Taliban effect: Afghanistan women journalists delete posts & profiles from social media

As the Taliban seized most of the land in Afghanistan over the weekend, the situation for Afghan citizens has worsened. Dozens of people have tried to escape from the nation, which has led the Kabul airport into a state of disruption. Out of fear, several individuals have started deleting archive posts and messages from social media platforms.   

Afghan women journalists delete their social media profile

Fashion photographer, Fatimah Hossaini, shared a post on her official Twitter handle. She said that the four women including her were sheltering secretly during their final days in Kabul. Fatimah, along with her Afghan women journalist friends, were deleting posts as well as profiles. They erased everything which they had accomplished over the previous two decades. She even said that Taliban terrorists were patrolling the area. Fatimah even expressed that she was broken and traumatised. 

Check the tweet:

Another incident related to deleting of account

Earlier, former captain of the women's football team of Afghanistan, Khalida Popal said that female sports players should take immediate efforts to erase any traces of their sports background. While talking from Copenhagen, she further said that sportswomen in Afghanistan have been advised to delete their social media accounts and, in some cases, destroy their equipment.

Steps taken by social media platforms

While talking about the safety of the Afghan citizen while accessing social media, the Head of Facebook Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher said that the option to view the friend's list of any Afghan national's profile has been restricted for some time. This is to protect Afghan People on Facebook against possible Taliban reprisal. He went on to say that Facebook has even established a one-click system for Afghanistan individuals to shut down their accounts. 

Other than Facebook, Twitter has stated that it is in communication with civil society partners to support organisations in the country. Twitter also claimed that it was working with the Internet Archive to expedite the request to remove tweets that had been archived. Twitter also indicated that it was investigating government-related profiles, and that accounts may be temporarily banned until further information is gathered to confirm their legitimacy. 

Likewise, a LinkedIn spokesman stated that the company has temporarily hidden its users' Afghan connections and other people will not be able to view Afghan residents' identities. 

Developments in Afghanistan

Meanwhile, the Taliban terrorists have regained three districts in northern Afghanistan that were lost to regional resistance groups last week, stated the Taliban officials. They seized the districts of Bano, Deh Saleh, and Pul e-Hesar in the Baghlan region.  

(Image Credit: Twitter)