Taliban Extortion at Wedding Ceremonies in Farah; Families Under Increased Pressure

Photo: © ANMAR / AFP / France 24

“The Taliban have resorted to extorting money from the bride price given to the bride’s family or from the mahr of our daughters…”

“Before marrying off our daughters, we have to think about paying extortion to the Taliban…”

“Many people have been forced to simplify their wedding ceremonies or postpone them.”

These statements by residents of remote areas of Farah province show the shocking and disturbing actions of the Taliban. While the Taliban claim to enforce “Islamic justice” and support the people of Afghanistan, particularly women, recent reports from Farah present a completely different and alarming picture of the group’s conduct.

Residents of the province say that not only have the Taliban imposed taxes on their bread, but the bride price paid to the families of their daughters has also not been spared from extortion by the group’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

Local reports indicate that Taliban collectors of ushr and zakat, in addition to taking taxes from agricultural produce and the meagre incomes of the population, also demand money from families during wedding ceremonies.

This is taking place at a time when many families are struggling with severe poverty and a livelihood crisis.

Abdul Rahman, a resident of Pir Kunder village, told Zan News, criticising the Taliban’s actions: “Before marrying off our daughters, we have to think about paying extortion to the Taliban. We live under the burden of debt and poverty. When we arrange our daughters’ weddings, instead of helping, the Taliban take money even from the ceremony and the bride price given to the bride’s family. This is oppression, not taxation.”

Gul Mohammad, a resident of Sawzaguzi village in Farah province, also told Zan News: “The Taliban take taxes from everything, from land, from work, and now even from our happiness, from my daughter’s mahr. These actions have made people tired and hopeless.”

Mohammad Younus, a resident of Deh Sheikh village in the province, told Zan News: “From now on, we are forced to borrow money to pay the tax on the bride price before marrying off our daughters and give it to the Taliban. Many families have been forced to simplify their wedding ceremonies or postpone them because they cannot afford these additional costs. A person may not take any mahr, but the Taliban come and say you held a ceremony, pay the tax on the bride price.”

The Taliban have not yet officially responded to these reports, but they have previously stated that the collection of ushr and zakat is carried out in accordance with Islamic law.

However, critics say that the expansion of taxation to traditional ceremonies such as bride price payments is a sign of increasing pressure on people’s private lives.