In Afghanistan, the Taliban has been setting fire to musical instruments, alleging that music leads to moral degradation.
During the weekend, in the Herat province in the west, musical instruments worth a significant sum of money were burned in a bonfire, causing their destruction. Since assuming power in 2021, the Taliban has enforced numerous restrictions, including a ban on public music performances. Ahmad Sarmast, the founder of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, likened these actions to “cultural genocide and musical vandalism.” Dr. Sarmast, who currently resides in Portugal, expressed that the people of Afghanistan are being deprived of artistic freedom, and the burning of musical instruments in Herat is just one illustration of the broader cultural genocide occurring under the Taliban’s rule.
Pictures shared on the internet depict several items that were set on fire in Herat, such as a guitar, a harmonium, a tabla (a type of drum), along with amplifiers and speakers. Many of these objects were seized from the city’s wedding venues. Playing music would “lead the youth to go astray,” according to a representative of the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry. On July 19, the Taliban planned an instrument bonfire similar to this one. When the fire broke out, the country’s administration tweeted pictures of it but did not identify where in the nation it had occurred.
During the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan from the mid-1990s to 2001, all genres of music were outlawed from public gatherings, TV, and radio. In the two decades that followed, a thriving music culture developed; however, after the Taliban returned in August 2021, many musicians were forced to leave the nation. According to reports, prejudice, and beatings have been inflicted on singers and artists who are still present in the country. Under their rigid interpretation of Islamic law, the Taliban have imposed other severe limitations over the last two years.
The majority of these punitive restrictions have been applied to women. According to Taliban regulations, if they are traveling more than 72 km (45 miles), they must wear clothing that only exposes their eyes and be accompanied by a male relative. Additionally, entrance to gyms, parks, and classrooms at schools and universities has been restricted for women and teenagers. Last week, the Taliban issued a nationwide order to close all hair and beauty clinics because they were thought to be against Islam.
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