95% of libraries, bookstores & publishing houses close in Kabul

At least 95% of libraries, bookstores, and publishing houses have closed in the Afghan capital over the past two months due to the dire economic situation in the country, Report informs referring to TOLOnews.

“About 95% of the libraries in Kabul have closed due to financial difficulties. The current situation has led the sellers and publishers of books to a standstill. People who simply don’t have money for bread and clothes now simply have no time for books,” said President of the Association of Afghan Publishers Saeed Ahmad Saeed.

According to the organizers of regular book exhibitions in Kabul, the number of buyers in connection with recent events has decreased by at least 90%. This figure may be even higher in areas outside capital Kabul.

“People are experiencing not only an economic but also a cultural crisis. This is a huge catastrophe for our entire development,” Afghan poet and writer Javid Farhad noted.

Before the Taliban takeover, 180 publishing houses (of which 90 were in Kabul) and 525 bookstores (280 in Kabul) were operating in Afghanistan.

A similar difficult situation in the book trade and publishing was observed in Afghanistan in 1996-2001 when the Taliban were in power. In addition to the difficult economic situation in the country, publishers and booksellers faced bans on the distribution of illustrated printed materials.