Afghanistan’s ministry of morals sent confiscated musical instruments and equipment to the stake on Saturday in Herat province, deeming the music “immoral”.
“The promotion of music leads to moral corruption and the playing of music misleads young people,” said Aziz al-Rahman al-Muhajir, head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. province of Herat (west).
Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban authorities have continuously imposed laws to enforce their austere vision of Islam, including banning the playing of music in public.
Saturday’s bonfire saw musical equipment go up in smoke, most of which had been collected from wedding halls across the city, worth several hundred dollars in total. A guitar, a harmonium, two other string instruments and a tabla (a kind of drum), as well as speakers and loudspeakers were burned.
Women are the main targets of the new government regulations. They are only allowed to appear in public if they cover their body and face. Teenage girls and women have also been denied access to schools and universities, as well as to parks, hammams and sports halls.
On Tuesday, thousands of beauty salons across the country were closed as authorities deemed some treatments too expensive or un-Islamic.
07/30/2023 14:32:37 – Hérat (Afghanistan) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
