Afghanistan’s Mah-e-Naw Channel: A Modern Audio Drama
In a move straight out of a bizarre comedy sketch, Afghanistan’s Mah-e-Naw television channel has embraced a unique format: audio-only broadcasts. Yes, you heard that right! Welcome to a world where visuals are pushed aside, and the Taliban’s morality police have decided to bring back radio—only without the music. What’s next? A national channel solely for the sound of crickets? “Quiet, please!” becomes the new catchphrase.
According to recent reports from AFP, two television channels in the northern province of Takhar have succumbed to a peculiar new set of rules dictated by the Taliban’s “Virtue and Prevention of Vice” (PVPV). Sounds like a government committee you’d expect to find at the end of a bad dinner party, right? But here we are, listening to news without any sight. John Cleese would probably chime in with, “What’s next? A legal ban on having fun?”
The PVPV, bless their hearts, declared a ban on images of living beings, which includes anyone with a heartbeat or even your next-door neighbor’s dog. Local journalists, apparently shaking in their boots, expressed their fears of reprisals if they dared to speak out, opting instead to go radio silent—as silent as a library during a book club meeting. They weren’t allowed to use images, but hey, as long as the audio is clear, who needs those pesky visuals?
But wait! There’s more. In a dazzling display of defiance (or confusion), the public channel RTA still aired programs that included people and animals. A true game of ‘who wore it better’—without the bonus of visuals. The provincial news has been swapped for national programming, probably because an image of a goat bleating is just too scandalous for the new regime.
Now, just when you thought it couldn’t get weirder, let’s rewind to when the Taliban previously held power from 1996 to 2001, announcing a similar ban on images. The crafting of laws must be a hobby of theirs. One can only imagine the conversations: “Should we allow people to stroll back into a world of moving visuals? Nah! Let’s keep them guessing! Audio is all the rage. After all, who needs to see when you can just listen to someone read the news dramatically?”
This whole scenario raises a slew of questions. Are we living in a comedy of errors? Or have we stumbled into a dystopian sitcom where the laugh track plays every time someone accidentally uses the forbidden “L” word: Living? Could this be just the warm-up act before they really dive into the sound of audible silence? Honestly, I’m half expecting a public announcement to encourage folks to exercise their vocal chords while mimicking cat videos. “Meow your heart out!”
As the PVPV proceeds with its steps to gradually impose this legislation across the nation, the irony is palpable, like that awkward silence after a terrible joke. The people of Afghanistan, with their rich cultural history, now find themselves tuning into soundscapes rather than visuals—a bit like the early days of radio, but without the charm and glamour.
Will Mah-e-Naw and others find a way to survive this hilariously draconian decree? Here’s hoping! Maybe they can liven things up with sound effects or perhaps a talking goat? One can dream! Until then, keep those headsets charged; the audio drama is just getting started.
Stay tuned for more updates, or, you know, just listen closely. Shhh…
– / AFP In Aghanistan, the Mah-e-Naw television channel only broadcasts audio, banned by the Talibants from photos and videos of living beings
– / AFP
In Aghanistan, the Mah-e-Naw television channel only broadcasts audio, banned by the Talibants from photos and videos of living beings
MEDIA – Two television channels in a province in northern Afghanistan have stopped broadcasting images of living beings in accordance with orders from the morality police, journalists told AFP on Tuesday October 15.
All news media in Takhar province have been banned from taking images of living beings and broadcasting them, officials from the Ministry of Public Health told AFP on condition of anonymity on Tuesday. Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV).
The PVPV announced on Monday that it was starting to gradually apply a law prohibiting the media from using photos and videos of people and animals.
These rules are part of recently announced legislation by Afghanistan’s Taliban government implementing its strict interpretations of Islamic law imposed since it came to power in 2021.
An AFP journalist in Takhar province said the private channel Mah-e-Naw on Tuesday evening only showed its logo with audio broadcasts.
The public channel RTA has broadcast national programs, which continue to show people and animals, instead of the usual provincial evening news.
Takhar journalists, who did not wish to be identified for fear of reprisals, said provincial broadcasters had restricted their production after a meeting called by the PVPV on Sunday.
“The PVPV ordered all regional (television) media in Takhar that after the meeting they could make radio reports but could not use images” including living beings, under penalty of legal proceedings, a journalist told AFP.
“After this, journalists from national television and other regional media will all be forced to obey”he said.
In recent days, PVPV officials held meetings in at least two other provinces to inform journalists that the law would be gradually implemented throughout the country.
Television and images of living beings were banned nationwide under the previous Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001, but the decree has yet to be imposed on a large scale since their return to power.
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