Hazarans In The Kite Runner

In the novel, “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini, the Hazara tribe is explained as an ethnic group that is lower in society and caste. While most of Afghanistan is Sunni Muslim and Pashtun dominant, the Hazaras are known to experience racial discrimination and punishment for their different Shia and Shi’ite beliefs. This plays a significant role in the novel, “The Kite Runner,” because the character, Hassan, experiences a lot of discrimination, bullying, and racism for being a Hazara, this eventually helps create the plot of the novel. Hazaras are considered different from Pashtuns not only for their different beliefs, but for their facial features as well. They are known to have distinct Asian facial features. A widely accepted theory for this is that Hazaras are a mixed race, where Mongol tribes used to live near Afghanistan and to later end up creating a community called the Hazara, mainly located in Hazarajat, Afghanistan.

As this community grew bigger, a language developed called Hazaragi, this is now the main language spoken by the Hazara. The Hazara are semi-nomadic, meaning move from time to time depending on season. Housing varies on location and season, where houses can be made of different materials such as sun-dried bricks, mud and straw, stone, and timber. Before the 19th century, Hazaras were 67% of Afghanistan’s population, but this all changed when nearly half of them were killed in 1863 by political action. Later, groups like the Taliban tried to even further rid of them, and now the Hazara are less than 10% of Afghanistan’s population. For the last 200 years, the Hazaras still face racial discrimination and attacks from people. Even though they still face discrimination, they thrive on religion and