Local sources in Nangarhar province have told media outlets that the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice raided a wedding ceremony in Kama district and detained 14 people on allegations of playing music.
According to the sources, the incident took place on the evening of Wednesday, 8 July, in Dargali village, Kama district. They said officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice entered the wedding without prior warning and arrested 14 people, including family members, relatives, and neighbours of the host.
The sources also claimed that the raid disrupted the wedding, leaving the ceremony unfinished. According to them, the marriage contract (nikah) of the bride and groom was solemnised today.
The Taliban have not commented on the fate of those detained, the specific reasons for their arrests, or the charges brought against them.
The arrests come as the Taliban’s Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice prohibits the playing, performance, and listening of music.
Since the Taliban returned to power, numerous reports have emerged of the group’s forces raiding wedding ceremonies and other celebratory gatherings across different provinces of Afghanistan. According to these reports, organisers and musicians have, in several cases, been detained, while musical instruments and sound equipment have been confiscated or destroyed.
Meanwhile, cultural activists and several human rights organisations have described the restrictions imposed on music and cultural events as part of the Taliban’s broader curbs on cultural and social freedoms in Afghanistan. The Taliban, however, maintain that these measures are being implemented in accordance with their laws and regulations.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
