A number of booksellers in Badakhshan have expressed concern over a significant drop in book sales and a slump in the publishing market in the province. They say that customers now only purchase school and university textbooks. These booksellers say that five years ago, hundreds of books were bought and sold daily in Badakhshan, but now many of the books available in bookstores have remained without buyers for months. According to them, economic problems, rising unemployment, and young people’s declining interest in reading are among the most important factors that have caused the book market in the province to face a slump.
Nemat (pseudonym), one of the booksellers in Badakhshan province, expresses concern over the significant decline in book sales and the fading culture of reading in the province. He says that over the past five years, book sales in the bookstores of Faizabad, the center of Badakhshan, have decreased significantly and have nearly reached zero.
Nemat says: “No one is interested in buying books and reading anymore. The culture of reading among people, especially the youth and teenagers of Badakhshan, has almost disappeared, and this situation is truly worrying.”
This bookseller adds: “Five years ago, hundreds of books were bought and sold daily in this province, and book exhibitions were also held extensively, but now many of the books in the bookstores have remained untouched for a long time without being purchased.”
Bilal (pseudonym), another bookseller, says that these days people mostly buy university and school books. According to him, there are books in the bookstores that have remained untouched for more than four years.
This bookseller says: “For the past five years, books have had no market in Badakhshan. Most booksellers left this profession because their business was not thriving, and turned to other work. If this situation continues this way, we booksellers will also leave this work, because we too have families and living expenses.”
Fayyaz (pseudonym), another bookseller in Badakhshan, says that the book market in the province now only thrives for one to two months of the year, coinciding with the start of the school and academic year.
He says: “We have separated school and university books from other books. We have also placed literary books, novels, historical works, and works of poets in a different section, but many of these books have remained untouched for months.”
This bookseller adds that various factors play a role in the decline of the book market. According to him, economic problems, rising unemployment, and young people’s declining interest in reading are among the most important reasons for the book market’s decline. He says: “Economic problems and the worrying situation in Afghanistan have caused people to think less about buying books. Unemployment has reached its peak, and this situation has made young people, in particular, uninterested in reading and books.”
Meanwhile, Jamal (pseudonym), one of the young people who is himself a university student, says that today, due to economic problems and the diminishing status of the educated, many educated young people have headed to the mines to earn a living and work alongside other laborers to make ends meet. According to him, the bitterest part of all is hearing taunts such as “You studied all this, what did you gain?”, words that reduce young people’s motivation for education and reading.
This student says: “Under such circumstances, the booksellers’ concern over unsold books is not merely economic; it is a warning sign for the future of culture and knowledge in Badakhshan. Declining book sales can be a sign of reduced reading, diminishing interest in knowledge, and a weakening connection between society and written culture.”
This young man believes that a society in which books are not read gradually loses its capacity for analysis, questioning, and informed decision-making.
Jamal adds: “Today we are witnessing educated young people going under mountains of rubble for a piece of bread, including Nooh-ul-Allah Naji Baigzad, whose level of education reached the master’s degree. Under such circumstances, not only has people’s attention to knowledge, reading, and education diminished, but the growing obstacles imposed by the Taliban at universities could further diminish young people’s interest in education, study, and reading.”
This comes as several citizens said some time ago that cultural and economic restrictions over the past five years have diminished the culture of reading in the country. They added that the confiscation of several books by the Taliban, restricted access to certain study resources, and reduced activity of libraries and cultural centers have made the space for reading more limited compared to previous years.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
