Taliban arrest 40 people for listening to music in Helmand
By Sana Atif
Taliban gunmen stormed a music party in Kajaki district and arrested 40 people, including local artists, local sources from Helmand province say. A local resident, who asked not to be named, tells Zan Times that the party was discovered on Monday, December 12, when Taliban soldiers noticed the sound of music while patrolling the area.
The source says the Taliban detained everyone at the gathering and seized their musical instruments. Another resident of the district says the musicians were performing a local folk music called “Japanese,” which is popular among youths in the southwestern region of Afghanistan, in which Pashto lyrics are sung to electronic music.
Shortly after regaining power, the Taliban declared listening to music haram and warned all restaurants and wedding hotels, in writing and verbally, that in case of violation, they will face heavy punishment. In September 2021, the first Taliban-appointed chancellor of Kabul University ordered the closure of the music department.
According to reports, the Taliban have publicly whipped dozens of people for listening to music in several provinces, including Takhar, in the past month.
The ban on music is one of a succession of new rules that have been imposed on Afghan life that once seemed ordinary. Recently, places selling flavoured hookah in Kandahar were forced to shut down due to the Taliban declaring it haram. And this summer, the Taliban introduced a new rule in Herat by which all restaurants and coffee shops had to ask couples to produce marriage certificates and ID cards before being allowed to eat together. “If any restaurant disobeys, it will be closed, the directorate of vice and virtue has warned,” a restaurant owner told Zan Times.
Sometimes, bribery can keep the music on. In August, Zan Times reported that residents of Baghlan and Samangan provinces were paying the Taliban in exchange for being allowed to play music at their weddings.
