The Taliban government added to its list prohibited activities, chess, assimilated until further notice to a game of money contrary to the law on manners, an official at AFP said on Sunday.
Failures “are considered a way to bet money”, which is prohibited according to the law on the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice (PVPV) adopted last year, told AFP Atal Mashwani, spokesperson for the Sports Department.
The subject of “religious issues”, “failures will be suspended in Afghanistan as long as these issues are not treated,” added Mr. Mashwani, without specifying the sanction in the event of a violation.
Patron of a Kabul cafe where customers gladly devoted themselves to this game, Azizullah Gulzada, 46, indicates that he will be respected the prohibition but is not said to be convinced by religious arguments.
Ultra-Rigorist vision
“Many Muslim countries have players at an international level that participate in international meetings,” he said to AFP.
“Many (young) came here every day, without Paris of money,” he added, regretting that they now have less pretext to come together. “People who are passionate about chess is possibly sad”.
After resuming power in 2021, the Taliban authorities gradually imposed their ultra-rigorist vision of Islam, prohibiting certain activities and certain sports.
In 2024, MMA (mixed martial arts) competitions were banned, the government believing that they were too “violent” and “issues vis-à-vis Sharia law”, while the practice of cricket is still very widespread, but only among men.
Women have been gradually ostracized by the Taliban, who prohibited them from access to parks, sports halls, beauty institutes and universities, pushing the UN to denounce “gender apartheid”.
