Four Afghan nationals landed in trouble in Afghanistan‘s Jibrail after they were caught by Taliban officials for wearing outfits inspired by characters of British drama series ‘Peaky blinders’, several reports claimed.
The men, Asghar Husinai, Jalil Yaqoobi, Ashore Akbari and Daud Rasa, all in their 20s, recently on a local YouTuber’s chat show, CBS News claimed. Video and photos of them walking shoulder to shoulder in their costumes had circulated widely on social media in Afghanistan in the days before their arrests.
‘They were promoting foreign culture’
Taliban accused the men of promoting foreign culture and imitating film actors, sending the men for a rehabilitation program.
“Through numerous sacrifices, we have protected this country from the spread of harmful cultures, and now we are also defending it,” a Taliban official said.
Crackdown on Afghan youth since Taliban’s takeover
Since Taliban assumed power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after two decades of Western-backed governance, its vice and virtue ministry has cracked down on all behaviour deemed un-Islamic under the country’s strict interpretation of Sharia law.
As of 2024, about 1.4 million girls have been barred from secondary education under Taliban edicts, according to Radio Free Europe.
Universities were also shut to female students by December 2022, including medical and other higher-education institutions.
The educational rollback went beyond gender as many male students also faced a deteriorating quality of schooling. Teachers had been dismissed (especially female teachers), curricula gutted (removing lessons on human rights, diversity, history), and new moral/ideological content imposed, according to DW.
As for lifestyle changes, the regime imposed strict dress codes, grooming, personal appearance and even hobbies.
Young men have been detained for “western-style” haircuts, shaving beards, or wearing clothes deemed “foreign.”
Rights organisations have repeatedly warned that the Taliban’s directives on culture, education and public morality have contributed to an atmosphere of fear among Afghan youth.