Taliban officials in Afghanistan have been filmed dancing to music – both of which they immediately banned in a draconian crackdown when they returned to power.
The militant group – who outlawed music, dance, and any form of public celebration – were caught on video swaying and twirling with guns slung over their shoulders in a park in western Herat.
Shortly after seizing power in Afghanistan, the Taliban not only banned music but also publicly beat and humiliated musicians, the custodians of rapidly disappearing Afghan cultural traditions.
The Taliban’s morality police still patrol streets day and night, searching for violators. Afghans caught breaking the ban can be beaten or jailed.
The morality police enforce the Taliban’s strict laws, including a strict dress code and gender segregation in society.
However, numerous videos, reviewed by The Telegraph, show the Taliban contradicting their own rules.
In one clip, a group of fighters dance while others watch from atop a US-abandoned 4×4 vehicle. In another, ordinary people appear to look on as they dance.
A break from Western culture
“When my commander’s son was born, we celebrated by dancing in our police station’s courtyard,” a Taliban official from southern Helmand province admitted to The Telegraph.
He explained that many fighters do not believe dancing is restricted by religion, but the ban is upheld by officials wanting to mark a break from Western culture.
“They aim to intimidate the people and let them know the Americans have left and we are in power now,” he said.
An official in the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture refused to comment on the apparent double standards.
The videos have emerged as the government has tightened its iron grip on music and dance in recent weeks, declaring it a vehicle for “moral corruption” that must be purged from society.
The draconian policies have even reached into personal vehicles, where music is not allowed to be played on the radio.
Checkpoints
Taliban checkpoints have sprung up across urban centres and rural roads. Stern-faced fighters, rifles at the ready, force vehicles to stop if the passengers are listening to music.
“They stop me almost daily,” said Reshad, a resident of northern Maymana.
“They threaten me, saying I shouldn’t listen to music and should listen to the Quran instead. Last time, they took me to a police station for listening to an Iranian song in my car.
“They slapped me in the face and said they will hold my car for three weeks,” he claimed.
Afghan weddings, once vibrant with music and dance, have also been muted.
The traditional sounds of the dhol drum and the harmonium, which for centuries have celebrated new unions, are now outlawed.
Silent weddings
Families are forced to hold the events in silence or with approved religious chants and talks.
Wedding venues, once lively, now sit silent and empty. Many have closed down as they cannot attract clients for ceremonies.
“Around 20 of them raided my wedding,” Jalili Ahmad, 28, claimed, describing how his wedding in a private garden outside Herat city was attacked by the Taliban because of music and dance in May.
He and several of his guests were beaten, women were dispersed, and six people, including his father and father-in-law, were detained for 10 days.
“They humiliated us and destroyed the best day of my life,” he said. “They are at war with happiness.”
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