‘Cultural genocide’: the photo that reveals how the Taliban burn instruments so that young people ‘don’t go astray’

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After beauty salons, the Taliban’s new target is music — which the radical group sees as causing ‘moral corruption’. Images on social media showed that guitar, harmonium and drum were among the burned musical items. EPA via BBC The Taliban extremist group is burning musical instruments in Afghanistan, claiming that music “causes moral corruption”. Musical items costing thousands of dollars were burned in a bonfire on Saturday (29) in Herat province. Since taking power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have imposed numerous restrictions, including playing music in public. Ahmad Sarmast, founder of the National Institute of Music of Afghanistan, called the destruction of equipment “cultural genocide and music vandalism”. “The people of Afghanistan were denied artistic freedom,” said Sarmast, who now lives in Portugal. “The burning of musical instruments in Herat is just one small example of the cultural genocide taking place in Afghanistan under Taliban leadership.” Among the items burned in Herat was a guitar, a harmonium and a kind of drum, as well as amplifiers and speakers, as can be seen in images that circulated on the internet. Several of the pieces of equipment were seized in spaces where weddings are held. An official from the Ministry of Vices and Virtues in Afghanistan said that playing music is something that “distracts young people”. The Taliban had made another instrument bonfire on 19 July. The government posted photos of the fire on Twitter, but did not say where in the country it had taken place. From the mid-1990s until 2001, the first Taliban government banned all forms of music from social gatherings, television and radio in Afghanistan. The music scene flourished over the next two decades, but the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 sent many musicians fleeing the country. There are reports that musicians who remained in the country were beaten and discriminated against. Taliban law further restricts women’s rights Over the past two years, the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on the population under their strict interpretation of Islamic law. Women are the most affected by these measures. The Taliban decreed that they must cover the entire body and only the eyes can be seen. In addition, they must be accompanied by a male relative if they travel more than 72 km. Teenagers and women were banned from attending schools, universities, gyms and parks. In mid-July, beauty salons were forced to close across the country as they were considered un-Islamic places.

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