Afghanistan’s singing sisters challenge the Taliban

As the world watched the Taliban return to power in August 2021, two sisters in Kabul were among millions of Afghan women who could feel the new regime’s grip tightening around them.

They began covertly using the power of their voices to oppose after deciding they could no longer merely observe while women’s liberties were curtailed.

In a country where artists can be arrested, they launched the Last Torch singing movement on social media and putting themselves in grave danger.

They said that “We’re going to sing this but it could cost us our lives” one of them remarked in a recorded video before beginning the song.

Shortly after the Taliban took power in August 2021, it was released and became viral on facebook and whatsApp very rapidly.

Despite having no musical background the sisters who wear burkas to disguise their identities and became a musical success.

Our fight began directly under the Taliban flag and against the Taliban,” explains Shaqayeq (not her real name) the younger member of the trio.

Before the Taliban took power we had never written a single poem. This is exactly what the Taliban did to us.

It took the Taliban fewer than twenty days to put their distinct vision for Afghanistan into action after seizing power again.

One of their top aims was to impose Sharia (Islamic religious law) in everyday life and limit women’s access to education. Women protested in Kabul and other large cities but were met with a violent repression.

Shaqayeq states “Women were the last glimmer of hope we could see.”

We choose to refer to ourselves as the Last Torch for this reason. We made the decision to launch a covert protest from home as we didn’t think we would be able to get anyplace.

One was a well-known poem written in opposition to the initial Taliban takeover in 1996 by the late Nadia Anjuman.

How can I speak of honey when my mouth is filled with poison?

Alas my mouth is smashed by a cruel fist…

Oh for the day that I break the cage,

Break free from this isolation and sing in joy.

Despite having only published seven songs thus far, the sisters’ music has struck a deep chord with women all throughout the nation. They started off using other people’s lyrics but according to Shaqayeq, “no poem could explain how we felt.” At that moment, they began writing their own.

Their subjects include human rights violations, the imprisonment of activists and the oppressive restrictions imposed on women’s daily life.

Fans replied by posting their own versions of the songs on social media. In other cases, they have disguised themselves with burkas and one group of Afghan school kids from outside the nation recorded a rendition on stage in the school auditorium.

This is the polar opposite of the Taliban’s goals.

One of its first actions after assuming power was to rename the Ministry of Women’s Affairs the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. The new ministry not only mandated burka wear but also denounced music for allegedly eroding Islam’s origins.

Social media quickly became inundated with videos of Taliban foot soldiers destroying musical instruments and parading imprisoned musicians. Shaqayeq and Mashal are currently working on their future tracks. They hope to echo the voices of Afghan women fighting for their independence