Taliban authorities in Afghanistan burn confiscated musical instruments, declaring music immoral and imposing strict regulations on personal freedoms.
Over the weekend, authorities from Afghanistan's vice ministry carried out a disturbing act in Herat province, burning confiscated musical instruments and equipment, citing music as immoral. "Promoting music causes moral corruption and playing it will cause the youth to go astray," said Aziz al-Rahman al-Muhajir, head of the Herat department of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
The Department Vice and Virtue of Herat province said it has set burned a number of musical instruments.
Aziz Rahman Muhajir, head of the Vice and Virtue department in Herat, said these musical instruments were collected by officials of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue in Herat… pic.twitter.com/jcuLsS6QDQ
Since the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021, they have been steadily implementing strict laws and regulations aligned with their austere interpretation of Islam, including banning public music performances.
During the bonfire event on Saturday, hundreds of dollars worth of musical gear, collected from wedding halls in the city, were set ablaze. The items destroyed included a guitar, two other stringed instruments, a harmonium, a tabla (a type of drum), as well as amplifiers and speakers.
The 's vice and virtue department in Afghanistan's province on Sunday ordered the burning of musical instruments.
No music at weddings or any other occasion.
People of this region once taught the world to rhyme and sing a thousand years ago.
Where is progress? pic.twitter.com/OrZXRILtnC
The impact of the new government regulations has disproportionately affected women, who now face severe restrictions on their daily lives. They are required to wear a hijab when in public, and teenage girls and women have been barred from attending schools and universities. Furthermore, they are prohibited from entering parks, playgrounds, and gyms.
In another recent development, thousands of beauty salons across the country were forcibly closed by the authorities as they considered certain makeovers to be either too costly or deemed un-Islamic.
The Taliban's strict implementation of their version of Islamic law has led to concerns and widespread criticism, particularly regarding the curtailment of personal freedoms and the violation of women's rights.