Scared Like Others: Female Anchor Who Interviewed Taliban Leader Flees Afghanistan
It was one of the biggest publicity stunts pulled off by the 'moderate' Taliban to show the world that they have changed.
Just days after taking control of Kabul, Mawlawi Abdulhaq Hemad, a high-ranking Taliban was seen giving an interview to a female journalist on ToloNews.
Now, CNN has reported that the female anchor, Beheshta Arghand, who made headlines around the world for her work has fled Afghanistan.
According to CNN, She left Afghanistan, citing the dangers that so many journalists and ordinary Afghans are facing.
"I left the country because, like millions of people, I fear the Taliban," she said.
Saad Mohseni, the owner of TOLO, said Arghand's case is emblematic of the situation in Afghanistan.
"Almost all our well known reporters and journalists have left," Mohseni said on CNN's Reliable Sources Sunday. "We have been working like crazy to replace them with new people."
"We have the twin challenge of getting people out [because they feel unsafe] and keeping the operation going," he added.
Arghand who studied journalism at Kabul University had worked at several news agencies and radio stations for short periods of time, before joining TOLONews recently.
"I worked there for one month and 20 days, then the Taliban came," she recalled.
Arghand who fled the country with her family on a Qatari Air Force evacuation flight said she still hopes to return.
"If the Taliban do what they said -- what they promised -- and the situation becomes better, and I know I am safe and there is no threat for me, I will go back to my country and I will work for my country. For my people," she said.
The 24-year-old shares stories that are similar to what Afghan journalists, especially women are going through after the Taliban swept to power on August 15.
Another young female journalist who had angered the Taliban for her reporting had earlier this month told The Guardian that she was on the run, fearing reprisal from the militants.
