Il Messaggiere - Bodybuilders vie for Mr Afghanistan crown, modestly

Gone are the tight briefs they once wore to show off their bulging quadriceps and adductors, typically worth 50 percent of the marks in a competition.

Rigorously applying Islamic law, the Taliban have prohibited competitors from displaying their thighs, and imposed the wearing of long shorts.

"In bodybuilding, we have problems. Now, we are forced to go forward in the way Sharia says," Hamidullah Sherzai, a three-time Mr Afghanistan and coach for the national bodybuilding team, tells AFP.

Gesturing from his belly to his knees, he adds: "This part of a man... should not be shown."

It is said that jury members view the candidates in their underwear backstage, before they strut their stuff in front of the public.

More than 200 men from 21 provinces competed in the annual fitness and bodybuilding competition on Wednesday, parading in front of the jury, Taliban members and a curious crowd in the venue's gymnasium.

Mohammad Ayoub Azemi, 33 years old and 103 kilos (227 lbs), took home the title -- almost a year after surviving a string of powerful earthquakes in his home province of Herat.

"I used to sleep inside a car during the tough conditions after the earthquakes. But now I have been able to win Mr Muscle," he tells AFP, brimming with emotion.

His victory does not bring him any money, just a cup, a medal and prestige.

- Screams and whistles -

Behind the scenes, an armada of assistants copiously lacquer participants' bodies with creams and sprays to give them a shiny, tanned tone.

Once on stage, the bodybuilders perform the classic poses of the discipline, straining their muscles.

Then, with hands on the back of the neck or a knee on the ground, they continue their peacocking for the several hundred spectators -- exclusively male -- who scream and whistle to encourage their favourites.

"This beloved country wants to be rebuilt," the sound system thunders, spitting out a deafening, Taliban-approved song permitted under a standing ban on music.

Gyms equipped with weight-training rooms sprouted throughout the country during the 20 years of foreign-backed governments after the US and NATO drove the Taliban from power in 2001.

During that first reign, which began in 1996, the Taliban authorities tolerated bodybuilding, but on the condition the men wear trousers.

Afghanistan has won numerous prizes in international bodybuilding competitions, and three years on from the Taliban government's return to power amid a chaotic US withdrawal, performances continue to unleash passion.

- Gyms and joy -

Bodybuilding is one of the few hobbies still available to men who, unlike women, are permitted to visit gyms.

The cost, however, is a significant barrier. Afghanistan is facing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises after decades of war.

Coming second in the "fitness" category, 24-year-old Noor Rehman Rehmani regrets "the decline" in financial support from the authorities.

But he is pleased at least that the competitions continue.

Najibullah Ahadi, a 30-year-old bodybuilder in the audience, laments that those who compete abroad "pay most of the expenses from their own pockets", whereas previously the government would help.

"Afghanistan is currently in such a situation that happiness is not found easily. So this is an opportunity, we enjoy it."

H.Giordano--IM