Some Kabul taxi drivers play Afghan and regional folk or pop music despite a Taliban ban on public music, lowering or switching it off at checkpoints for fear of morality police. Music in Kabul has been muted for five years, apart from Taliban-backed religious or patriotic songs.
The ban is imposed by the Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, whose morality police patrol Kabul. An anonymous 32-year-old driver said he had been stopped twice at checkpoints over a USB stick and memory card; he said he told them the item contained music and they broke it. The ministry did not respond to AFP's question about penalties for playing music; violations of its other rules risk jail. Provincial departments sometimes report burning instruments, but no seizure figures are available, according to a ministry spokesman.
Roeen, who gave only his first name for security reasons, called listening a form of protest and said the ban had made him '10 times more interested' in music. Master's student Shamsullah Ahmad said he looks for taxis with music players because headphones would be noticed; morality police have been known to remove people's headphones to check whether they are listening.
