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NEWS 25 January 2006 Afghanistan: First female music performance in a decade As the first female singer to take to the stage in Afghanistan in more than a decade, Tajik singer Maniza Daulat performed for 1,500 male fans in Kabul. Afghanistan’s host of female singers, most of whom live overseas, are still reluctant to take to the stage, especially for live concerts. Many have promised to perform but none have yet dared to. The concert of one of the biggest female stars to ever visit Afghanistan was the first in a series planned for the capital and the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. According to the news agency AFP, many said it showed Afghanistan was moving away from the its fundamentalist past, which included five years of Taliban rule where singing was declared a sin, and music and televisions were banned. The concert took place under heavy security because of fears of attacks by insurgents. The area was cordoned off to vehicles and monitored by the police and fire brigade. Police and intelligence agents milled among the spectators. Despite the strict measures, the – entirely male – audience apparently went away impressed. Tickets cost 2,000 afghanis (40 US dollars), almost equivalent of a month’s wage for government employees. Source: Online - International News Network / AFP – 22 January 2006: ‘Tajik star breaks post-Taliban silence and rocks Afghan fans’ Related reading Afghanistan: Singing ban is illegal, says governor During Music Freedom Day 2008, governor Ata Mohammed Noor announced that he would try to solve the problem with the ban preventing male artists from singing at weddings 04 March 2008 Afghanistan: Short video about music and 'community censorship' In a short documentary video about music and 'community censorship' in Afghanistan, the 19-year-old Afghan singer Mariam says she gets verbal abuse all the time 14 July 2008 Afghanistan: New media restrictions according to Sharia law A letter from the Ministry of Culture and Information stated that "everything which is against the Sharia laws should not be printed, broadcasted, audio/video telecasted" 21 April 2008 Afghanistan: Restrictions on music discussed in parliament A commission for cultural and religious affairs in Afghanistan's lower house of parliament suggested to impose new restrictions on music and dance performance 02 April 2008 Afghanistan: Singer becomes symbol in the struggle for music freedom 18-year-old Lima Sahar has placed herself in the middle of Afghanistan's continous gender and music struggle. She could become the winner of the tv show 'Afghan Star' 13 March 2008 Afghanistan - special report: The cage is singing Freemuse Special Report, 'The cage is singing', is an in-depth report with ten video interviews and a book about music censorship in Afghanistan - past and present 25 February 2008 Aiab Gul Delshad Video interview with the head of Afghanistan's Music Union, who is a famous folk singer. He was arrested once, and imprisoned and tortured another time, because of two songs 25 February 2008 Aziz Ghaznawi Video interview with an authority on music administration in Afghanistan. He talks about how music was censored within Radio Television Afghanistan 25 February 2008 Baktash Kamran Video interview with the lead singer in Kamran Music Group. He speaks about his experiences with music prohibition during the Taliban period in 1996-2001 25 February 2008 Farhad Darya Video interview with Afghanistan's star singer who gives examples of songs which were censored in the period of communist parties in Afghanistan, starting from 1979 25 February 2008