Taliban Leader Signs Law Regulating Poetry: Criticism of Hibatullah and Love Poetry Banned
Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, has signed a new law regulating poetry gatherings, banning criticism of his leadership and love poetry, as part of the group’s ongoing efforts to control artistic expression and enforce their interpretation of Islamic law.
Kokcha News Agency – The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice announced that Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s leader, has signed a law regulating poetry gatherings, which includes a preamble, two chapters, and 13 articles. The law explicitly prohibits poets from criticizing the “decrees, guidance, rulings, and decisions” of Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Additionally, the law bans the writing of love poetry and the praise of romantic interests. One of the clauses states that poets must avoid “praising boys and girls or inviting relationships and friendships with them.” Article 5, Clause 7, further stipulates that poetry should be free from “virtual love, inappropriate desires, and unjustified emotions.”
The Ministry of Information and Culture has been designated as the authority responsible for enforcing this law.
The Ministry of Justice published the law in the official gazette on Saturday, September 8, after it was signed by Hibatullah Akhundzada.
The Taliban’s poetry regulation law labels feminist, communist, democratic, and nationalist ideologies as “non-Islamic” and emphasizes that poets’ content should not address these concepts.
In the preamble, the law cites Islamic hadiths (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) to assert that poets have a responsibility to defend Islam through their poetry and interpret Islamic rulings in their verses.
The duties outlined in the law are addressed to “brother poets,” effectively ignoring female poets.
According to the law, the Ministry of Information and Culture is required to establish committees in the capital and provinces to evaluate poetry gatherings. These committees will include representatives from the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, and the Council of Scholars. The committees are tasked with “filtering” the poems and speeches of participants in accordance with the law.
The law explicitly states that poets, speakers, and organizers of poetry gatherings who violate its provisions will be punished “in accordance with Sharia law.”
Hibatullah Akhundzada issued guidelines for poetry and literary events on June 10, following the Taliban’s disruption of several poetry gatherings in various provinces and the imprisonment of poets for writing critical verses.
In March, the Taliban canceled the “Gul-e-Arghawan” poetry program in Parwan province. Similarly, the reading of critical poems at the “Gul-e-Narenj” event in Nangarhar province sparked controversy.
This law is part of the Taliban’s broader efforts to restrict civil liberties, freedom of expression, and media censorship since taking control of Afghanistan nearly four years ago.
The Taliban has consistently threatened, suppressed, and imprisoned critics, enforcing its interpretation of Islam and social issues as law and punishing those who deviate from it.
