The Taliban suspended the operation of Afghanistan’s only women’s radio station after raiding its premises on Tuesday, deepening the exclusion of women from public life and society since the group took power in 2021.

The newsrooms of Radio Begum, an emblematic women’s radio station, were raided, leading to the arrest of two of its employees. The Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture accused the station of “multiple violations” — including providing content to a foreign-based television channel and failure to comply with its licence — when announcing its suspension.