KABUL, Afghanistan — A video reportedly posted online in Afghanistan in October depicts showgirls dancing in front of Taliban leader-in-waiting Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
The video, which was originally reported by CNN, showed a group of girls walking down a road and chanting in unison, “Halla! Hasta laury, Hasta laury” — Time’s translation of a Taliban favorite phrase.
According to CNN, the video appeared to be shot in May.
Although there are no reports that the girls were involved in the performance or known to the group who filmed it, according to Kabul Women’s Network Executive Director Mirwais Yasini, the Taliban has banned women from entertainment in television.
However, the Afghan government authorized thousands of women to be dancers, interpreters and artists for a city of the same name in 1992.
“The current ban on women performers on TV is both hypocritical and deeply misogynistic,” Yasini told Reuters in a statement.
The Taliban issued a statement Friday, saying the broadcast should be broadcast because “a great injustice has been done to an innocent nation,” adding that some of the entertainment was “filmed in secret and hidden from the citizens.”
The Taliban also condemned the “shameless performances of female actors, singers and singers on the television scene, which had no connection with any true religion or faith,” according to state media.
Under Taliban rule, “scripted dramas about famous and historic events had no resemblance with reality,” the Taliban said. “These dramas were either saucy or suggested lust for the enemy.”
One of the funniest submissions of 2017 comes from a “young man” who addressed the apparent desire of voters to select candidates with the name Muhammad: