'It's not acceptable when half the population is silenced': CEO of Afghan media group Moby
FRANCE 24 spoke to Saad Mohseni, co-founder and CEO of Moby, Afghanistan's largest media group. His new book "Radio Free Afghanistan" chronicles the ups and downs of building a media conglomerate in the country. Mohseni lamented the fact that since the return of the Taliban over three years ago, their decrees are "increasingly making it difficult" for Afghan women and girls to go to school and work. "The Taliban need to understand that it's not acceptable when half the population is silenced," he said.
"The concern that we have is that the conservatives will prevail and it'll become impossible for women to even have the rights they have today, which are a fraction of what they had before," Mohseni told FRANCE 24. So far, he has managed to keep employing women in his radio and television channels, despite pressure from the Taliban.
In 2016, a Taliban attack targeted his media group and killed seven of his colleagues. Over the years, "we've lost a total of 12 employees; some of these kids were like our own children", Mohseni said.
Since the Taliban returned to power, he has not set foot in Afghanistan. "I'd like to go back, but only after women are allowed back in schools," the exiled media executive said.
