Taliban authorities arrested 14 people in northern Afghanistan for playing instruments and singing, a move that has been severely restricted since the organization returned to power in 2021.
The arrests were held in the northern capital of Takhar province on Thursday night, according to a statement released by provincial police on Saturday, May 10. The arrests were held in the northern capital of Takhar province, where the people gathered at home.
The group used nighttime to organize gatherings, during which they played instruments and sang, allegedly causing disturbances to the public, the statement said. The detainees are currently under investigation.
Since the resumption of control over Afghanistan, the Taliban government has gradually imposed laws and policies in line with their strict interpretation of Islamic law. The most prominent of these measures is the full ban on most music forms. This includes live performances and recording music in public places such as social events, restaurants, vehicles and broadcast media.
After Taliban officials returned to power, they closed music schools, undermined the instrumental and sound systems, using music as a source of moral corruption and public barriers. The wedding hall is now prohibited from playing music, although in some cases women practice carefully in the isolation sections of such activities.
Many Afghan musicians fled the country, driven by fear and career collapse in the world’s poorest countries. The Taliban urged the remaining artists to redirect their abilities to Islamic poetry and unaccompanied vocal odes, one of the few musical expressions allowed under its rule, similar to policies during the previous regimes from 1996 to 2001.
