By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
February 14, 2023

St. Valentine had a difficult time finding love in Afghanistan, but his namesake holiday quickly rose in popularity after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.

Kabul’s iconic Flower Street soon blossomed with red roses and sweetheart kitsch every February 14 as romance-minded Afghans abandoned tradition and put their affections on public display.

But with the Taliban’s return to power, the thrill for Valentine’s Day in the Afghan capital has gone.

Restaurants and flower shops used to go big for the holiday, attracting sweethearts with romantic dinners and amorous displays.

While red roses and balloons are still on offer, Valentine’s Day is now much like any other day on Flower Street. That is, aside from posters from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice advising passersby to “avoid celebrating lovers’ day!”

Saleh, who gave only his first name to RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, says that he and his fellow florists did not do anything special.

“We don’t make luxurious preparations like before,” he said. “We have prepared fresh flowers and arranged some gift boxes. Only a few people who have fiancés want to buy a ring, a flower, a mobile phone, or other gifts they like.”

When Yassin first courted his wife six years ago, they considered Valentine’s Day among their most memorable opportunities to celebrate their affection for each other. But now, two years into their marriage and nearly 17 months after the Taliban seized power, they mark the day in secret.

“This year there is no excitement and enthusiasm,” he told Radio Azadi, giving only his first name. “Unfortunately, young men only go to shops very secretly to buy gifts for someone they like.”

Even before the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Valentine’s Day was not widely celebrated around the country, and was mainly marked only in Kabul and other urban areas.

In Herat, a conservative city, religious authorities wary of public displays of affection and the celebration of a day honoring a Christian saint banned the holiday in 2019, declaring it “un-Islamic.”

“We do not have Valentine’s Day in Islam,” Abdul Aleem Modrek, head of Fakhr al-Madares, one of around 600 religious schools, or madrasahs, in Herat Province, told RFE/RL at the time. “This is a foreign culture that has come to change the minds of people and, God forbid, to deviate them from the right path.”

That thinking was reinforced as the new Taliban government imposed its hard-line interpretation of Islam around the country.

While there were reports that even Taliban fighters and officials in Kabul were spurred to buy flowers for loved ones on February 14 last year, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Radio Azadi at the time that Valentine’s Day had no place in Afghan culture and society.

Jamil says he and his wife, Marzia, celebrated Valentine’s Day both in Kabul and Herat before they wed two years ago. As a married couple, however, they would not dare under Taliban rule.

“Last year it was very dire and awkward,” Jamil said, providing only his and his wife’s first names. “We were alone at home and maybe we shared a smile.”

Since regaining power, the Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on the social lives of Afghans by enforcing a strict dress code and gender segregation.

The militants have been accused of attempting to eradicate women from public by banning them from education and work.

Based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi reporters in the region whose names are being withheld for security reasons

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.