We spoke about the Afghanistan situation before, but we didn’t mention every rule the Taliban imposes. After 2001, music was back in the country, and Ahmad Sarmast was proud of its comeback. After saying goodbye to his home in Melbourne, he returned to Afghanistan to make sure that music would be back, no matter what.
However, this Wednesday, music in public once again will be banned after the rapid takeover of the country. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, gave The New York Times an interview and discussed how they will run the country. He downplayed most of the concerts regarding their laws, addressing how music was banned previously by them.
What else do we know about this?
“Music is forbidden in Islam”, Mujahid said, “But we are hoping that we can persuade people not to do such things, instead of pressuring them”. As the probably next minister for information and culture, we believe he will change some people’s beliefs. Even though it might seem contradictory, this partially follows the assurance that they will be more liberal this time.
The Taliban added that they won’t be looking for vengeance on those how opposed them and worked with the USA. Mujahid said that “We want to build the future and forget what happened in the past”. He also suggested that women be allowed to return to their jobs and to schools.
There isn’t any new information about how that would work out, but they said that they won’t force women to stay inside. They also mentioned that those with proper travel documents will be able to leave the country.
