Female journalist who made history interviewing Taliban representative flees Afghanistan

Days after she became the first female journalist to interview a Taliban representative on live television, news anchor Beheshta Arghand fled Afghanistan, after several members of the media received intimidating messages from the Taliban.
Arghand, 24, worked for the TOLO news station, and conducted her groundbreaking interview on Aug. 17. She told CNN Business it wasn't easy to sit across from the Taliban spokesman, but "I did it for Afghan women." When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s and early 2000s, women were oppressed, forced to wear burqas and unable to hold most jobs. Arghand said she went to TOLO's offices so the Taliban couldn't say "ladies don't want to work," and when she was face to face with the representative, told him, "We want our rights. We want to work. We want — we must — be in society. This is our right."
On Aug. 19, Arghand interviewed activist Malala Yousafzai, who survived being shot by a member of the Taliban in Pakistan, in what TOLO said was Yousafzai's first-ever interview with an Afghan television station. Following her interview with Yousafzai, Arghand said she contacted an activist and asked for help escaping Afghanistan, and was able to flee with several of her relatives on a Qatari Air Force evacuation flight. "I left the country because, like millions of people, I fear the Taliban," she said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Arghand told CNN Business that 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." TOLO's owner, Saeed Mohseni, told CNN's Reliable Source on Sunday that nearly every one of the station's "well known reporters and journalists have left. We have been working like crazy to replace them with new people."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
August 2 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a tariff self-own, rough times at the Trump golf course, and more
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardon
Cartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Thailand, Cambodia agree to ceasefire in border fight
Speed Read At least 38 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced in the recent violence
-
Israel 'pauses' Gaza military activity as aid outcry grows
Speed Read The World Health Organization said malnutrition has reached 'alarming levels' in Gaza
-
US and EU reach trade deal
Speed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashes
Speed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
-
US and Japan strike trade deal
Speed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
-
28 nations condemn Israel's 'inhumane killing' in Gaza
Speed Read Countries including Australia, France, Japan and the U.K. have released a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing attacks
-
Israeli gunfire kills dozens at Gaza aid site
Speed Read The U.N. estimates that at least 875 Palestinians have died while trying to access food in recent months