Afghan soap
For four years, under President Hamid Karzai, Afghani citizens have enjoyed a steady diet of western-influenced TV shows. But as the Taliban grows stronger, things are changing. The Minister of Culture and Information – a Karzai appointee, no less – recently banned soap operas from the airwaves. You might say he Tally-BANNED them – claiming they were not in keeping with “Afghan religion and culture.” Which makes sense, as the Taliban prohibits women from having jobs or going to school – let alone wearing nail polish or kissing a man on TV.
So some of Afghanistan’s great soap operas are going to go away. Even everyone’s favorite, “KumKum” and our super-favorite “Because the Mother-in-Law was Once the Daughter-in-Law.” Yes, those are real. But this is a shame. Couldn’t they just make soap operas that are more obedient to Taliban morality? The Bold and the Burkaful? General Hospital… That Only Employs Men? Or how about… The Handsome and The Holy?
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