KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban morality police have detained eight people in eastern Laghman province for playing music at a wedding ceremony, according to local sources.
Sources informed KabulNow today that the incident took place in Alingar district on Wednesday night, November 27, where several young men were playing music at a wedding ceremony.
According to sources, the Taliban morality police came to the ceremony and detained eight people, including the groom’s brothers. These individuals are currently being held in the Taliban detention center in the province.
The sources added that the Taliban morality police also seized the musical instruments and took them along.
Since regaining power in August 2021, the Taliban have enforced strict bans on music at weddings and other public events, claiming music “causes moral corruption”. Those who violate these bans face arrests, fines, and, in some cases, torture.
Last week, the Taliban detained six of its members in northeastern Panjshir province for attending a wedding ceremony where music was played.
A month ago, the Taliban morality police raided a wedding in Badakhshan province after music was played at the event, injuring a teenage girl and an elderly man. They also fined the groom around AFN 30,000 ($450) for allowing music at the ceremony.
Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan is the only country in the world where music is banned. The regime had also prohibited music during its first stint in power in the late 1990s.
Over the past three years of their rule, the Taliban authorities have seized and publicly burned thousands of musical instruments and banned TV and radio stations from broadcasting music. Many TV and radio stations have been closed, either temporarily or permanently, for violating the music ban across the country.
Hundreds of musicians have fled Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. Those who remain in the country have abandoned their musical careers and are vulnerable to Taliban abuse, detention, torture, and even death.
