An Afghan-Australian reality TV star says the Taliban have threatened him and his family in Australia to stop production of their reality TV show.
Ramiz King, 24, describes himself as Afghanistan's first reality TV star.
He made a name for himself on YouTube, then MTV in India, and is one of the stars of Afghan Big Brother, or BaChashem, Afghanistan's first television reality show.
Melbourne-based Mr King and his sister, Rohina, who goes by one name, are the glamorous stars of West Ta East, a reality TV show about Afghans living in Australia and returning to Afghanistan to work.
"It's a show [that] focuses on the daily life of me and my sibling, Rohina, as we tackle through life, relationships and also understanding our roots with Afghanistan," he said.
"We go on an adventure to understand what is it like to relate to the masses of Afghanistan, in terms of working hard and living in a war-torn country."
Rohina said the show meant she could be herself in a safe country, unlike in Afghanistan where women potentially faced death for speaking out.
"Basically, it means everything to me," she said.
"And, as you know, a lot of Afghan women don't have this opportunity."
Mr King and his four sisters came to Australia from Afghanistan as children.
West Ta East is filmed in Australia and Afghanistan, where the two siblings last visited in 2019.
The duo has been dubbed the Afghan Kardashians for their reality show, which is a mixture of glamour, drama and comedy.
"And, for Afghans, it's been never done before."
Taliban threats
But Mr King said he and his production team have received threatening phone calls from the Taliban to pull West Ta East, which goes against the fundamentalist regime's values that are based on an extremist interpretation of the Qur'an.
The family drama was meant to air on Afghanistan's first commercial TV station, Tolo TV, but will now run on TOLO TV's music streaming channel.
As well, the pair are in talks to get West Ta East run on the streaming service Netflix.
After their return to power in August, the Taliban have banned most women from going to work.
The Taliban have also banned women from appearing in television dramas, and female television journalists must wear the Islamic headscarf, the hijab, under new rules for the nation's media.
Despite the restrictions, Rohina said her aim was to empower Afghan girls and women.
"I want to show my life, like I'm in Australia, I work for Amazon, which is one of the biggest companies," she said.
"We can go to work, it's okay. It's fine."
Rohina said she wanted to create more acceptance for women to work in Afghanistan.
"I'm sure when families play our show in their houses, their father will see it as well, their brothers will see it," she said.
Mr King was first threatened by the Taliban during the production of Afghan Big Brother, which featured unrelated men and women living in the same house, and filmed around the clock.
"They were like saying, 'We're going to stop production. We're going to find out where you guys are, where the set is'," he recalled.
"'And we're going to come and do something if you guys don't stop the show.'"
Mr King said Afghanistan's conservative society objected to seeing a strong woman at the centre of a TV program.
"Afghans considered it the wrong idea to show your sister or show you," he explained.
Afghan media under threat
The Taliban returned to power in August 2021 after the US withdrew its forces following nearly 20 years of a war that began in retaliation for three terrorist attacks — involving hijacked planes, one that struck the World Trade Centre in New York, a second that struck the Pentagon in Virginia and a third that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001 — coordinated by Al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan.
The country is now in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, with the United Nation saying at least 23 million people, more than half the population, are facing extreme hunger.
As a result, the UN has launched a more than $US5 billion appeal for Afghanistan and has called for the country's frozen foreign exchange reserves to be released to "jump start" the economy.
The International Federation of Journalists has warned that attacks and detention of journalists continue to escalate.
That is despite assurances of press freedom by the Taliban.
Taliban spokesman Inamullah Samagani recently denied the Taliban had cracked down on the media.
"The presence of a free media is necessary for a good and accountable society," he said.
Hundreds of Afghan media outlets have closed since the Taliban returned to power and are only publishing online, and several journalists have been killed.
Mr King admitted the show could come across as "tone deaf" because of the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
"We are driving around in Range Rovers and driving around, having fun, going on adventures," he acknowledged.
"And, for me, a challenge is having to go work in an Afghan store.
Beacon of hope
Despite the harsh reality of life in Afghanistan and threats from the Taliban, Mr King and Rohina say they will press ahead with the production.
Mr King said he was disappointed that the show would not be on television in Afghanistan, and he has pledged to return to the country of his birthplace.
"I just want to be a beacon of hope through the show," he said.
"We are breaking every rule that you've set. We are breaking maybe rules of your religion, and we are breaking rules of your cultural beliefs."
Rohina said West Ta East was a way for the Taliban to change their mindset.
"Somebody has to educate them," she said.
"If you guys are going to fight for Islam, here is the right way."
