Featured
This World Book Day, let’s fight for the freedom to read
Following an Index investigation into banned books in UK school libraries, the annual celebration has taken on a new meaning
By Katie Dancey-Downs
Latest news
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Hollywood: the Pentagon’s secret weapon
Roger Stahl speaks to Index about the Department of Defense’s continuing influence on Hollywood movies
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Iran’s silenced musicians
As the list of those persecuted in the country grows, it is obvious that Iran’s leadership is systemically opposed to musical free expression
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The existential threat to international aid and consular assistance
With the UK modelling the USA's approach to aid cuts, independent journalism and political prisoners could be in a perilous position
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Jimmy Lai, the troublemaker
A new biography details the life of Hong Kong’s most outspoken political prisoner – the book's author Mark Clifford talks to Index about Lai’s reso...
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There are awards in the Arts, Campaigning and Journalism categories and a special award chosen by Index on Censorship’s trustees.
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Spotlight: International Women's Day
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Afghanistan’s female lawyers are the latest target for the Taliban
Pursuing a legal career has become impossible for women in the country. Some of those women told Index their stories
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New online platform provides free education to girls in Afghanistan
Afghan girls are being denied access to higher education. The Begum Academy is trying to change that
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The daily risks taken by Afghanistan’s female journalists
Life for women in the media has been bleak since the Taliban takeover, and experts don’t see that changing anytime soon
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Women journalists caught in middle of Afghanistan’s nightmare
Many journalists – women in particular – have fled the Taliban or are in hiding from the brutal regime
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Help us free jailed dissidents, amplify silenced musicians and keep up the pressure on authoritarian governments.
MAGAZINE
LATEST ISSUE: VOLUME 53.04 WINTER 2024
Unsung heroes: How musicians are raising their voices against oppression
Music has been described as a “cultural universal” – a practice found in all known human cultures and societies. While anthropologists still scratch their heads over exactly where the concept originated, evidence indicates that humans have used musical instruments for an astonishing 40,000 years.
During an excavation in 1995 in Slovenia, researchers discovered a bear’s femur bone with holes in it and concluded that it could be an ancient flute.
Humans have always found ingenious ways to make music, and it’s not difficult to see why. It is one of the most powerful forms of self-expression, capable of eliciting both intense happiness and sadness in the listener. It is used to celebrate, lament, respect and enrage, and its endless genres, styles and instruments form a core part of countries’ unique cultural heritages.
But despite its universality, music is being silenced globally. Religious extremism, political factions, racism and nationalism are all driving forces, stopping it being performed, produced and listened to. In this issue we explore how music bans have been weaponised to silence communities and erase histories.
Uncensored gallery
Index commissions censored and exiled artists from around the world to illustrate our magazine covers and feature stories. You can view some of their work here