Afghans The declining value of books worries me about Afghans soil.
Afghans soil.
About two years have passed since the Taliban seized control of Kabul. I, like a lot of other Afghans who tried so hard to get a good education, am having a tough time. It appears that both knowledge and books are losing their once-high worth.
Many of my friends tried to leave the nation immediately after the arrival of Taliban forces in the Afghan capital in August 2021. They saw no future for themselves in Afghans soil. There was a serious brain drain.
Many people of high intelligence and education left, including professors, teachers, physicians, scientists, engineers, poets, and artists. My journalist coworker Alireza Ahmadi was also among those waiting in queue outside the terminal.
He reported on Facebook that he had sold 60 of his books on various topics for 50 Afghanis (less than $1) before leaving the country. He was slain when an Islamic State group in Khorasan Province bombed the airport where he was supposed to depart the country.
The international law, human rights, women’s rights, and the English language books that I had amassed over the years inspired me to do the same. As I was living in a country ruled by the Taliban, I figured there was no point in keeping them and instead gave them to public libraries.
I looked into possible exit routes from the nation. Since I could not leave Afghanistan, I decided to seek refuge in Iran along with millions of other Afghans. Unfortunately, I encountered rejection and scorn along with the rest of my countrymen and women. The idea that I could make a life in Iran quickly faded from my mind. Yet I did find something that kept me going – my old love for books.
I couldn’t stop myself from approaching the bookstores on Enqelab Plaza in Tehran one day. I ended up spending most of my meager funds on books about human rights and women’s rights that I had never seen before in Afghanistan. Equipped with these books, I resolved to return home and resume my previous way of life – surrounded by books and involved in intellectual pursuits.
After I returned, I began working on a book about women’s political rights in the international legal system and in Islam, which I finished in about a year. I sent my book to several publishers, but they all rejected it because they thought the issue was too sensitive and that getting permission to publish it would be impossible.
Ultimately, Mother Press’s Ali Kohistani consented to publish the book. He gathered the necessary papers and submitted the book to the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture for formal publication clearance. Soon after, the book review committee sent me a long list of questions and criticisms that I had to address.
I updated the book based on their criticism, but it wasn’t enough to receive authorization. We’ve been waiting for a final response for five months now, and my sadness is growing by the day.
Kohistani has gone to the ministry several times to inquire about the document but has received no response. He has told me that he wants to publish five more books this year, but none of them have been approved by the ministry.
Other publishers are also affected by the commission’s arbitrary rulings and lengthy delays. They claim that books that the Taliban wishes to print and that adhere to its ideology do not meet the same obstacles. They regard this tumultuous process as an attempt to repress any thought that differs from the Taliban’s.
Publication authorization delays and censorship are far from the only issues confronting Afghans book business.
Hundreds of bookstores and publishing houses have closed their doors in the last two years. The bulk of bookstores has closed in the Pul-e-Surkh neighborhood of Kabul, which I used to frequent before the Taliban took over.
Because the Taliban decide to prohibit girls and women from entering high school and university, they are no longer purchasing as many books. Boys and young men have also dropped out of school and universities, dissatisfied with the prospect of pursuing an education that will not guarantee them a job. This has significantly reduced bookshops’ consumer base.
Furthermore, the Taliban government has placed heavy taxes on book sales, severely reducing the income of bookstore owners and publishers.
Libraries around the country have also lost readers as fewer people visit to study or borrow books. Other book clubs, literary organizations, and reading programs have also ceased operations. Owning, reading, or writing books is no longer considered valuable.
Afghan book publishing has gone from a thriving sector – possibly the most successful native industry – to a struggling and dangerous commercial enterprise overnight. Afghans have gone from being voracious readers to being unable to purchase books. I’ve gone from being a proud author and book owner to a despondent man trying and failing to maintain an intellectual life in Afghanistan.
It is heartbreaking to witness the current condition of events in Afghans soil, a country with a great literary history and heritage. Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi (commonly known as Rumi), Ibn Sina Balkhi (also known as Avicenna), and Hakim Sanai Ghaznavi were all born in this country (also known as Sanai).
Reading, writing, and spreading knowledge were always valued in my country. Afghan monarchs of various dynasties have fostered learning and knowledge production while respecting freedom of opinion. Censorship, education restrictions, and the devaluation of literature were never part of Afghan heritage or culture.
In world history, no country has ever succeeded while its rulers restricted knowledge, education, and free thought. Afghanistan is heading towards darkness and ignorance, which worries me. Afghans Eliminating books and information will have disastrous ramifications for this country’s future.
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