Assalamu Alaikom

I am from England and am trying to expand my musical knowledge and experiences. What pieces of music or songs would you say represent Afghanistan, either historically or culturally?

Over the last five years, daily life in Afghanistan has changed significantly, especially for women. But it’s also become a tightrope walk between modernity and ‘morality,’ even for men in the country’s urban centers. That tightrope walk has given way to another: with appearance tightly policed, men in Kabul are still figuring out how to express their masculinity—even what it means to be a man.

Azizullah, a trainer at a high-end gym where memberships can go for as much as $60 a month, says the Islamic Emirate’s efforts to limit social life mixed with a lack of job opportunities and little hope of getting out of the country have sent tens of thousands of young men to the gyms that keep popping up around the capital.

“A lot of young men were scared and dejected after the change in government,” the 26-year-old said. Even after they eventually returned to a semblance of their normal lives and went back out on the streets,  “A large number decided to take up fitness and bodybuilding as a distraction. A way to set their minds towards a positive goal.”

For most of the young men Azizullah sees at the gym — serial entrepreneurs, TikTok influencers, Taliban officials, and media professionals — the goal is the same as it ever was for Afghan men, “They all want to bulk, to get bigger.”

And many, he said, are willing to go to any lengths to achieve that goal, including turning to steroids.

“Too many don’t want to put in the actual work, they just want quick results,” this includes those who already pay Azizullah $150 a month for 45-minute daily training sessions. Omid, a part-time educator who works out at another high-end gym agrees. He says at least 60 percent of the guys he sees at his gym on the west side of the city “juice up.”

Read the full story: https://www.playboy.com/read/politics/the-male-aesthetics-industry-is-booming-in-afghanistan

I'm Kurd. I often hear that Afghans love Kurds.

I just want to know if that's true?

FYI: Not knowing how to mention it, I refer to Persian culture: the languages, traditions and customs of non-Pashtun ethnic groups.

Recently I have been told by a few of Afghans (Tajiks mainly) that with the current government the Persian culture is at risk.

- I believe he mentioned that the Dari language is actively thrown out of government institutions.

- Signs and symbols are being replaced with dual or Pashto only.

-The government is actively pursuing the spreading of Pashtun demographics in traditional non-Pashtun regions through migration.

I haven’t heard of read of any of these claims.
What are your thoughts on this have you come across this?

Asalaam O Alaikum, I’m in a really tough spot and could use some outside perspective.

I am a 29-year-old male, a medical doctor, and I recently got my AMC licence (finally fully qualified). I am the eldest son of 3 brothers and 3 sisters (one sister married, another engaged and getting married in a month or two). Because I’m the eldest and established, the pressure from my family to settle down is becoming unbearable.

The problem is, I have a genuine phobia of marriage. Not just the wedding, but the life after. My mind spirals with fears: What if we aren't compatible? What if I lose my independence?

But here is the biggest kicker—In our tradition, we are not allowed to meet or get to know the girl properly before marriage. Everything is based on what the families tell each other and a few brief, heavily chaperoned glances.

This terrifies me because I have seen too many "witches in human skin." I don't mean literal witches, but people who are masters at putting on a perfect act for the elders. They seem like angels to the parents, but behind closed doors, they are manipulative, toxic, or completely different. I have seen friends and relatives get trapped in miserable marriages because the woman (or man) showed their true colors only after the Nikah / wedding. How can I possibly agree to spend my life with someone based on a family meeting where she isn't even allowed to speak freely or forced to act.

And on top of that, my biggest, deepest fear is about my future generation. I faced extreme hardship, trauma, and instability growing up in Afghanistan. I am terrified of bringing children into this world only for them to face a fraction of what I endured. I worked so hard to escape that life; the thought of history repeating itself for my kids haunts me.

I feel stuck between my cultural duty as the eldest son and my internal panic.

My question to you all:

For those from similar conservative cultures, how do you vet someone without actually talking to them? How do I protect myself from making a lifelong mistake based on hearsay? And how do I explain to my parents that I am mentally not ready to be a father, when they just see me as a "successful doctor who needs to settle down"?

Afghan refugee living in iran without any documents, possible to move to another country as a refugee with family?

https://reddit.com/link/1w2agpm/video/n2ng6p4gmgmh1/player

Salaam everyone! 👋

I'm a musician from Japan. I love learning and singing national anthems from around the world to connect with people from different cultures on Ome.tv.

Here is a quick clip of me singing the Afghan National Anthem! The reaction was so warm and wonderful, so I wanted to share it with this community.

Manana / Tashakor (Thank you) for watching!
I hope this brings a smile to your face. 🙏❤️

You can check out more of my national anthem videos here
Instagram

I swear there is a lot of us? I have a nice bunch of grey hairs growing in the middle of my hairline and it started when I was 22.

Wasn't really sure how to word this I'm an american, family served in the war. My daughter has befriended a little girl whose family immigrated from Afghanistan at her school, shes only 6 and asked some questions and made me wonder what are somethings about the afgani people the world should know? Its hard to explain as an adult to a 6 year old i arranged a FaceTime with my brother who has been truly impacted by the people he always said the average people were some of the hardest working and kindest people they ever met after years of war the every day people still treated him with kindness even though he was the invader...i wish nothing but peace for the innocents still living under Talib rule.

For context, I am Turkish and my husband is afghan. We are having our wedding ceremony soon and he doesn't know much about how traditional weddings and henna nights work. I want to try my best to implement both cultures since ive been told that they can be similar. The wedding is in October and all I have is my Afghan dress.

Can any ladies also let me know what kind of dances brides/bridesmaids do ?

To all Afghan Londoners!!!!

The SOAS Gallery in the University of London are currently holding an exhibition on ”The Embroidery Traditions of Afghanistan”.

As an embroiderer myself, I thought I‘d take the time to share this beautiful opportunity for other fellow Afghans. What makes this exhibition most special is the fact that it’s mostly a private collection, so the items you’ll find are very rare to catch a glimpse of anywhere else.

Personally, as a Pashai person myself, I was very pleased to see pristine examples of Pashai embroidery, something that I have struggled to find examples of anywhere else!

On the whole, an amazing exhibition; I wish I was able to share some of the pictures I took there but for some reason this isn’t possible here. I’ll share the address in the comments!

Hi!! NYC based Iranian-American actor and filmmaker who just directed the 1st episode of a docuseries following Yeldā Ali, an Afghan DJ and mom based in NYC, on identity, artistry, and what freedom actually means to her. She is one of the most inspiring people I have met.

We're screening Ep. 1on Sept 29 at Lovejoy's in Bushwick--wanted to invite this community in hopes of creating a space to connect :)
It’s not only a screening but also a community gathering and hoping to spread the word!

Tickets officially live now so thought I'd drop here ! I hope to meet some new folks from the MENASA community!

https://posh.vip/e/freedom-frames-episode-1-afghanistanworld-premiere-dj-party

Hey everyone,

I'm a Master’s student at the University of Bern (Switzerland) conducting a scientific research study examining how certain traits, life experiences, attitudes and behaviors are related to each other.

I would greatly appreciate if you could participate in my survey: https://ww3.unipark.de/uc/research_study_university_Bern_Switzerland/

As a token of appreciation, participants can choose to enter a prize draw to win one of five USD 100 prizes.

Thank you for participating!

I just finished the novel and it has deeply affected me on an emotional and psychological level—so much so that I had trouble sleeping the night that I read the chapter about the incident after the competition. I’ve cried many times throughout the reading and it’s made me feel heavy with sadness. Do you find the story to be an accurate portrayal of the Afghan experience? How prevalent is male sexual abuse against other males? From what I infer from the novel, it seems quite common. Forgive me for asking, but it’s a question that I became curious about.

Afghanistan’s first elected president speaks on regime change wars, conflict with Pakistan and why he’s still talking to the Taliban. Source: Bloomberg News.

i am looking for someone living in kandahar to ask them some questions about research i'm doing on archeology in the kandahar area. please reach out thanks!

I’m creating a playlist featuring folk music from every country in the world.

For each country, I’ll make a separate post and leave it open for 24/48 hours. Comment with one folk song by an artist from the country being featured.

When the time is up, I’ll select the 3 most upvoted songs that are genuinely folk music and add them to the playlist.

I’ll go through 205 countries and territories, following Wikipedia’s alphabetical list, so every country gets its own post.

NATION 1/205:

Afghanistan

Rules:

- One song per comment

- The artist must be from the country being featured

- The song must genuinely be folk/traditional music

- The 3 highest-voted qualifying songs will be selected (only comments in the linked post are going to be checked

Hello,

I would like to know more about afghan music.

I just listened to Gulfam by Aryana Sayeed and I'm in love! Do you have any other similar songs/artists to recommend? I don't know where to start lol

I'm open to both traditional and modern.

Thank you so much 🙏🏻