In Afghanistan, where no one is unaffected by dirty politics, corruption, economic woes and conflict, comic relief is as indispensable as bread and water. Lately however, political satire, an increasingly desirable vehicle for venting aggravations and disappointments, is being closely watched by the powers that be. The genre first become a daily staple of Kabul's publications in the 1960s, when after the promulgation of the 1964 constitution, freedom of expression became an unalienable right. Activists were quick to discover that caricatures and satirical poems were the most effective vehicle to disseminate their messages. Around the same period, an exclusively satirical and non-partisan...
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