...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
province have banned the sale and public flying of kites, according to a statement.
Kite flying in Afghanistan is a viciously competitive sport, with glass coating on the string used to cut through the strings of opposing kites… and reportedly occasionally injuring or killing bystanders and other nearby obstacles. The Taliban historically objected to any kind of fun — music, singing, dancing, women walking freely outside with uncovered faces, men appearing without beards in Western garb, all the usuals — and have been sequentially forbidding it all again.
The Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat has announced a ban on the sale and purchase of kites and kite-flying equipment in the province, according to a statement issued by the ministry’s provincial authorities.
Aziz Rahman Mohajer, head of the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat, said officials had instructed religious inspectors to prevent the sale of kites and kite strings across the city.
Mohajer said the decision followed repeated complaints from residents, claiming that kite flying and kite strings had contributed in some cases to traffic accidents, public harassment and injuries to children.
The Taliban official did not provide details of specific incidents or statistics on injuries or accidents linked to kite flying. The authorities also did not specify whether the ban applies to all kite flying in the province or primarily to sales and flying in public areas.
Kite flying, known in Afghanistan as gudiparan bazi, has long been a popular traditional pastime in the country. Historical accounts describe kite flying as a widespread cultural activity before the Taliban’s first rule, when the group banned the pastime along with a range of other recreational activities.
The restriction echoes the Taliban’s first period in power from 1996 to 2001, when kite flying was among several recreational activities banned by the group. Rooters photographs from Kabul in 2006 and 2017, however, documented kite flying as a visible part of Afghanistan public life after the Taliban’s first government was removed.
The latest measure adds to restrictions imposed by the Taliban on recreational and cultural activities since returning to power in 2021. The group’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has played a central role in enforcing social rules, including restrictions on women’s dress and public activities. UN reporting has documented increased enforcement of such restrictions in Herat in recent months.