In Afghanistan’s Herat province, a disturbing scene unfolded as the ruling Taliban government intensified its crackdown on freedoms, particularly targeting music.

The Taliban, who came to power in August 2021, have been imposing strict regulations rooted in a conservative interpretation of Islam, leading to the banning of women’s participation in work and education.

Recently, officials from Afghanistan’s vice ministry, following a fatwa issued by scholars, collected musical instruments from the city and set them ablaze in a bonfire.

Instruments destroyed

The instruments destroyed included guitars, a harmonium, a drum, amplifiers, and speakers. Uzair-ur-Rahman Mohajer, the deputy director of the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Herat, claimed that promoting music leads to moral corruption and that it may lead the youth astray.

This act signifies the Taliban’s increasing enforcement of their beliefs, targeting aspects of Afghan culture that they deem immoral or contrary to their strict interpretation of Islamic law. The recent ban on women’s beauty salons without explanation further demonstrates the group’s intention to limit women’s freedom and erase their presence from public spaces.

As Afghanistan faces continued repression under the Taliban’s rule, the international community expresses deep concern for the human rights and freedoms of the Afghan people, particularly women, who find themselves facing an increasingly oppressive reality.