Salam Watandar Radio has laid off 20 employees due to financial difficulties.
The radio station has confirmed that on Wednesday, it informed a number of its employees that their employment had been terminated due to financial constraints.
An employee of Salam Watandar said the station’s revenues have declined and that commercial advertising has also decreased compared with previous years.
According to the employee, after years of financial difficulties, the station decided to lay off a number of staff members. The employee expressed concern that if the economic situation continues in the same way, more staff could lose their jobs.
Financial difficulties in Afghanistan have also affected the operations of media outlets. Media-support organizations say that, in addition to economic challenges, a number of media outlets have been forced to close due to restrictions and censorship.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center said in a report published on August 13 that it had documented 102 cases of violations of media freedom over the past year.
According to the center, during the same period, 15 journalists and media workers were arrested, while at least 29 media outlets and media organizations were closed or had their operating licenses revoked.
The Afghanistan Journalists Center has called on the international community and media-support organizations to step up efforts to protect media freedom and provide greater financial and technical assistance to independent media outlets and journalists facing threats.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
