Press Release
PRESS RELEASE
Portugal, 14 August 2026
15 August 2026 marks five years since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. For the Afghan people, this anniversary marks five years of deepening repression, the erosion of fundamental freedoms and the systematic denial of basic human rights.
During these five years, Afghan women and girls have been progressively excluded from education and public life. Freedom of expression has been severely restricted, while music, artistic activity and many forms of cultural expression have been suppressed. Afghanistan’s rich musical and cultural life has been pushed into silence.
For the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), the return of the Taliban also forced an entire generation of young musicians into exile. Students, teachers and musicians who had built their lives around music and education were forced to leave their homeland and rebuild their lives abroad.
But exile did not silence them.
Since relocating its activities to Portugal, ANIM has continued to use music and education as instruments of resistance, cultural preservation and advocacy. Through the Afghan Youth Orchestra, ANIM’s principal ensemble, its students and musicians have performed across Portugal and internationally, bringing Afghan music to audiences while drawing attention to the realities faced by the Afghan people under Taliban rule.
Every concert has provided an opportunity to tell a different part of Afghanistan’s story: a story of a people whose freedoms have been taken away, whose culture is under pressure and whose young generation continues to resist being silenced.
ANIM’s performances and international musical engagements have therefore become more than artistic events. They have been opportunities to raise awareness, challenge indifference and ensure that the experiences and aspirations of Afghans remain visible to the world.
Music has become one of ANIM’s ways of saying that Afghanistan cannot be reduced to the policies of its rulers, and that the Afghan people and their cultural heritage cannot be erased.
ANIM’s work in exile is rooted in a simple conviction: music belongs to the people, and no regime can permanently silence a culture. By continuing to educate young Afghans, preserve Afghan musical traditions and perform for audiences around the world, ANIM seeks to keep Afghanistan’s cultural voice alive.
“Adam wa Hawa”: A New Voice from Afghan Musicians in Exile
As part of this continuing commitment, ANIM will release “Adam wa Hawa” (Adam and Eve) آدم و حوا on 15 August 2026, the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power.
The song, performed by the Afghan Youth Orchestra and its singers, brings together the voices of young Afghan women and men and speaks to freedom, equality, human dignity, hope and the right to learn and create.
With music and lyrics by Homayun Morowat and arrangement and conducting by Tiago Moreira da Silva, Adam wa Hawa draws from the pain and suffering of the Afghan people while reflecting their hope for freedom, human dignity and a better future.
The song and its accompanying music video will be released on 15 August 2026 at 7:00 PM Kabul time through ANIM’s official channels and Afghanistan International Television.
Five years after the Taliban’s return, ANIM remains committed to ensuring that Afghanistan’s music is heard, its culture is remembered and the voices of its people are not forgotten.
Media Enquiries
Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), Portugal: jlustig@21cmediagroup.com or animportugal@gmail.com