Hazara Tribe in Afghanistan
The Hazaras are the third largest ethnic community in Afghanistan. People that are a part of this ethnic group have a variety of origins that make up their genetics and culture. Although their specific place of origin is unknown, it is widely accepted that they have a significant amount of Asian decent. They also have heavy influence from the Turkic and Mongol groups. There are approximately 70 different Hazara Tribes that exist today in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Behsudh Tribe is one of the leading clans out of the many tribes, it is that this tribe has a direct descent from Genghis Khan; the founder of the entire Mongol Empire. It is believed that the recognition of the Hazaras in Afghanistan began after
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the Siege of Bamyan in 1221. Today, they are strongly located in Central Afghanistan. The obstacles that the Hazara people have overcame in centuries passed is almost a miracle. Similar to any other ethnic group, Hazaras have their own unique culture that has influences from all over, making it especially interesting.
They mostly speak the Persian language, which is the official language of Afghanistan. Their religion and beliefs differ but the primary religions that the Hazaras are a part of are Sunni and Shia Islam, the two most followed branches of the Islamic religion. When celebrating their religious holidays, they make their way to the mosque and pray with others in a group. Upon arrival back to their home, they gather to enjoy sizable meals with their families. Food is also an important aspect of the Hazara culture. Their diets commonly consist of a sufficient amount of foods like dairy and meat products …show more content…
that contain high-protein. Having a wider selection of foods is not a common luxury for the Hazara people, usually only one type of food is present during their meals. However, when serving guests they try extremely hard to be as benevolent as possible and have more food options for them. The clothing that is worn commonly within the Hazara group is an article called the “perahan-u-tunban”, it is a kind of clothing that contains qualities that are similar to pajamas. The men wear them underneath a variation of clothing layers including vests, overcoats, and even sweaters despite the hot climate of Afghanistan. The men do not wear much color, they wear very plain clothing. In contradiction to the male bland clothing, the women wear clothes with bold colors and patterns. Generally, the Hazara women wear light weight clothes due to the fact that they stay indoors the majority of the time. The Hazara people are also highly superstitious, they believe in old omens and supernatural things. They believe in ghosts and the evil eye, they often tell stories of these things with their friends and families. The Hazara people are treated unequally compared to true Afghan people.
They are regarded as outsiders as opposed to everyone else. They currently make up around half of the population of Afghanistan’s capitol, Kabul. Hazaras have turned into leaders in the new developing country, although their people have endured centuries of oppression and tyranny by the refusal of their basic rights. Education is exceptionally essential, this has recently become evident within the Afghan community. Hazara literacy test scores and rates have turned out to be higher than the country’s general results, virtually all Hazara children go to school and the
majority of them even end up going to college. The women of Afghanistan continue to struggle in the attempt to gain rights, Hazara women are in much better shape than those women. They have obtained great achievements in the aftermath of the Taliban. They have even been elevated to one of the highest levels of wage earners in the society.
The Hazara people are not a widely known ethnic group, especially for people that live outside of the Afghanistan area. Learning about different cultures is always a great way to become more aware of the world. Learning about a low populated but significant group that overcame the prejudice and mistreatment to be well educated and successful is a journey people around the globe should hear about. They have an abundance of unique culture characteristics, an intriguing and mysterious history and origin,
and they also have a pretty great success story in the end.
As Hosseini wrote, “You! The Hazara! Look at me when I am talking to you!” (Page 7). The person speaking was a Pashtun and they were yelling to Hassan because he was not responding to him when he was trying to talk to him, so they began to be rude to Hassan, but Amir did not do anything because he cannot go against his own ethnic group but he also did not say anything because Hassan was like his brother so he stayed quiet and just said to keep walking. The Pashtuns compare the Hazara’s to Chinese dolls because they have the flat face with slanted eyes and the flat nose. In addition the Pashtuns don’t have the Hazara’s in the official Afghani school books because they are above
By 1996, popular support for the Taliban among Afghanistan’s Southern Pashtun Ethnic group tremendously helped the Taliban come to power. (Encyclopedia Britannica) The Pashtuns represent an Eastern Iranian Ethno-linguistic group with its headquarters mainly in Eastern and Southern Afghanistan. This chain also practices the Islamic code of conduct in their culture (which explains why they had such support for the Taliban.) The Pashtuns gained attention from the world from their support to the Taliban,the group is similar to the Taliban in many ways, they also exclude women from joining, even without women the Ethnic group has a huge following with a total population of over forty million, as stated in New World Encyclopedia. Consequently, the Support from the Southern Pashtun Ethnic Group and other influences the Taliban was able to seize the Capital of Afghanistan and gain control of all of the country from 1996 to
Throughout history, the Hazaras have always been persecuted by the Pashtuns. One of the main reasons why they’re discriminated against is because most Hazaras are Shia Muslims, while most Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims. Due to a disagreement in the past, the two groups have always argued against each other. Amir is a Pashtun, and he grows up around other people who believe that the Hazaras are an inferior race. Even though, Baba tries to educate Amir to not believe in racism, Amir has a very tiny bit of ingrained racism with him.
Amir's mother passes away during his birth, and his left with the suspicion that his father blames him for her death. Amir longes for his father's attention and approval, but does not receive any affection as a son. He grows up with his Hazara best friend, Hassan. In Afghanistan culture, Hazaras are considered lower class and inferiors in society. Amir describes his friendship with Hassan saying, “then he would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break."
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.
...e government should set up opportunities for people like hazaras to work honorable jobs other than serving the wealthy. This would give people chances to get on an equal level. The people of Afghanistan would also have a better chance at a better life if the government made it a priority for the people to be educated, because not only would it benefit people personally but the government as a whole.
It is notable that the highest class of people in Afghanistan in the novel are the Pashtuns as they are also the least likely to be treated poorly and live in the harsh reality of Afghan poverty. Hosseini deliberately describes the Pashtuns in an exaggerated way “my Baba [who] had the most beautiful house in Wazir Akbar Khan”. This hubris about the lifestyle the Pashtuns are accustomed to is short lived as they are forced to flee the Soviet army and arrive in America with very little. It is notable that although a racial divide causes the Pashtuns to treat the Hazara as second-class citizens, in 1979 the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan led to many of the citizens fleeing to the more peaceful Pakistan, and they all had to flee from a threat as one unit. The racial divide was pushed aside momentarily so
In Afghanistan, boys have a much greater chance than women to receive higher education and to go on to a more important job. This is often because it is even hard for men to obtain an education. Furthermore, the son(s) in the family typically get put first such as food, clothes, voicing their opinion-- and of course education. Bacha posh can receive an education usually up until they have to switch back to their role as a woman after puberty. In addition, there are more opportunities to work for women as a bacha posh. Women 's housework in Afghanistan is similar to those that women had to do in the United States in the 19th century and early 20th century. Azita had to take care of the cows, ten sheep, and a flock of chickens (Nordberg 78). Other tasks include taking care of the children, hauling water, and cooking dinner for the family. Bacha poshs working roles were different. Instead of needing to stay in the house and help their mother, they could work at businesses and interact with other people in the community. Females are not allowed to go outside unless they are escorted by another man, especially during times of war. Or in this case, a bacha posh. Bacha posh children can be helpful when their sisters need a male to take them places as they do not need a brother or father to accompany them (Nordberg 103). CONCLUDING
Afghani woman live a very rigorous life and it’s very well shown through the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Woman in Afghani culture have very little education because they are forced to be married at a young age and become a house wife as most people would say. Women are expected to have a good reputation to be respected by others. Before the Taliban came in affect women were allowed to work but as soon as the Taliban were in charge, women were forced to quit their jobs. Throughout the novel Mariam shows what it is like to be an Afghani woman. At the beginning of the novel Mariam wished to go to school, soon after she had an arranged marriage with Rasheed. The life Mariam shows throughout this story is very similar to
In The Kite Runner, Hosseini describes the life of a Pashtun Amir and a Hazara Hassan. Pashtuns make up the biggest ethnic group within Afghanistan. They have been seen as the ruling group and dominant many of the other minorities. Hazara’s comprise just nine percent of Afghanistan’s population. They sometimes have difficulty in acquiring suitable professions due to their ethnicity and choice of religion. The Hazaras were the first ethnic group to revolt against the expansion of leader, Pashtun Rahman. This rebellion caused the persecution of many Hazaras, by the hands of Pashtun tribes and is the reason behind a lot of the tension between the two. Because Pashtuns are part of the richer upper class, they feel a self-righteousness over Hazara groups and hold many positions in Afghan government. They have better opportunities when it comes to getting an education and job (Chiovenda). Hazara minorities have faced discrimination and violence from many of the other ethnic groups, especially those of Pashtun communities. In Afghan culture, the class system plays a major role in how people are looked at and
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 ...
Today, the status of hijras in Pakistan is improving but still has a long way to go. Hijras in Pakistan are finally recognized as a third gender and are granted equal rights on paper. The Supreme Court has ordered that hijras be granted employment opportunities in government positions. Hijras have voted and even taken part in general elections of 2013. However, the education and employment prospects of hijras are still poor. Real changes will come when society’s perceptions of the hijras will change and when hijras themselves strive to elevate their position in Pakistani society.
Afghanistan has many cultures and traditions based on their religions. All of the religions pray five times each day facing the city Mecca or Mekkah. The religions are Sunni Muslim with eighty percent, Shi’a Muslim with nineteen percent and other religions equal one percent. Most of the Afghans follow the Islam religion; it dominates most of the personal, political, economic and legal lives. The men and women do not shake hand or even look at the eyes. Fridays are holy days, most of the shops and offices are closed.The two official languages are Persian (Dari) with fifty percent and Pashtu with thirty-five percent, other languages equal fifteen percent. The most popular ethnic groups are Pashtun with forty-two percent, Tajik with twenty-seven percent, Hazara with nine percent , Uzbek with nine percent also, Aimak with four percent, Turkmen with a three percent, Baloch with two percent and all the minor groups together equal four percent.
Sahak, Abdul Latif. "Afghan Fuel Traders Complain of Turkic "Mafia"." Institute for war and peace reporting [Kabul] 14 4 2012, ARRI Issue 427 n. pag. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
The Hazara are a group of Shia Muslims from the Hazarajat region in Afghanistan and are primarily farmers that live in the mountainous areas of the region (Beegle and Campbell). Th...