Traditional practice shunned by country’s rulers ‘We just want to show that Afghanistan was colourful, full of nice culture,’ says organizer LONDON: A kite-flying event in London on the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan provided “a voice, far from our home” for the diaspora in the UK capital, The Guardian reported. Organized by the Good Chance theater, the celebration on Tuesday highlighted the traditional “colorful” Afghan culture of kite-making and flying. Using tissue paper and bamboo sticks, participants constructed kites and staged competitions. The practice has been shunned by the Taliban. Amir Hussain Ibrahimi, who works for Good Chance, said: “One of the more important parts of our Afghan culture is these amazing multi-coloured kites, and we fly them, make them, design them since we were children. “This is something that makes you really proud when you fly them because it is part of a hope for Afghan people.” The centuries-old practice was on display during the fall of the previous Taliban government in 2001, but the return of the group to power in 2021 has put an end to the tradition, Ibrahimi said. “They banned the kites, they banned music, they want to remove women from society and they are trying to delete everything that doesn’t follow their rules,” he added. Good Chance encouraged followers on social media to fly kites in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, “wherever you are in the world.” It promoted the hashtags #Flywithme and #RememberAfghanistan alongside the event. Ibrahimi said: “For women and girls we want to be a voice, far from our home. We just want to show that Afghanistan was colourful, Afghanistan was full of nice culture, nice people, the girls who just want to improve themselves (through education), the women who were working with men shoulder-to-shoulder to improve their country. “And a lot of things have been lost and deleted, especially hope. The people of Afghanistan lost hope.”