The Guardian (UK): Television industry employees once used their programs to address progressive ideas. Many are now out of work and fearful to leave their homes. Click here to read more (external link).
AFP: Four years ago, Afghan film director Salim Shaheen was in the spotlight at Cannes, but now he spends his days confined to his home, afraid of the new Taliban regime and their clampdown on arts and music. Click here to read more (external link).
NBC News: It’s been only 2½ months since the last U.S. soldier left Afghanistan after a grueling two-decade war. Yet, perhaps sensing an opportunity to profit from the global attention garnered by the U.S. military’s withdrawal, Universal Pictures has reportedly already launched a cinematic retelling of American heroics during the evacuation. Hollywood tropes routinely brush
Seattle Times: The last time that the militant group ruled the country, in the late 1990s, it outright banned music. So far this time, the government set up by the Taliban hasn’t taken that step officially. But already, musicians are afraid a ban will come, and some Taliban fighters on the ground have started enforcing
Haroon Bacha Abubakar Siddique Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 29, 2021 Young musician Ahmad Khan says doomsday arrived for him when the hard-line Taliban movement overran the Afghan capital, Kabul — the conclusion of a dramatic sweep across the war-torn country that saw Afghanistan’s pro-Western government melt away. Khan — using a pseudonym for security
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 29 2021 The family of an Afghan folk singer and musician says he has been shot dead by a Taliban fighter in a mountain province north of Kabul. The alleged slaying of Fawad Andarabi comes amid growing concerns that the hard-line Islamist group will return war-torn Afghanistan to the repressive
AP: A video of two men slapping and abusing Nazar Mohammad, better known as Khasha Zwan, spread widely on social media. He was later killed, shot multiple times. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid acknowledged that the two men were Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: A well-known local comedian, Nazar Mohammad, who was known as Khasha Jawan, was gunned down on Tuesday, allegedly by the Taliban, in Kandahar, sparking widespread condemnation. According to sources, Khasha Jawan was assaulted by the militants before being killed. Click here to read more (external link).
Insider: I watched the 30-second trailer and was horrified to see that the show — the first sitcom I knew of where a central character is from Afghanistan — seemed to rely on tired tropes about a hulking, heroic white man coming to the rescue of his bumbling brown sidekick. Click here to read more
1TV: Afghanistan on Thursday temporarily blocked popular online game Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) after receiving complaints that it had negative impact on people who play it. Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA) said that the decision to block the game was taken following complaints from several entities including the parliament. Click here to read more (external