In less than two years, the Taliban have erased 20 years of progress for Afghan girls’ and women’s rights according to the latest estimates by UN experts. They have also restricted press freedom, and women journalists were the most affected by that: more than 84% of them have lost their jobs since August 2021, whereas 52% of men have.

While many local media outlets were forced to close shop, Afghan voices from elsewhere in the world rose, making it their mission to talk about the reality of what’s happening in Afghanistan. Zan Times was launched in that context, in August 2022. Edited in Dari Persian and in English, the women-led independent news platform aims to give a voice to women and the LGBTQ+ community.'

We sat down with its editor-in-chief, Zahra Nader, to talk about how Zan Times came to be, how their newsroom operates today and what it’s like for women journalists under Taliban rule. Although the conversation is specific to Afghanistan, there might be in Zahra’s words something to learn or relate to for each and every one of us.

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