The Art Newspaper: Art degrees in Afghanistan are gradually disappearing from government-run institutions as Taliban’s restrictions deter students and scholars from entering higher education. Before the fundamentalist group’s takeover in August 2021, the fine arts faculty at Kabul University offered eight degrees and had more than 1,000 students. Today, however, only two degrees are on
The China Project: In 2008, the Afghan government and a state-owned Chinese company signed a deal to mine copper at Mes Aynak, just south of Kabul. The Taliban renewed the agreement. So why is the project stalled? For now, China and MCC hold all the cards. Ultimately, what will happen will depend much more on
Tolo News: Cultural activists and residents of Balkh said that the remains of the building of Maulana Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi’s father, Khanqah of Bahauddin Walad, are collapsing. According to the residents, the Khanqah of Bahauddin Walad building is visited by many tourists every year and it is an important historical monument and it should be
Akmal Dawi VOA News May 3, 2023 The recording studios at Afghanistan national radio and television where generations of male and female musicians and singers produced songs and melodies have gone silent for nearly two years. The country’s Islamist Taliban regime does not air music on the national broadcasting network because their extreme interpretation of
8am: Sources told Hasht-e-Subh on Thursday, March 29th, that the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue in Herat had closed all game zones in this province yesterday. Meanwhile, in an interview, some owners of these game zones in Herat expressed concern to Hasht-e-Subh that although they had licenses to operate, their shops had been
8am: The motives and ethnic tendencies of the Taliban’s performance are clear as day. This is because they do not oppose picnics that are in accordance with Sharia law. However, when it comes to Nawroz, they are completely opposed to it and deem it forbidden. The Taliban believe that anything they are familiar with can
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: The recent past has not been kind to Afghanistan’s pre-Islamic heritage. Will history repeat itself under the new Taliban government? Just months before the Taliban was ousted from power in 2001, the hard-line Islamist group took a wrecking ball to Afghanistan’s pre-Islamic history. That spring, the Bamiyan Buddhas that had stood
Khaama: Taliban have banned the celebration of the Afghan festive Nowruz in the central Daikundi province, warning residents if they are caught celebrating the occasion, they will be treated accordingly. Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in an announcement said the group’s regulators have told people “Islam prohibits the
AFP: ‘When Taliban reached the gates of Kabul, it was clear that we should get out,’ recalled Anim director Ahmad Sarmast, who did everything possible to evacuate the students and staff of the music institute. ‘Afghanistan is a silent nation,’ the 61-year-old said. ‘When a country’s music is banned, an entire nation is silenced,’ added
RFE/RL: March 11 marks the anniversary of the destruction of Bamiyan’s sixth-century Buddha statues by the Taliban in 2001. According to experts, encroaching construction, negligence, and looting are endangering the status and future of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Click here to view photos (external link).