The cost of escaping of former president, Ashraf Ghani, and the fall of the government by Taliban are now being paid the worst way in Afghanistan. The sale of children, body parts and hunger are the only issues covered by the domestic and foreign media outlets.
After the collapse of the republic, the book market in the center and provinces of Afghanistan is declining day by day, even bookstores are closed one after another and books are on sale.
Earlier, Javid Farhad, a poet and writer, had sold all his books in Kabul to provide food for his family.
He is the only example of those who sold their intellectual capital for a low price.
Poets, writers and media activists have lamented the closure of bookstores in Kabul, saying, “while an illiterate group took the power and the level of poverty increased, the motivation to read books among young people disappeared.”
They believe that the closure of bookstores will lead the country into darkness, which is the gradual death of society.
“Today, the only places which have no sales are the bookstores of the national market of Pul-e-Surkh. Taliban entering the bookstores check the contents of books. The book sellers have put aside philosophical, and foreign novel books. The market of book is not free, and Taliban are censoring somehow,” Hamid Razaqpour a college student who is majoring in journalism said.
Meanwhile, Sharifullah Shahid a resident of Kabul told Aamaj News reporter that when a person is not hungry can read books, the people who do not have the money to buy food, how can buy books?
“In a country that weapon and oppression are the rulers, how someone can buy a book?” he added.
He also said that Taliban have warned bookstores not to sell non-Islamic books including novels.
Bilal Arjmand one of the writers in Kabul city said that bookstores in Kabul have not the sales as cigarette stores.
“The ones who used to buy and read books are not here, if some of them are still here, they cannot afford to buy books,” he added.
“Book City, which had the best books, has now put aside all its books so that they do not get into trouble,” said Navid Ahmadi from Kabul, a patron of ‘Book City’ in Pul-e-Sorkh.
Darwish Alemi, a poet and writer from Mazar-e-Sharif, told Amaj News reporter that with arrival of Taliban, he threw all his books into the river so that they would not be a problem for him.
He added that before the Taliban, the book market, magazines and printing houses were booming, and people were eager to buy and read books, but with the recent brain drain the culture of reading books have completely disappeared.
According to him, books are being sold very cheap in Mazar-e-Sharif.
Wali Samadi a poet from Baghlan reiterated that after Taliban’s domination, nobody is willing to buy books, and bookstores even do not have three customers a day.
In the meantime, Taliban believe the mixed gender system violates Sharia law and have introduced a number of regulations, including segregated classes and a “hijab according to their interpretation” for students after the reopening of universities.
Students also say that their motivation to learning has been vanished.
However, countries around the world have set preconditions for the Taliban to be recognized, including the right to education and a favorable educational environment for girls.
