The vice ministry of Afghanistan's authorities burned down musical instruments and equipment they had seized over the weekend in the province of Herat because they believed music to be immoral.
Since taking control in August 2021, Taliban authorities have steadily enacted restrictions that match their conservative interpretation of Islam, including a prohibition on music in public places.
At the time on Saturday, musical instruments worth hundreds of dollars—much of it gathered from local wedding halls—went up in flames.
Along with amplifiers and speakers, it contained a guitar, two other stringed instruments, a harmonium, a tabla, and a type of drum.
The new government rules have mainly affected women, who are now prohibited even from going out without a hijab.
"Promoting music causes moral corruption and playing it will cause the youth to go astray," said Aziz al-Rahman al-Muhajir, head of the Herat department of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Teenage girls and women have been banned from entering gyms, parks, and universities as well as from attending schools and universities.
Authorities this week forced the shutdown of thousands of beauty parlors across the country after determining that some makeovers were either excessively expensive or forbidden by Islam.
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