taliban-controlled Vice and Virtue Ministry has sought to regulate public life, including transportation, personal grooming, and media content. Notably, Article 17 explicitly bans images of living creatures, a guideline now followed by many media outlets in provinces like Takhar, Maidan Wardak, and Kandahar.

These restrictions are unique to Afghanistan, not shared by other Muslim-majority countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the Ministry has announced a sweep of 400 books it found contrary to Islamic values, replacing them with religious texts like the Qur'an, further tightening cultural control.

(With inputs from agencies.)