Afghanistan
Afghanistan is sovereign state surrounded completely by land: the south and the east borders Pakistan, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. They use this land for agriculture which is the basis of their economy. However, only 12 percent of the land is arable and the country is susceptible to drought (Robson). Just like Somalia, the country has a tradition of nomadism. However, today there remain few true nomads. Only the large cities have an economic sector that has been modernized (Robson).
Afghanistan has been completely inhabited by one ethnic group and “Its citizens naturally identify with those who speak their language and share their culture” (Robson). This means that their loyalty is first to their local leaders of ethnic groups and have a fragile feeling of nationalism. While many languages are spoken (major languages are Pashto and Persian also known as Dari written in the Arabic alphabet). One thing Afghanis have in common is their toughness and resilience (Robson). Afghanistan is a high power distance society which means authority figures are often not disagreed with or challenged (Entezar, 29). In other words, “Force and intimidation is used to establish one’s power and dominance from family to presidency” (Entezar, 30). They do not respect a weak ruler, father, supervisor, commander or any person in charge (Robson). This idea manifests itself in family, schools and other public or private institutions in Afghanistan (Robson). With this goes the “rule of the ruler” or those in positions of power make an manipulate laws to control the citizens and stay in power (Entezar, 60)
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The Afghanistan insurgency between 1979 and 1989 ended with the withdrawal of the Soviet Union armed forces . This “successful” rebellion was not merely because the Soviet Union saw the Taliban as a simple Islamist movement and underestimated their resistant, but it was also believed that the special characteristics that the Taliban insurgents possess, such as motivation and strategy played important role. This article will assess the special characteristics that identify Taliban as an insurgent group, specifically on the purpose and motivation of their fight, popular support and the strategies and tactics that were used by them to expel the Soviet Union from Afghan soil. Overall, this essay argues that these three characteristics comprise some of the several causes that contributed to Soviet Union withdrawal from Afghanistan. To summarize, this essay will sequentially examine the Afghanistan’s movement features, first is the purpose and motivation, second the popular support to their movement and their strategies and tactics against Soviet Union. In addition, in the conclusion, there will be a summary of the article and some recommendations for further research in order to complete the understanding of the Afghani Mujahideen insurgency.
Afghanistan since its beginning has been a place of conflict, despair, and at times lost hope. It has been taken advantage of and lost its sense of identity, which has had a direct effect on its people, and there own sense of what justice truly is.
Religion in Afghanistan has an immense amount of history behind it and some of that history had just recently occurred. Islam is the number one religion in Afghanistan; in fact, 99% of people in the Afghanistan region are religious and not just any religion Islamic religion, and the other 1% are less practiced religions. Islam has two main types of sub-divisions, the Sunni Muslims and the Shia Muslims. Both practice Islam, but have totally different opinions on how to worship the Islamic god. Opinions so different that one of the sub-division religions are considered a radical practice. Afghanistan is a true religion because the people either follow the rules through and through, or they do not follow at all. Religion in Afghanistan is not only a choice, but it is a lifestyle. For a while in Afghan history, it became a mandatory lifestyle.
It’s no surprise that many people in Somalia were not okay with this system of colonial rule. In 1899, a group called The Dervish...
...ains had an immense impact on the economy of Afghanistan. These mountains were a huge barrier against the building infrastructure of Afghanistan because no ring road was building during Amanullah khan reign. Therefore, since there was lack of infrastructure the national economy did not developed. Materialization of a countrywide market is very crucial for modernization, but these mountains did not let an economically interact between Afghans with each other to shape a national market for Afghanistan. As Afghanistan national economy did not emerge the economy remained subsistent. However, he brings in monetized economy but it never worked in the mountainous rural area because gaining access was difficult at that time. In contrast, Turkey is flat and it does not have a mountainous terrain which is very easy to infiltrate the whole country and create a national market.
The two unique classes among the people of Afghanistan are Shi’a Muslims and Sunni Muslims. Shi’a Muslims are also known as Hazara, and Sunni Muslims are known as Pashtuns. Amir discovered a book on the subject, “The book said part of the reason Pashtuns had oppressed the Hazaras was that Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims, while Hazaras were Shi’a” (Hosseini 9). The factors that determine which class an individual belongs to are their ethnicity and facial features. “They called him “flat-nosed” because of Ali and Hassan’s Characteristic Hazara Mongoloid features” (Hosseini 9). In other words, if your parents were Hazaras, then the children are automatically born a Shi’a Muslim. The same logic applies to the Sunni Muslims. Therefore, if the parents were Pashtuns, then the children...
On a map you can find Afghanistan in the Asia continent. Afghanistan has a total of 6 neighboring countries. The six countries are, China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and last but not least Uzbekistan. Afghanistan is surrounded by land and is a mountainous country. It is entitled to be located in Central Asia. Afghanistan connects South and East Asia with Central and Western Asia. “It is the 41st largest in the world in size.”
Since there were four tribal groups, the country went to different political policies. Mrs Mary Nawabi states, “The Russians had the biggest educational influence in the lives of Afghans. Many Afghans received to attend universities in Russia. After the completion of education, they came back to Afghanistan with a communist mindset. It was unfortunate, that most government positions were held by Afghan communist individuals. That if you do not believe in communism, you do not have a job. (Nawabi,
The focus of this paper is to review the culture of Afghanistan, as well as, the micro-cultures which exist where they learn to live in conflict and in harmony, through power distance where there they experience uncertainty avoidance, prejudice, and discrimination throughout the story of “A Thousand Splendid Suns” and its two main characters. You will see how the women’s depend on each other as they form a relationship that gives them the will to fight to protect one another and their children from the great power distance which exists in their culture.
Furthermore, as the same scholar points out “Old scores were settled and clan grievances fought out” (p.40). It is important to understand that although Somalia is ethnically, religiously and linguistically a homogenous country,
Afghanistan has had a history, full of violence and wars since the last 176 years, from being invaded by the British in 1838 to the soviet Russians in 1979, but those long wars have left the once prosperous and wealthy country, into a country torn apart into shreds (BBC News). The future of Afghanistan will be highly unstable due to its high levels of poverty, which is a major factor on the outcome of the country’s future. Wars are great contributors to high poverty levels and it is reported that “20 million out of the 26 million people in the country, are living under the line of poverty” (Rural poverty Portal), that is about 75% of the country’s population. When 75% of the country population is living under the harsh living conditions and poverty, it leaves the country’s economy running on fumes. The high level of poverty also leaves most of the country in a survival mi...
Afghanistan is a very troubled country. Its recent history is full of wars and revolutions that undermined its democratic and economic status in the world. Afghanistan's economy is recovering from decades of conflict. The economy has improved significantly since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 largely because of the infusion of international assistance, the recovery of the agricultural sector, and service sector growth. Despite the progress of the past few years, Afghanistan is extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. Criminality, insecurity, weak governance, lack of infrastructure, and the Afghan Government's difficulty in extending rule of law to all parts of the country pose challenges to future economic growth. Afghanistan's living standards are among the lowest in the world. The international community remains committed to Afghanistan's development, pledging over $67 billion at nine donors' conferences between 2003-2010. In July 2012, the donors at the Tokyo conference pledged an additional $16 billion in civilian aid through 2015. Despite this help, the Government of Afghanistan will need to overcome a number of challenges, including low revenue collection, anemic job creation, high levels of corruption, weak government capacity, and poor public infrastructure. (2) Nevertheless the high level of corruption still does not hinder development of education in the country. Literacy rates in Afghanistan have been very low. While total population had 28.1% male and female distributions are stunning. 43.1% of males above age of 15 can read and write while only 12.6% of females over ...
Pashtunwali dates back to the pre-Islamic era in history and is a code the Pashtuns follow regardless of any difference in geographical location. The social code produces loyal and devote people as well developing high-class male models, which they believe to be far greater than that of Western culture (Dyk 2011). The foundation of Pashtunwali is based on justice, self-respect, hospitality, forgiveness, love, tolerance, loyalty, equality and independence. Of all of those traits listed none is more important to the Pashtuns than honor (izzat). Honor is what makes a person a Pashtun and part of their community; however, if he or she loses their honor they are not given rights, protection or support from the community. Due to the repressive nature of Islamic radicalism, many Westerners would be shocked to find that there is a culture, which is severely independent and values individual liberty. This is due to Islam religion dominating a large portion of the Afghan culture for centuries. Surprisingly, the Islamic identity of the Pashtuns is only one thousand years old. This may explain how the religion corrupted Pashtunwali, since it is reportedly five thousand years old. Pashtunwali provided guidelines, which helped make a peaceful and hospitable Afghanistan. An example of this hospitality is seen through reports of the accommodation of Jews and Christians. This holds true to the Pashtun’s ethics when they recognize both these religions to be part of "the book". The new image of the Pashtuns contrasts these characteristics due to the fascism of the Taliban's perverted Deobandi-Wahhabist Islam. This form of Islam had been exported from Pakistan and was remotely known in Afghanistan. Upon the Soviet invasion, in 1979, the Pashtun code ...
But with two main 'Somali Bantu' groups now in existence, one in Somalia and one in diaspora, the identity may take two separate trajectories over the next few decades, as the transition from externally-imposed ethnonym to internalized ethnic identity is a process of generations. This paper will trace a brief history of 'Somali Bantu' persecution and discuss the early evolution of the 'Somali Bantu' ethnonym, before focusing specifically on its future for the diaspora settled in the U.S.. For those resettled in the United States, 'Somali Bantu' may have lasting meaning, or it may fade away as younger generations take on new identities or give old ones increased significance. During the refugee experience in Kenyan camps, the appropriation of the identity 'Somali Bantu' was strongly supported both by the realization of a shared history of persecution and by political necessity, but in the post-resettlement experience in the United States identity formation faces a number of challenges which may halt its development in its
In the past ten years the Afghan Government has been dealing with a number of issues that have caused problems for the country, problems such as illegal drug trade, terrorism and violence. But nowadays they are fighting a problem that has long existed between people, and quite recently has taken a whole new aspect to it. Ethnic conflict is the destructive factor that has caused problems between people for generations, often leading to fights, outbreak of violence and grudge between different ethnicities.