Over the past decade Afghanistan has been a country of war and dictatorship. As one of the main countries U.S. soldiers have been deployed in since the war has started, Afghanistan has become a dangerous place for soldiers as well as citizens. Being that U.S. soldiers have begun fighting and claiming territory, journalists and reporters have also made their way into Afghanistan to present to the world the truth to what's going on there. Before the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, Taliban officials to compliment their ideals and vision for the country mainly controlled the media. In result to being overthrown, press restrictions were gradually relaxed and private media grew. The price that has been paid to the exposure and freedom of the press has been threatened by the continuing war in Afghanistan with kidnappings of journalists and death threats. Major strides are being made to develop a completely free press in Afghanistan but according to www.wikipediea.com, defaming individuals or producing material contrary to the principles of Islam is prohibited. The article continues to state in 2008 Reporters Without Borders listing the media environment 156 out of 173, with 1st being most free. Simply Afghanistan journalists operate in one of the most complex environments possible.
Another major dilemma faced in the media of Afghanistan is the importance for every voice to be heard. With a population of 25 million, according to www.pressreference.com Afghanistan is broken up into two major ethnic groups, Pashtun (38 percent) and Tajik (25 percent). However there are numerous additional ethnic groups such as Aimaq, Baluchis, Brahui, Hazaras, Nuristanis, Turkmens that all hold various ideas and beliefs. With their being so many opinions in the country and the domination of Taliban over the years, the media does not represent each ethnic group equally. One of the major reasons this is able to happen is because the literacy rate according to www.pressreference.com is amongst the lowest in Asia (around 31 percent, according to UNESCO estimates).