Marked by severe restrictions, women in Afghanistan are being denied their basic rights and freedoms under Taliban rule, which returned in 2021. Among those women, however, are two sisters who have launched their own form of movement against oppression through music. Clad in blue burqa, they started a music movement called the Last Torch. Protected by anonymity, they took it upon themselves to perform songs which resonated with many women across their country.
In an interview with the BBC, the sisters, whose names are changed to Shaqayeq and Mashal to protect their identity, shared, “Our fight started from right under the flag of the Taliban and against the Taliban. Before the Taliban came to power, we had never written a single poem. This is what the Taliban did to us”.
Taliban took just a few days, after returning to power, to implement its vision in Afghanistan, including ban on women’s education, reports the BBC. Many also faced a “harsh crackdown” when they took to the streets to protest against the restrictions imposed on the everyday life of the women.
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“Women were the last light of hope we could see,” Shaqayeq told the BBC. “That's why we decided to call ourselves the Last Torch. Thinking that we wouldn't be able to go anywhere, we decided to start a secret protest from home,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}“Women were the last light of hope we could see,” Shaqayeq told the BBC. “That's why we decided to call ourselves the Last Torch. Thinking that we wouldn't be able to go anywhere, we decided to start a secret protest from home,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}One of the songs they performed is a famous poem written by the late Nadia Anjuman, reported the BBC. She wrote the song as a form of protest against the first Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 1996.
Their videos have made their way to social media. Here’s one such video that shows the sisters singing a song while covered in blue-coloured burqas.
According to the BBC, singing under Taliban rule is punishable, and the sisters are well aware of that. Shaqayeq shared that she had spent many nights thinking that the Taliban would end up identifying them.
Also read: Taliban imposing restrictions on single, unaccompanied Afghan women: UN Report
“We have seen their threats on social media: ‘Once we find you, we know how to remove your tongue from your throat.’ Our parents get scared whenever they read these comments. They say maybe it's enough and we should stop.… But we tell them we can't, we cannot just continue with our normal lives,” Mashal added.
The sisters left the country last year for their security. However, they hope that they can return soon to their birthplace.