Say what now? Music to be banned in Afghanistan

How on earth will music lovers cope?

A Taliban leader has announced that music will be banned in Afghanistan and women will be required to travel with a male chaperone on trips that last several days, even as he promises the Taliban will be more liberal than they were 20 years ago. 

In an interview with the New York Times, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said while women will eventually be allowed to return to work and go on trips to school, and hospitals, they would need a male chaperone for trips that last several days. 

And music will be banned in the country. 'Music is forbidden in Islam, but we're hoping that we can persuade people not to do such things, instead of pressure them,' Mujahid said. Still, he said, things will be different under this Taliban rule than the previous regime. 

'We want to build the future and forget what happened in the past,' he said, rejecting reports that the Taliban is already extracting vengeance on those who opposed them and are trying to reimpose the harsh restrictions on women that made them notorious when they first took control in 1996.