Afghan music school falls silent under Taliban rule

Imagine being afraid for your safety because you have been learning to play the piano or sitar.

This is what students and staff at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) are now facing, after the Taliban said they would ban music following their takeover of the country. The doors of the celebrated school are closed, and its hallways have fallen silent.

"The students are all fearful and concerned. They clearly understand that if they return to the school, they might face consequences or be punished for what they've been doing," the school's founder and director, Dr Ahmad Sarmast, told the BBC.

He said some students had returned their instruments to the school when the Taliban descended on the city. This was deemed safer than keeping them at home, where fighters from the Islamist group might find them.

The school in the capital, Kabul, has thrived under Dr Sarmast's leadership for more than a decade, and he has been praised for bringing music back to its classrooms after strict Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001.

ANIM was a trailblazer: boys and girls were taught in the same room - a rarity in Afghanistan - and they practiced both Afghan and Western classical music. Orphans and street children were encouraged to attend, and many graduates were the first in their family to receive a formal education.

The school was also home to Zohra, Afghanistan's first all-female orchestra, which performed to huge audiences both nationally and internationally.