Work it: Afghans flex their biceps at the Mr Afghanistan contest in Kabul today
‘The television only shows the men from the waist up and they say which provinces they are from, but won’t name them,’ smiles Mohammad Reza, who trained one of the finalists.
He was more worried about the use of steroids and synthetic hormones by some competitors.
‘Their wives are worried about their health, some have problems having children,’ said Reza, adding that drugs were available ‘everywhere’.
None of the competitors interviewed by Reuters admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs.
‘This is absolutely not allowed,’ said Farhid Ahmad Sediqi, head of Afghanistan’s union for sport and athletics.
‘All the competitors here have been tested. There is no doubt that today none of these men are using the drugs. We fine anyone who’s found using them 50,000 afs (£600).
After decades of conflict, Afghan men have developed a taste for showing off their guns.
But they’re usually flexing the AK-47 variety rather than the bronzed bicep kind.
Yet, in the eight years since the Taliban were ousted from the capital, Kabul,, bodybuilding contests have become popular entertainment, albeit frowned upon by many in the deeply religious country.
But they’re usually flexing the AK-47 variety rather than the bronzed bicep kind.
Yet, in the eight years since the Taliban were ousted from the capital, Kabul,, bodybuilding contests have become popular entertainment, albeit frowned upon by many in the deeply religious country.
And the pinnacle of the muscle-displaying calendar occurred today with the Mr Afghanistan competition.
So, after a year of waiting, hundreds of men eagerly packed into a small, run-down and sweaty Park Cinema in the bustling Shar-e-Now district to see who would be crowned.
They chanted and whistled as bronzed and muscular figures flexed their biceps while the heat caused Bollywood wall posters to peel at the edges.
Resembling copper-plated statues in their tiny, skin-tight underpants, competitors showed off their painstakingly toned muscles, contorting their bodies and tensing their metallic bottoms, backs, thighs and stomachs.
Afghan police, armed with the ubiquitous AK-47 rifles, wove through the cheering and excited audience, a reminder that conservative, Muslim Afghanistan is in the middle of a war and that the Mr Afghanistan contest might not be to everyone’s taste.
Bronzed and oiled: The sport is now so popular that there are fears of drug useSo, after a year of waiting, hundreds of men eagerly packed into a small, run-down and sweaty Park Cinema in the bustling Shar-e-Now district to see who would be crowned.
They chanted and whistled as bronzed and muscular figures flexed their biceps while the heat caused Bollywood wall posters to peel at the edges.
Resembling copper-plated statues in their tiny, skin-tight underpants, competitors showed off their painstakingly toned muscles, contorting their bodies and tensing their metallic bottoms, backs, thighs and stomachs.
Afghan police, armed with the ubiquitous AK-47 rifles, wove through the cheering and excited audience, a reminder that conservative, Muslim Afghanistan is in the middle of a war and that the Mr Afghanistan contest might not be to everyone’s taste.
‘The television only shows the men from the waist up and they say which provinces they are from, but won’t name them,’ smiles Mohammad Reza, who trained one of the finalists.He was more worried about the use of steroids and synthetic hormones by some competitors.
‘Their wives are worried about their health, some have problems having children,’ said Reza, adding that drugs were available ‘everywhere’.
None of the competitors interviewed by Reuters admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs.
‘This is absolutely not allowed,’ said Farhid Ahmad Sediqi, head of Afghanistan’s union for sport and athletics.
‘All the competitors here have been tested. There is no doubt that today none of these men are using the drugs. We fine anyone who’s found using them 50,000 afs (£600).
Shukrullah Shakili, from Helmand province, the extremely dangerous region patrolled by British troops, was named Mr Afghanistan 2009.
‘I feel so much happiness, I can’t take it. I feel like my past problems are behind me. I am from Helmand, my financial situation is not that good and I don’t believe it,’ he said.
Mr Shakili, flanked by an entourage of some 20 supporters, said he had done bodybuilding when the austere, Islamist Taliban ruled Afghanistan.
He said they never bothered him and only took issue with him shaving his beard for competitions.
‘The Taliban are supporters of exercise,’ he said.
‘The Taliban only object to the fact that athletes have to shave their beards. I tell them that I am a sportsman.
‘They see my sport, what I do and they congratulate me and they don’t bother me.’
‘I feel so much happiness, I can’t take it. I feel like my past problems are behind me. I am from Helmand, my financial situation is not that good and I don’t believe it,’ he said.
Mr Shakili, flanked by an entourage of some 20 supporters, said he had done bodybuilding when the austere, Islamist Taliban ruled Afghanistan.
He said they never bothered him and only took issue with him shaving his beard for competitions.
‘The Taliban are supporters of exercise,’ he said.
‘The Taliban only object to the fact that athletes have to shave their beards. I tell them that I am a sportsman.
‘They see my sport, what I do and they congratulate me and they don’t bother me.’
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