Afghanistan’s Jihad Museum in Herat alters exhibits under Taliban rule, removing faces from figurines and portraits of mujahideen commanders.
HERAT: An Afghan who fought against Soviet forces still visits a museum celebrating the resistance, but the displays have undergone notable changes under Taliban authorities.
Saaduddeen, 67, travels each month to the Jihad Museum, a building of glittering blue and white mosaics over the hills of Herat in western Afghanistan.
“The Russians came to Afghanistan with jets, choppers, tanks; it was very violent,” said Saaduddeen, who requested his surname not be published for security reasons.
“I was just a young guy, but I wanted to stand for the independence of Afghanistan,” he added.
Inside the building, a display made by academics recalls the suffering of civilians and the struggle for independence.
When the museum opened in 2010, figurines showed the faces of women and men depicted in scenes of resistance.
But today, their mouths, noses and eyes have been removed, with beards and hair left on the men.
The Taliban government, which took power in 2021, has banned depictions of living things under its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
“Now it’s less personal, and it touches us less,” said Saaduddeen.
But it’s better than nothing, he thought: “It’s good that the museum exists.”
The garden is still filled with the remnants of war including a Soviet fighter jet, helicopters, and tanks.
But a gallery originally conceived as a hall of fame displaying portraits of mujahideen commanders has been removed.
Families are also absent because, with very rare exceptions, women are not allowed to enter.
“It would be better if entire families could come because this is a very important part of our history,” a visitor told AFP on condition of anonymity.
One of the museum’s most emblematic employees, known as Sheikh Abdullah, also no longer walks its rooms.
He went to Afghanistan as a Soviet officer named Bakhretdin Khakimov and was saved by the mujahideen after being wounded.
Upon his death in 2022, the Taliban government’s spokesman highlighted Khakimov’s life story and offered condolences.
