Kabul musicians face income drop of 90 percent under Taliban ban

The Taliban ban on music in Afghanistan has cut the daily income of some skilled artists by 90 percent, forcing them to trade teaching and retail for manual labor.

Since 2022, the government has prohibited playing or listening to music other than unaccompanied religious vocal chants. The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice enforces this rule. Spokesperson Saif ul Islam Khyber stated that music is forbidden in Islam and serves as a means of joy to Satan. He added that no one is permitted to listen to music or record songs.

The financial impact on musicians is severe. One rubab player in Kabul previously earned about 10,000 afghanis, or $150, per day. That income came from teaching music and operating a traditional instrument shop. After the takeover, he closed the business and sent many instruments abroad. He now works as a manual laborer and earns roughly 100 afghanis, or $1.50, a day. He supports a wife and children on this amount.

The singer interviewed for this report spent two years unemployed before starting a small business with the help of friends. Both artists spoke on condition of anonymity due to the risk of arrest. They hide their instruments to avoid them being smashed by authorities. The rubab player keeps three hand-carved wooden rubabs in a small home. He plays them in secret, noting that the risk of a knock at the door is high but the silence of the instrument is worse.

Underground performances have become rare due to increased enforcement. The singer has not performed at a secret gathering for four years. He said government agents actively search for musicians. The rubab player missed a recent arrest when a police raid hit a gathering where he was playing. A participant took photos and sent them to authorities, leading to the detention of many attendees. The rubab player managed to slip away.

The commercial hub for music in Kabul, the Kucha-e-Kharabat neighborhood, has shifted its inventory. Shops that once sold musical instruments now stock food, groceries, clothes, and household goods. Musicians who remained after the 2021 takeover often sent their equipment abroad or hid it. The loss of the business was a heavy blow for the rubab player, who lost his family trade. His father, also a musician, died of a heart attack shortly after the shop closed.

The rubab player is now teaching his eldest son to ensure the tradition continues. He described the instrument as a legacy passed from his grandfather to his father, and then to him. The singer believes music remains inseparable from Afghan society. He compared the bond to a fingernail attached to flesh. He continues to keep his rubab, harmonium, flute, tabla, and keyboard covered with a tarp in his home.