1. Swallows of Kabul
By Yasmina Khadra

2. Afghanistan - Location

3. Quick Facts 29 million people
South central Asia; bordered by Pakistan Iran, and Soviet republics
Kabul is the capital
Dari (Persian) and Pashto are languages
99% of Afghan people are Muslim

4. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
Soviet Union invades Afghanistan 12/24/79
Massive military airlift into Kabul
Secured Kabul in a few days
Fierce but brief resistance from Afghan army

5. A short video….

6. Resistance in the Countryside
Mujahidin (resistance fighters), saw Christian or atheist Soviets as defilement of Islam
Proclaimed a jihad (holy war) - gained support of the Islamic world
Employed guerrilla tactics with weapons they could grab from the Soviets or given by the United States

7. Soviet Withdrawal Tide turned in 1987
Mujahidin fights back
Shoulder-launched missiles
Tide turned in 1987
Mujahidin used U.S. shoulder-launched anti- aircraft missiles.
Shot down Soviet planes and helicopters on a regular basis.
Soviet forces started withdrawing in 1988.

8. Long-Term Impact Soviets never recovered
Public relations and financial losses
Significantly contributed to the fall of the Soviet empire in 1991.
The war created a breeding ground for terrorism and the rise of Osama bin Laden
Mujahidin warlords began to fight with each other – civil war in Afghanistan for almost a decade

9. The Rise of the Taliban
The Taliban (literally "the Seekers“) were graduates of Pakistani religious colleges
The Taliban promised to bring peace and enforce Sharia (Islamic law)
Captured one province at a time, starting in 1994
In 1998, controlled 90% of Afghanistan

10. Treatment of Women in Afghanistan
Under the control of the Taliban there became a gender apartheid in which women and girls were stripped of their basic human rights.
Source: Feminist.org

11. The Elimination of Women’s Rights
The Taliban instituted a system of gender apartheid that forced women of Afghanistan into a state of virtual house arrest.
Under Taliban rule women were stripped of all human rights:
Their work
Visibility
Opportunity for education
Voice
Healthcare
Mobility

12. Changes Enforced by Taliban
Imagine if you were not able to do these things.
How would you be affected?
What things that you do now would change?
Women are banished from the work force
Schools were closed to girls and women and women were expelled from universities
Women are prohibited from leaving their homes unless accompanied by a close male relative
The windows of women's houses were ordered to be painted black and women were forced to wear the burqa (or chadari)
Prohibited women and girls from being examined by male physicians while at the same time prohibited female doctors and nurses from working

13. The Burqa The Hijab

14. Consequences for Breaking Taliban Rules
Women and girls died of curable ailments because male doctors were not allowed to treat them.
An elderly women had her legs broken because her legs were showing under her Burqua.
A woman caught with a man that was not her relative or husband was stoned to death.

15. The Plight of Afghan Women http://www. cbsnews. com/video/watch/

16. Afghanistan Today
Taliban not in control, but still have significant influence in certain regions of the country
To this day, the United States still occupies Afghanistan.