Women were playing music during Ramadan, Taliban closed their radio station

The Taliban, which has tightened its grip on women’s rights, has taken another similar step. A Taliban official said a radio station run by women in Afghanistan has been shut down for playing music during the holy month of Ramadan. According to the news agency Associated Press, the name of the women-run station is Sadai Banovan which means the voice of women. The radio station started 10 years ago and has a staff of eight people, six of whom are women.

Moizuddin Ahmadi, director of information and culture in Badakhshan province, said the radio station violated “the Islamic emirate’s laws and regulations” several times by playing songs and music during Ramadan. Moizuddin Ahmadi said, “If this radio station accepts the policy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and guarantees that it will not repeat such acts again, we will allow it to operate again.”

Meanwhile, the head of the radio station, Nazia Sorosh, denied the allegations, saying there was no need for the shutdown. He called it a “conspiracy”. The Taliban “told us you broadcast music. We didn’t broadcast any kind of music.” The radio station said that representatives of the government came to the station and shut it down, without giving any additional details about the closure. Prior to this, the Taliban also barred women from studying beyond the sixth grade, including university, and from employment.