The Taliban’s department of information and culture in Badakhshan province has forced a radio station to cease broadcasts allegedly for playing music, local sources say.
Radio Sadaye Banowan – or Women’s Voice Radio – is the only female-operated station in the northern province, operating on 89.9 FM from the provincial capital Faizabad.
It was forced to cease operations on March 30, sources told Rukhshana Media.
Moezuddin Ahmadi, the Taliban’s head of information and culture in Badakhshan, said the station’s operations have been “temporarily halted” due to broadcasting non-compliance with Taliban policy.
He said the station aired music, verses and taranas that were accompanied by music during the holy month of Ramadan, which goes against the Taliban prohibition on songs and music.
Mr Ahmadi said that the station operators must give a strong guarantee and commit to carrying out broadcasts within the policy of the Islamic Emirate – the name the Taliban calls itself – or the radio station will not be allowed to operate.
The Taliban has previously declared in a letter to media outlets that they must refrain from broadcasting music and mixed taranas that sound like songs.
A crackdown in media freedoms and stringent rules on media broadcasts since the Taliban takeover in August 2021 have led to hundreds of networks closing and media producers losing their jobs.
