Foreign journalists feel the pinch as Taliban tighten grip on Afghanistan

Seventy-year-old Hafiza poses for a portrait at her home in Afghanistan, August 2021. Kiana Hayeri for National Geographic

Since their return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have imposed a fundamentalist version of Islam. Foreign journalists, who have been tolerated by the regime, say it is becoming more difficult to report freely.

“Since the takeover, it’s been getting more and more difficult to report,” Kiana Hayeri told RFI while on a visit to Bayeux in Normandy earlier this month.