Fifty couples get married in a joint ceremony in the Afghan capital -- a growing practice to reduce the astronomical cost of traditional weddings in the impoverished country. The couples were joined in matrimony in one of the dozens of glitzy wedding halls that punctuate Kabul, but the ceremony itself was somewhat austere. Since the return of the Taliban in August 2021, weddings have become low-key affairs, with dancing and music effectively banned after authorities deemed such activities un-Islamic. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES