1. A lesson on the history and culture of Afghanistan

2. Geography of Afghanistan Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia with a long, narrow strip in the northeast. Afghanistan has a total area of 647,500 sq km. Afghanistan is surrounded by many countries. It is bounded on the North by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, on the extreme NE by China, on the East and South by Pakistan, and on the West by Iran. Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul, is located in the east central part of the country. The central and eastern parts of the country are dominated by the Hindu Kush mountain range, which elsewhere softens into plateaus, deserts and rolling grasslands. Afghanistan has extreme temperatures with very hot summers and very cold winters. In summer it can reach upwards of 45 degrees Celsius and in winter it snows regularly.

3. History Afghanistan has a rich history and one of many conflicts. This is largely due its geographic location with many people passing through and attempting to conquer. In 682AD Arabs conquered Afghanistan bringing the Islam religion with it, which until this day is the main religion of the nation. In 1200-1500 AD the Mongols invaded Afghanistan. They slaughtered many people and many cities were left in ruins. The country became part of the Mongol Empire. The country became largely divided in the period of 1500-1700 AD with many wars between the Afghans, Persians, Moghuls and Iranians. Afghanistan enjoyed a relatively peaceful period up until 1826 when Britain and Russia gained interest in the country and it was named ‘The Great Game’. There were two Anglo-Afghani wars in the 1800s and Afghanistan maintained control over the leadership of the nation, however, Britain held control over their foreign trade

4. History Afghanistan remained at peace during WWI, but had a third Anglo- Afghani war in 1919 where they regained control of foreign trade from the British. This marked their formal independence and they celebrate this on the 19 th of August each year Afghanistan was then engaged in a civil war from 1919-1929 A new modern government entered power in the 1970s and passed many laws in favour of women In 1979 the Soviet Army entered Afghanistan with the formal line to support the government and stop violent uprisings. For many they remained and fought against Afghan rebels and finally withdrew as no progress was made With the withdrawal of the Soviets, the Afghani government collapsed and the Taliban gained control. By 2000 they had control of over 95% of the country The USA entered Afghanistan after the 2001 September 11 attacks and have remained in the country ever since.

5. The Taliban The Taliban is a Sunni Islamic group which controls the majority of Afghanistan The Taliban enforce a very strict brand of Sharia law – probably the strictest in all Muslim countries They are seen to have an anti modern ideology (belief system) Some of the things that are banned under the Taliban are: clapping at sporting events, trimming of beards, movies, television, videos, music, dancing, hanging pictures in homes, possessions depicting living things and kite flying.

6. The Taliban Restrictions are particularly tough for women. Under the Taliban women are only allowed to work in the medical profession as men are forbidden to examine women, they no longer have the right to education, they are unable to take a taxi unless they are with a close male relative and they are required to wear the Burqa a piece of clothing like the pictured in the background that covers a woman from head to toe. This can become extremely hot and uncomfortable in warm weather Forbidding women from working has led to the closing of many schools as most of the teachers were women – now Afghanistan is facing an uneducated future, something that will only strengthen religious extremism People can receive public floggings and bashings or even be put to death for not following Taliban law

7. Religion & Ethnicity 99% of people in Afghanistan follow the Muslim Religion. About 84% of Afghan Muslims are Sunnites and about 15% are Shiites Afghanistan is made up on Pashtuns (the majority) Hazaras (the minority) Hazaras are of historically of Mongolian descent and it is quite easy to tell the difference between a Hazara and a Pashtun. Hazaras are racially targeted by the Pashtuns and things have become worse for them under Taliban rule. Hazara Children Pashtun Children

8. The People & Culture Afghanistan is a multicultural and multilingual nation For the most part, Afghans are farmers, although a significant minority follows a nomadic lifestyle The family is the single most important unit in the Afghan culture Families commonly arrange marriages for their children. Factors such as tribe, network and wealth play a major part in finding a suitor Honour in Afghan culture defines the reputation and worth of an individual, as well as those they are associated with The head male of a family is responsible for protecting the honour of the family Hospitality is an essential aspect of Afghan culture, no matter who you are, if you visit a home you will be given the best that the family has The Afghan people in the pre Taliban period enjoyed playing music, writing and reading poetry and creating Gandhara art They also enjoy playing soccer, cricket and other sports and flying kites has been a national tradition

9. The Novel It is important to understand the history and culture of Afghanistan to fully appreciate the novel The Kite Runner is initially set in Afghanistan in the 1970s just prior to the Russians entering the nation and later in America The Russian invasion was the cause for Amir and Baba to flee to America In 2001 Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan to collect Hassan’s son. Hassan and his wife have been killed by the Taliban and were targeted for being Hazaras. The book is largely based on Khaled Hosseini’s life and memories in Afghanistan as a young boy