The Etilaat Roz

Award-winning local newspaper the Etilaat Roz, known for its transparent coverage of government corruption and Taliban killings, covers the fall of Kabul from the inside. The daily paper and its tireless staff proceeds day-by-day amid confusion, hurried archive preservation and worst-case preparations for the future, but for how long? From August to October 2021, the office carries on despite not knowing what content is permissible under the new regime. Counting they days, they report on what they see and hear in the city, from civil disobedience and protests to the shocking arrest and torture of their own colleagues. What does it mean to be bold? Safe? What does protecting the basic rights of women and the freedom of the press look like in Afghanistan? The Etilaat Roz is an astute record of the newspaper’s cautious persistence and calculated non-compliance while it covers the hypocrisy of the Taliban regime and proves to the world that its claims of unity are far from reality. Angie Driscoll