Since August 2021, restrictions on freedom of expression in Afghanistan have significantly increased. In this speech, delivered at the Dawit Isaak Library in Malmö, Sweden, on May 22, I discuss how recent policies have affected book publishing, cultural production, and access to information in the country.
Good afternoon, everyone,
Let me begin with a simple but heartfelt thank you.
Since the withdrawal of American and NATO forces from Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban to power, my country has largely disappeared from international headlines. The war may be over in the eyes of the world, but for millions of Afghans, especially writers, thinkers, women, and minorities, the crisis has only deepened.
So I’m truly grateful that you’re here today to listen, to learn, and to care about the state of books, knowledge, and freedom in Afghanistan.
Before August 2021 and the return of the Taliban to power, Afghanistan had no restrictions or censorship on book publishing. In fact, some Iranian publishers used to come to Afghanistan to print books in Kabul that were banned from publication in Iran. From 2001 until August 2021, Afghanistan experienced a flourishing era of book publishing and freedom of expression. But all of those achievements were lost overnight, and today, the country has become one of the darkest places in the world when it comes to literary freedom.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed strict and often vague restrictions on publishing. Books, like journalism, art, and speech, are now filtered through a system of ideological control.
Inside the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Taliban have set up several review commissions. One of the most powerful is the Book Evaluation Commission. It has 13 members, including officials from the Taliban’s intelligence services and conservative religious scholars. Their job is to review every book before it’s allowed to be printed.
Now, what are their criteria for approval?
The ministry outlines three main criteria a book must meet to be approved: Islamic values, Afghan values, and the policies of the Islamic Emirate.
A statement issued by the Ministry on May 8, 2024, explicitly states: "Books will be evaluated based on these three principles, and any book that contradicts them will not be permitted for publication."
But what do those terms actually mean? That’s the problem, no one really knows. These phrases are intentionally vague. There’s no official definition, no guidelines, no examples. As a result, any word, any sentence, any idea can be banned, simply because a Taliban official decides it “goes against” one of those undefined values.
In May this year, the Ministry issued a statement saying:
“Books will be evaluated on the basis of these three principles, and anything that contradicts them will not be published.”
So what kind of books are being banned?
Over the nearly past four years, the Taliban have raided bookshops and libraries across Afghanistan. They’ve searched schools, universities, NGOs and seized thousands of books. In December 2024, they distributed a list of banned titles and warned publishers if these books are found during inspections, there will be consequences. I have the list, but it is not final, they are continuing to search for more books to include.
This list includes 434 books from various fields, written by both Afghan and non-Afghan authors and scholars. These are not extremist texts or works of hate speech, they are books on philosophy, sociology, history, political thought, poetry, and even religious reform.
According to content analysis, about 76% of banned books are labeled as “against national interests.” About 10% are labeled as against Islamic values, and another’s for a combination of both and against policies of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is the official name of the Taliban regime. But again, “national interest,” “Islamic values”, “Afghan values”, none of these terms are explained.
Yesterday I talked to a publisher in Kabul to be update about the situation and he told me that no books printed in Iran and any other country are allowed into Afghanistan anymore. Importers must first seek approval from the Taliban’s Book Evaluation Commission for each individual title. According to him, no books containing images of living beings’ humans or animals are allowed to be published at all. He also said that the actual number of banned books is much higher than what appears on the official list, and what has been made public is merely “the tip of the iceberg.”
I also spoke with Ezatullah Zawab, a well-known Pashto-language writer from eastern Afghanistan, who spent four months in Taliban custody and whose works have been banned. Zawab told me that, in addition to the banning of his books and his own imprisonment, a magazine he edited called MINA, which means "love" or "affection" in English, was also prohibited from publication. When I asked him what reasons the Taliban gave for banning the magazine, he said he was simply told that it was “against national interests.”
This is not just censorship, it’s cultural isolation. It’s an attempt to cut off the Afghan people from knowledge, debate, and the broader world. It’s about controlling how people think, what they learn, and how they imagine the future.
What’s at danger is more than literature. It’s memory, identity, and the right to think freely.
Thank you.
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