It is said that when words fail, music speaks. Music is a universal language, an activity that stimulates and uses the entire brain. But in war-torn Afghanistan, after the Taliban took over Kabul again on 15 August 2021, music was one of the first casualties.

Music, musicians and musical instruments in Afghanistan all stand endangered under the ban on music in the country, and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. This is a big blow to music and performing arts in the region.

Afghan journalist and TV host Spozhmai Maani together with Pakistani civil engineer Rizwan Sharif from Gilgit draw attention to the issue in a joint report for Index on Censorship:

“Once a famous spot for music and entertainment in Kabul, Sar e chowk has now been turned into a regular market with no sign or remnants of music anywhere. The market used to be full of shops selling musical instruments. It had small studios where artists, musicians and singers would gather to make songs, create music and entertain people. That is now all gone and instead people sell fruit and vegetables.”

The piece examines the sound of silence which appears to have cast a blanket over war-torn Afghanistan, where the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam led them to outlaw music in the past, and again since their return to power just over two years ago.

Confiscated musical instruments

In a recent attack the Taliban confiscated musical instruments in the west province of Herat on 30 July 2023 and set them on fire, write Maani and Sharif.

The famed Afghanistan National Institute of Music, the country’s only music school, had to shut down its campus in Kabul after the Taliban's crackdown. It has temporarily relocated to Lisbon, Portugal, where 273 students, faculty members and staff have been granted asylum.

This is Maani and Sharif’s second collaborative article for Index on Censorship. Their earlier piece exposed the challenges faced by journalists and media personalities in Afghanistan, especially women.

(The author is a Karachi-born, Boston-based connoisseur of South Asian film music and a global finance and audit specialist by profession. He is the Managing Trustee of the OP Nayyar Memorial Trust and manages the official OP Nayyar website. He can be reached khansaheb2@aol.com. By special arrangement with Sapan) 

Lead image: Band of Afghan musicians in Farah, Afghanistan. ISAF photo by US Air Force Senior Airman Rylan K. Albright / Wikipedia