Kabul, Jan. 14 (Reuters): Afghanistan’s Supreme Court protested today at the lifting of a ban on women singers on state television, saying the move defied its decisions.

A broadcast on Monday of a woman singing was seen as a victory for moderates in the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai over religious conservatives who oppose the relaxation of strict Islamic rules.

Deputy chief justice Fazl Ahmad Manawi said the Supreme Court had written to complain to information and culture minister Sayed Makhdoom Raheen, the key figure behind the ending of a ban that had been in force for nearly 12 years.

“We are opposed to women singing and dancing as a whole,” Manawi said. “This is totally against the decisions of the Supreme Court and it has to be stopped.”

But when asked what the court would do if the government continued to defy its rulings, Manawi replied: “We just show our opposition. The rest is the government’s duty.”

The court is dominated by religious conservatives and has made repeated attempts to outlaw cable television on the grounds it is obscene and un-Islamic.

The removal of the ban came weeks after the replacement of the conservative head of Kabul radio and TV and the approval of a new constitution endorsing equal rights for women and men.

Ghulam Hassan Hazrati, the new head of Kabul Television, has close ties to Raheen.

Monday’s broadcast by Kabul Television featured old footage of Parasto, a well-known singer who now lives in the West, performing without a headscarf.