The Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of the interim government has recently announced that in the past year, it has destroyed 21,328 musical instruments across Afghanistan.
Mohibullah Makhloq, head of planning and legislation for this ministry, shared these statistics during a press conference in Kabul today (Tuesday, August 30), highlighting them as one of the ministry’s achievements. He also mentioned the “reform” of audio, visual, and print media broadcasts, stating that 90% of media broadcasts have been “reformed” in the past year.
He noted that the prayer times have been synchronized to a single schedule and that 460 loudspeakers have been installed for broadcasting the call to prayer throughout Kabul.
The head of planning and legislation for the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice also reported on the inspection of personal computers in markets across the country, stating that over the past year, 25,647 “immoral films” have been deleted from these computers.
He mentioned the arrest of 448 “fortune tellers” and 528 “sorcerers,” stating that these individuals have been referred to judicial authorities.
According to the provided statistics, officials from this ministry have inspected the activities of 27,518 government and non-government offices, 419,369 mosques, 96,355 educational and health centers, 15,575 sports clubs, 68,979 hotels and restaurants, 39,218 baths and barbershops, and 500 tailoring shops to ensure compliance with the ministry’s directives and have taken “necessary actions.”
This comes amid reports over the past year of musical instruments being collected and burned by the interim government in various provinces. The group considers listening to music “haram” (forbidden) and views it as a vice; thus, they collect and destroy musical instruments.
Hijab
In today’s press conference, this official from the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stated that a draft proposal for “observing Islamic hijab by women” has been prepared and approved.
He added that this proposal was developed based on the directive of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the interim government, and has been approved by him.
He emphasized that the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has a “military directorate,” which has also prepared a draft for its organization and activities.
It should be noted that military personnel and inspectors from the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice have repeatedly detained women and young girls in various provinces over the past year, including Kabul, on charges of “improper hijab.”
For instance, in the month of Dalwa last year, dozens of young girls were detained from the Dasht-e-Barchi area in western Kabul and Khair Khana in northern Kabul for alleged “improper hijab.”
The detention of these girls faced widespread backlash and condemnation, with several prominent Shia scholars rejecting the accusations of improper hijab against girls in western Kabul.
