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Online Afghan humour: Laughter as resistance against Taliban
Afzali has created more than 200 comic videos that started out by targeting the deposed pro-Western Afghan government. But now his sights are set on the Taliban.
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Afghan Hafiz Afzali, 34, sits in front of a computer screen at his home and models 3d characheters for his Youtube videos, on October 15, 2021 in Espoo, Finland. (AFP/Alessandro Rampazzo)
When a Taliban militant meets Afghan pop star Ayrana Sayeed, he tries to charm her.
"If you marry me, I will have a beard and a moustache and tanks. And I will build you a nightclub!"
The scene, completely unimaginable in real life with the singer now based in exile after fleeing in the wake of the Taliban's takeover, is part of a satirical YouTube animation series that has captivated Afghans in recent weeks.
It shows Sayeed appearing to the militant in his dreams. But then the man, sleeping with his Kalashnikov slung around his shoulder, wakes up to reality to find he is in fact hugging a bearded fellow militant.
The militant is then shown in another video proudly showing off how life has changed in Kabul since the Islamist fundamentalists took control in mid-August.
He comes upon a woman wearing an Arab-style niqab face veil.
"Are you a genie, a fairy or a human?" he inquires, reflecting the confusion of locals when faced with such garb, now being promoted by the Taliban.
