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why Muslim women cover their hair:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LkcDFLuIeo Summary
There are a number of misconceptions about women covering in Islam, and many headlines in the media make false and misleading statements about this issue. This simple misunderstood cloth does not aim to attack Western and Judeo-Christian values of modesty, good character and righteousness; rather, it seeks to uphold them. The primary reason a Muslim woman covers herself in a particular way is submission to Almighty God, recognising that in His infinite knowledge, He knows what is best for His creation. However, the Qur'an also mentions two fundamental reasons:

1. That it serves to make it known to the society that the individual is a practising Muslim. In this way, it becomes a uniform that a Muslim woman adopts, making her an ambassador for Islam, and showing others the true moral conduct of the religion, as well as sending out a message that the woman wearing it is an individual who is valued for her intellect and her character, and not an object of desire to be leered at.

2. The Islamic view that no woman should be subjugated as an object of lust and desire for her male counterparts, and that every woman has the right to be protected from abuse. The Qur'an tells us that the covering worn by Muslim women is one of the means to achieve this.

"O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their outer garments over themselves. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful." [The Qur'an: al-Ahzab: 33:59]

This serves to dispel the idea that covering is forced upon women to subjugate them to men, when in fact, covering is a choice that the Muslim woman makes solely based on her religious commitment and she makes a willful decision to adopt it, wearing it with honour because she knows that she has fulfilled her religious duty towards God Almighty.
Full Answer
The head covering worn by Muslim women has been an issue that has seen a great deal of controversy in recent years. Several countries have attempted to ban or restrict its use, and the topic has stirred strong emotions on both sides of the debate.

This simple misunderstood cloth does not aim to attack Western and Judeo-Christian values of modesty, good character and righteousness; rather, it seeks to uphold them. To illustrate this, the hijab resembles the habit of a nun in Christian Europe, who is almost always seen as a symbol of piety and someone who upholds good morals. This is also supported historically in Christianity and Judaism, in which paintings of righteous women such as Mary, the mother of Jesus (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both), depict them with a head covering.

One may further ask the question: "Who defines what is modest?" This is illustrated by the ever-evolving world of fashion. What may be modest to one society or civilisation, may be immodest to another. For example, some indigenous tribes in Africa would regard body painting instead of clothes, and the nakedness of a young warrior for his ceremonial initiation, to all be a part of modesty in their dress and clothing. However, such dress would likely cause extreme controversy and public outcry if seen in other countries. This all points to the need for someone or something to define modesty for societies and individuals, and Muslims regard Allah (God), the Creator of all things, as the one who gives that moral compass and definition, in a way that is suitable for all people, in all times.

It is also important to define the various Arabic terms which are frequently mentioned in relation to Muslim women's dress:

1. Hijab: Literally, 'a veil' or 'a cover', the hijab refers to the modest clothing which Muslim women are required to wear, comprising of the head scarf, a loose outer garment, and for some Muslim women, a face veil. Muslims often use the word hijab informally to refer to only one component of the full hijab, the head scarf.

2. Khimaar: Something used to cover the head, for both men and women. This is the proper Arabic name for a head scarf that is worn by women; however, most non-Arabic speakers will still refer to this by the word hijab.

3. Jilbaab (also called an 'Abaayah): A loose outer garment that covers most or all of the body, normally from either the top of the head to the ground, or from the shoulders to the ground, and conceals the figure.

4. Niqaab: A face veil which may or may not leave space for the eyes, normally tied over the top of a headscarf, seen by many Muslim women as being an obligatory extension of the hijab, and by others as a recommended and praiseworthy style of dress.

5. Burqa': A particular style of hijab, most commonly worn in Central Asia, although similar garments exist in other countries, comprising of a head cover, a loose outer garment, and a face veil, usually in sewn together in one piece.

After understanding these terms, it becomes clear that many statements made in the media about the hijab are false and misleading, including headlines such as "Ban the Burqa'!" since the burqa' is just one type of hijab, customarily worn by Muslim women in certain countries, and is not the only kind of hijab which contains a face covering. Furthermore, these terms themselves vary from country to country, so the meaning of a burqa' in Afghanistan is different to the burqa' worn in Qatar, and the meaning of jilbaab in Indonesia is different to the understanding of jilbaab amongst Muslims in the United Kingdom, both of which differ to a greater or lesser extent from the classical Arabic meaning of the word.

Historically, veils of varying types had been worn by women of the Jewish and Christian faiths for hundreds of years before the advent of Islam, particularly for women associated with religion. In several ancient cultures, they were reserved for women of high status, distinguishing between those women who were considered to be respectable and those who were available to men.

In the early years of Islam, during the Makkan period, there was no command for women to adopt a particular dress code; however, the command to wear the hijab was revealed in the early years of the Prophet's time in Madeenah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), after his marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her).

The primary reason a Muslim woman wears the hijab is the same reason that Muslims - male and female - implement any of the commandments of Islam: because the fundamental concept of Islam is submission to Almighty God, recognising that in His infinite knowledge, He knows what is best for His creation. This is a concept which is mentioned frequently in the Qur'an:

"Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the All-Aware?" [The Qur'an: al-Mulk: 67:14]

"It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error." [The Qur'an: al-Ahzab: 33:36]

Having said that, as is often the case in Islam, Allah conveys to us part of the wisdom behind the revelation of this command, as is found in this passage of the Qur'an:

"O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their outer garments over themselves. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful." [The Qur'an: al-Ahzab: 33:59]

This passage tells us two things about the hijab:

1. That it serves to make it known to the society that the individual is a practising Muslim. In this way, it becomes a uniform that a Muslim woman adopts, making her an ambassador for Islam, and showing others the true moral conduct of the religion. Like the veils worn in ancient civilisations, it serves to make a statement that this woman is of high moral standards, and must be treat with honour and respect. There is no doubt that people are - rightly or wrongly - judged by their appearance, and that certain forms of dress affect the way that we deal with the people who adopt them. For example, the uniform of a police officer serves to command respect and authority. This is particularly important when we consider that, in many countries, images of scantily clad women are regularly used in advertising to sell products, and in societies where women are encouraged to dress in ways that are appealing to the opposite sex; in this environment, the hijab sends out a message that the woman wearing it is an individual who is valued for her intellect and her character, and not an object of desire to be leered at.

2. The Islamic view that no woman should be subjugated as an object of lust and desire for her male counterparts, and that every woman has the right to be protected from abuse. The Qur'an tells us that the hijab is one of the means to achieve this. It protects the woman from the advances of men whom the Qur'an describes as "having in their hearts a disease," and gives women a degree of protection from unwanted attention. Once again, the emphasis is that the woman is not to be judged by how she looks, and that those who wish to see her in all of her beauty must fulfil the stringent conditions of Islam. This is once again particularly relevant in societies in which harassment of women is common, and societies in which women are commonly employed for how they look, rather than their skills and proficiency. Furthermore, in societies in which people are pressured to look and dress a certain way, and often go to extremes in order to achieve the look that society demands of them, this protection extends not only to protection from men, but protection from these pressures in society and the ills which are associated with them.

As was previously mentioned, this only represents part of the reason why Muslim women cover, but at least it serves to dispel the idea that the hijab is forced upon women to subjugate them to men, when nothing could be further from the truth. The hijab is a choice that the Muslim woman makes solely based on her religious commitment and she makes a willful decision to adopt it. In fact, in countries which do not impose the hijab as a legal obligation, women who cover often complain of pressure from their families and the wider community not to do so, and many face significant pressure to remove their religious clothing. In many societies, there is a huge pressure on women to look a certain way and dress a certain way, and a woman who chooses to wear the hijab does so as a symbol of her faith; something she wears with honour because she knows that she has fulfilled her religious duty towards God Almighty.

There is no doubt that there are cases of women being forced to wear the hijab, especially in countries in which the hijab is a legal obligation or forms a normal part of the culture, and Islam has proper provision for dealing with these cases in a way that protects the rights of the individual members of society, as well as the society at large. However, cases like this are the exception, rather than the rule.

Some people may also argue that in societies where it is not part of the customary dress code, the hijab brings more attention, rather than reducing it. Whilst it may be true that the hijab can attract attention in this kind of environment, it is not the kind of attention which stems from lust and desire, and is instead the kind of attention which is rooted in curiosity at seeing something unusual.

Another common misconception is that Muslim women are always veiled. Islam does not require a Muslim woman to be veiled when she is with other women, or with her close blood relatives, and she may wear whatever she wishes, within the basic limits of modesty set by Islam for both men and women. As for when she is alone with her husband, there are no limits to what she can wear. Many Muslim women are just as interested in fashion and take just as much care in their appearance as their non-Muslim counterparts; however, for the reasons mentioned above, they choose to conceal that in circumstances when they may be seen by men other than those mentioned above. In some Muslim countries where veiling is common, they entire country is orientated around this need, with parks, shopping malls, and other facilities dedicated to women, where they can remove their hijab, or at least a part of it.

It should also be noted that the command to dress modestly is addressed to both men and women, and that men also have a dress code in Islam, although it is somewhat more relaxed, reflecting the differences between the two genders, and the way in which they interact with each other.

In summary, there are a number of misconceptions about women covering in Islam, and many headlines in the media make false and misleading statements about this issue. This simple misunderstood cloth does not aim to attack Western and Judeo-Christian values of modesty, good character and righteousness; rather, it seeks to uphold them. The primary reason a Muslim woman covers herself in a particular way is submission to Almighty God, recognising that in His infinite knowledge, He knows what is best for His creation. However, the Qur'an also mentions two fundamental reasons:

1. That it serves to make it known to the society that the individual is a practising Muslim. In this way, it becomes a uniform that a Muslim woman adopts, making her an ambassador for Islam, and showing others the true moral conduct of the religion, as well as sending out a message that the woman wearing it is an individual who is valued for her intellect and her character, and not an object of desire to be leered at.

2. The Islamic view that no woman should be subjugated as an object of lust and desire for her male counterparts, and that every woman has the right to be protected from abuse. The Qur'an tells us that the covering worn by Muslim women is one of the means to achieve this.

"O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their outer garments over themselves. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful." [The Qur'an: al-Ahzab: 33:59]

This serves to dispel the idea that covering is forced upon women to subjugate them to men, when in fact, covering is a choice that the Muslim woman makes solely based on her religious commitment and she makes a willful decision to adopt it, wearing it with honour because she knows that she has fulfilled her religious duty towards God Almighty.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LkcDFLuIeo Summary There are a number of misconceptions about women covering in Islam, and many headlines in the media make false and misleading statements about this issue. This simple misunderstood cloth does not aim to attack Western and Judeo-Christian values of modesty, good character and righteousness; rather, it seeks to uphold them.

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Foreign policy

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Latest News - Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

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Kabul - Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Haneef Atmar and Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar, had a video conference call today. Both the sides discussed issues of mutual interests including those pertaining to economic and security cooperation and the Afghan Peace Process.

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Afghanistan's Shias been captured

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The deadly and unprecedented attack on a packed shrine in a historic district of Kabul has put the spotlight on Afghanistan's Shia minority.

Unlike their brethren in Pakistan, Afghanistan's Shias have largely escaped the wrath of the Sunni militant groups that operate in both countries.

There have been low-level tensions between the Shia and Sunni communities and one clash in the largely Sunni area of Herat in 2006 left five dead.

But over the last decade Shias in Afghanistan have been able to celebrate their festivals on a larger scale and with more confidence and openness than ever before.

Ashura, the climax of Muharram, the month of mourning for the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, is the most important day of the Shia calendar and in Afghanistan it is now marked with a public holiday.

Every Ashura, streets in Shia areas of Kabul are lined with black flags - as a symbol of the community's mourning.

Such signals of their faith were scarcely in evidence until 2001. After the collapse of the Taliban regime and the freedoms that ensued, they extended their mourning ceremonies to non-Shia neighbourhoods, driving long convoys with flags and loudspeakers blaring religious songs.

In fact, there is an Islamic Brotherhood Council of Shia and Sunni clerics who work to maintain harmony between the communities.

Ethnic strife

There has been so little evidence of sectarian violence that many ask how Afghanistan could have evolved so differently to Pakistan, where parts of the country have deep sectarian tensions. The answer lies in Afghanistan's recent history.

There has not been a proper census for more than 40 years, but it is estimated that around 20% of the population are Shia - the rest are Sunni. Most Shias come from the Tajik and Hazara ethnic minorities.

Hazaras, largely to be found in central provinces like Bamiyan, were relentlessly persecuted by the Taliban. Tajiks are spread across the country.

One reason for the absence of openly sectarian conflict in Afghanistan could be the absence of extremist religious groups throughout Afghan history. Both Shias and Sunnis united to wage an insurgency against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and Kabul's then communist government in the 1970s and 1980s.

They were fighting for shared causes - Islam and the country.

However, as the war against the Soviets started, Sunni fighters went to Pakistan and Shia fighters went to Iran, where they were radicalised. Because there were then so many factions along linguistic and ethnic lines - and even within religious schools of thoughts - there was no room for a straightforward Sunni-Shia sectarian conflict.

But although sectarian conflict may not have scarred the country, there has been plenty of ethnic strife. After the collapse of the communist regime in 1989, ethnic rivalries between Pashtuns, Uzbeks and Tajiks resulted in a four-year-long civil war that killed tens of thousands.

Sowing division

Regional players such as Iran and Pakistan supported specific ethnic groups and fuelled violence in the country.

But under Hamid Karzai's government, which came into being in 2001 after the downfall of the Taliban, all ethnic and religious groups had freedoms. A number of Afghanistan's private TV channels in Kabul are owned by religious figures and there are at least five Shia-only television channels.

So who would target Shias in Afghanistan now?

Analysts believe the regional players of old still have a stake in Afghanistan's instability. Unity between Shias and Sunnis, and unity between ethnic groups and between political factions leaves no room for Iran or Pakistan to wield influence.

Many analysts here believe that Pakistan in particular has come under increasing international pressure for sheltering militants on its soil, and particularly the leadership of the Afghan Taliban.

This is a charge Pakistan denies but analysts maintain that elements in Pakistan want to open another yet divide - a sectarian one pitting Sunnis in Afghanistan against the Shia who have traditionally shunned the Taliban.

Others believe that the Taliban, who failed to target the recent loya jirga conference in Kabul or to make headlines ahead of the global Bonn conference, are behind this latest attack, in an attempt to further divide Hamid Karzai's political support base.

Either way, a new and brutal precedent has been set and Afghans of all faiths are hoping that it does not open up yet another front in the country's bloody conflict.

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The deadly and unprecedented attack on a packed shrine in a historic district of Kabul has put the spotlight on Afghanistan's Shia minority. Unlike their brethren in Pakistan, Afghanistan's Shias have largely escaped the wrath of the Sunni militant groups that operate in both countries.

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Daily life in Afghanistan

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What does daily life look like in Afghanistan? It's something we rarely see despite more than a decade of U.S. military involvement.

I'm filing from Kabul, where I will be for a few more days before heading south to Kandahar province. In the capital, there seems to be a resilience gained from decades of conflict.

Here you'll find a culture that is alive and thriving. The city nurtures a micro-economy of independent businessmen and women, buying, selling and trading wares.

Thousands of shop owners open their doors for business every morning. The money-changers and cart-pushers take to the gritty streets. It is a vibrant confluence of merchants and customers doing business in both traditional and newer ways.

Kabul is better off than anyplace else in Afghanistan, yet hardship is visible on the streets. Elderly men in tattered clothes and women in dusty blue burqas beg for money as they float between the passing cars.

The city's population is swelling with an influx of people from the war-stricken, impoverished countryside. Traffic here is mind-bending. Security is everywhere, all the time: a reminder of the never-ending threat of an attack.

Yet life goes on - even in the face of an uncertain future.

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What does daily life look like in Afghanistan? It's something we rarely see despite more than a decade of U.S. military involvement. I'm filing from Kabul, where I will be for a few more days before heading south to Kandahar province. In the capital, there seems to be a resilience gained from decades of conflict.

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article on women and burkas in Afghanistan.

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Jada-e Leelami, the Street of Sales, lies in one of the busiest parts of Herat city. It's usually packed with shoppers attracted by the promise of cheap clothing, many of them women covered them entirely from head to toe in sky-blue burkas.

Shopping wearing such an all-encompassing garment is not easy. Women have to raise their voices, trying to bargain with stallholders they can barely see from behind their veils. Sometimes they ask shopkeepers if they can draw their goods under the burka, so as to inspect them properly.

The sellers most often refuse.

"Women wearing burkas have stolen goods from my shop or from my neighbours' shops many times," said Jamaluddin, who sells embroidered shirts and other handcrafts. "We called the police, [but] the police then released them again because they are women, and so you find them in the market again the next day, stealing."

But many women say that they have no choice but to wear the clumsy, all-enveloping garment.

"The burka is like a cage," said Mahjuba, a 42-year-old housewife who never learned to read or write. "I wish that the men [who want to impose it on women] could be trapped in this cage so that they can understand how much we suffer."

The image of a woman wearing the voluminous covering came to symbolise Afghanistan under the Taleban. Although women have taken a far greater role in public life since their regime fell in 2001, the burka is still a common sight in many parts of the country.

Many argue that the burka is not an Islamic requirement of hijab, or modest dress. They also insist that it has no real root in Afghan culture, where women traditionally covered their hair and shoulders with a large shawl.

"I never wear the burka," said Swita Duranai, a 28-year-old businesswomen who owns a jewellery factory in Herat city.

"As a Muslim woman, I follow the hijab that the creator talks about in the Quran. I am not obliged to imprison myself in metres of fabric in the name of modesty, because the burka is an imported phenomenon, not part of Afghan culture."

Such clothing also served as a form of gender discrimination, she added.

"The burka distances women from society and leads to feelings of isolation," she said. "One of the reasons the women of my country lag behind in academic, political, economic and social activities is the wearing of this burka."

Malika Rasuli is deputy head of the women's section of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHCR) in the west of the country.

She agreed that imposing the burka was an expression of gender violence.

"When men force women and girls in their family to wear the burka, this interferes in women's ability to make their own decisions," she said. "In fact, it means that it is men who deny women the right to choose the kind of hijab they want to wear."

The robes cover a woman completely and are usually sky-blue, although white, brown and other shades are occasionally seen. Most are made of cheap synthetic material, with a mesh face-covering that allows only a limited view of the outside world.

Although the burka is most closely associated with Afghanistan, historians say it is a relatively recent arrival to the country.

Nasir Naiz, a cultural expert, said that until the Taleban era, the burka was only one design among many ways women dressed outside the privacy of their own homes.

"There have been various trends in how women cover themselves over the last 100 years, and the burka is one of them."

Naiz said that there was no definitive information on when and how the burka arrived in the region, but that it had first appeared in Afghanistan around 100 years ago as an import from India where it had been in turn introduced by Arab invaders.

King Amanullah, who ruled from 1919 to 1929, shocked the nation by allowing his wife Queen Soraya to remove her veil at a public function. During the 1978 to 1979 Russian occupation, many women and girls in the larger cities discarded the headscarf altogether.

TRADITIONS STILL LINGER

Some women say that wearing the burka gives them a sense of security.

Zia Gul, 41, a resident of the vilage of Imam Shash Nur in Engeel district, said that the burka was not only an Islamic requirement but served as a form of protection.

"I believe that if women want to be safe from male harassment and avoid being seen by strangers, they should wear the burka. This act has benefits of both in this world and the hereafter."

However Mohammad Ihsan, who has run a shop selling burkas for the last 30 years, said that in his experience women did not wear the restrictive garment of their own volition.

"Many times I've witnessed a woman in tears because she did not want to wear the burka, being forced to do so by her husband and her father-in-law," he continued

The 62-year-old recalled one particular incident in which a young woman was threatened with violence in his shop.

"The father-in-law of a newlywed bride who did not want to wear the burka warned her that he would beat her and told her, 'You will enter our house wearing the burka and your dead body will only leave our house wearing the burka. Forget about wearing a headscarf.'"

Religious scholars say that the proper definition of modest dress has been the subject of debate by scholars for centuries.

This meant that there was no textual basis for the burka to be the ultimate expression of hijab, explained religious scholar Maulawi Sayed Husain Husaini.

"Hijab in Islam means covering the parts of women's bodies which are private; the hands, face, and feet of women are excluded," he continued.

Husaini explained that no specific model of hijab was mentioned in the hadith, the sayings of the prophet, or other Islamic texts. Therefore it was wrong to insist that the burka was the version of hijab mandated by Islam.

Officials say they are trying to spread awareness of what Islamic teaching really says about modest dress for women, and how alien the burka is to Afghan tradition. Conservative attitudes mean this is difficult, especially in more remote areas.

Mahjuba Jamshidi, head of the provincial department of women's affairs, said, "The more people really understand the role of the hijab in Islam, the less men will insist on imposing the burka on women.

"This is why we do not stay idle but have tried, with the help of religious scholars, to explain to the public what the Islamic hijab involves."

Not all men support the imposition of such a restrictive garment.

"Wearing the burka really creates many problems for women," said Sayed Jamal Faqiri, a resident of Herat. "I have seen for myself many times that burka-wearing women aren't able to see ahead of themselves and so fall over while walking."

But others, especially in rural areas, remain adamant that the burka was the only acceptable covering for female members of their family.

Mula Mohammad, a resident of the village of Bala Bolook in the Guzara district of Herat, was against the idea of women even leaving their homes.

"I do not want my women to go outside the house. Their place is the kitchen, not outside," he said, refusing to allow any female members of his household to be interviewed.

"I would cut off my women's feet if they ever left the house without wearing the burka."

This report was produced under IWPR's Promoting Human Rights and Good Governance in Afghanistan initiative, funded by the European Union Delegation to Afghanistan.

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Jada-e Leelami, the Street of Sales, lies in one of the busiest parts of Herat city. It's usually packed with shoppers attracted by the promise of cheap clothing, many of them women covered them entirely from head to toe in sky-blue burkas. Shopping wearing such an all-encompassing garment is not easy.

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What the roles each gender has.

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"Islam hates us," Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said in a CNN interview on Friday.

Mr Trump later stood by his claim in a televised debate in Miami, saying: "There is tremendous hatred, and I will stick with exactly what I said."

It led to an outcry, with Senator Marco Rubio launching an impassioned defence of Muslims.

There are clearly some radical Muslims who despise the US and other Western countries - including those who carried out the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.

But what of Donald Trump's claim that Muslims in general hate the country?

No major polling agency has yet asked whether respondents "hate" America. However, several have measured broad sentiment among the world's 1.6 billion Muslims.

The Pew Research Centre, which surveys global attitudes, said anti-Americanism was strong around the word around the time of the US invasion of Iraq.

However, currently there is little evidence of profound anti-American sentiment except for in a handful of countries, it says.

Bruce Stokes, director of global economic attitudes at Pew, says sentiment towards the US varies widely between Muslim-majority countries.

"We tend to see more negative sentiment among Muslims in the Middle East, such as those from Egypt and Jordan," he says.

"But Muslims outside the Middle East generally have a more positive outlook," he adds.

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, 62% of people hold a favourable opinion of the US, Pew's latest data suggests.

That figure rises to 80% in Senegal, a country which is over 90% Muslim. Mr Stokes points out that this is a stronger approval rate than Germany.

"Attitudes have also been changing over time. We've seen a gradual rise in positive sentiment since President Barack Obama came to power," Mr Stokes says.

"Even in the Palestinian Territories, where sentiment is 70% unfavourable, that's an improvement on 82% in Barack Obama's first year."

The BBC World Service commissioned its own poll of global attitudes in 24 countries in 2014.

Among other things, it asked respondents if they thought the US "had a mainly positive or mainly negative influence in the world".

Pakistanis generally held the worst view of the US, with 61% saying the US had a negative influence.

But both China and Germany were not far behind, scoring 59% and 57% respectively.

Turkey, almost 98% Muslim, was split between 36% positive, 36% negative and 28% neutral.

Doctrine or diplomacy?

Dalia Mogahed, co-author of Who Speaks for Islam?, say religion is not the key driver of anti-American sentiment in Muslim-majority countries.

"It's nothing to do with religion and everything to do with policy," she says.

In Pakistan, for example, anti-US sentiment spiked by 7% in 2011, the Pew data shows - that was the year in which the US launched a raid to kill Osama Bin Laden, which many Pakistanis saw as an infringement of their national sovereignty.

"Also, compare Muslim sentiment towards America with sentiment towards Canada. Our neighbour to the north shares our dominant culture and religion but not our foreign policy. And global Muslim opinion towards Canada is generally very positive," Ms Mogahed says.

In the end then, it comes down to an old statistician's staple: Correlation does not imply causation.

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"Islam hates us," Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said in a CNN interview on Friday. Mr Trump later stood by his claim in a televised debate in Miami, saying: "There is tremendous hatred, and I will stick with exactly what I said."

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Guide to Afghanistan language, culture, customs and more.

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Guide to Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette

Welcome to our guide to Afghanistan. This is useful for anyone researching Afghan culture, customs, manners, etiquette, values and wanting to understand the people better. You may be going to Afghanistan on business, for a visit or even hosting Afghan colleagues or clients in your own country.

Remember this is only a very basic level introduction and is not meant to stereotype all Afghans you may meet!

Facts and Statistics

Location: Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

Capital: Kabul

Climate: Arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Population: 31,822,848 (July 2014 est.)

Ethnic Make-up: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4% Religions: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1%

Language in Afghanistan

Pashtu and Dari (Afghan Persian/Farsi) are the official languages of Afghanistan. Pashtu (also written Pushtu) was declared the National Language of the country during the beginning of Zahir Shah's reign, however, Dari has always been used for business and government transactions. Both belong to the Indo-European group of languages. According to estimates, approximately 35% of the Afghan population speaks Pashtu, and about 50% speaks Dari. Turkic languages (Uzbek and Turkmen) are spoken by about 11% of the population. There are also numerous other languages spoken in the country (Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, etc.), and bilingualism is very common.

Afghan Culture & Society

Islam

The Ethnic Make-up and Tribes

Afghanistan is a vast country and as a result has a rich mix of ethnicities and tribes.

The Pashtun are Sunni Muslims who Pashtu. They constitute around 42% of the population and are concentrated in Nangrahar and Pakhtya provinces. A large population also live in neighbouring Pakistan.

Tajiks comprise roughly 27% of the population. They are Iranian in origin and speak a form of Persian found in Eastern Iran. Most are Sunni Muslim. Most reside in Kabul and Herat provinces,although some reside in the mountains north of Hindu Kush, and the Iranian border.

Hazaris make up about 9% of the population. They are descendants of the Mongols, and speak a dialect of Persian that contains many Turkish words. They are also Shiite Muslims which led to much of their persecution under Taliban rule. Most live in the Hazarajat region.

Uzbeks live in the northern parts of the country and also comprise only 9% of the population. They are Sunni Muslims and speak a dialect of Turkish.

The Turkomen are a small minority with making only 3% of the population.

Baluchis are pastoral nomads who speak Baluchi, an Iranian language. They comprise 2% of the population.

The Family

The family is the single most important unit in the Afghan culture.

Men and women's roles are much more defined along traditional lines.

Women are generally responsible for household duties, where as men will be the bread winners. In the cities professional women do exist.

Families commonly arrange marriages for their children. Factors such as tribe, status, network, and wealth are the major factors forming any choice.

Families traditionally live together in the same walled compound, known as the kala. When a son gets married he and his wife begin their married lives in a room under the same roof.

As with much of the Muslim world, the family is sacred and as such, is highly protected. As a result, probing about the family is not advised.

The Concepts of Honour and Shame

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. o The issue of honour drives much of the behaviour surrounding the protection of women, modes of dress, social interaction, education and economic activity.

If someone's honour has been compromised, they are shamed and will look for a way to exact revenge for themselves, their family or group.

The role of honour and tribalism has fuelled much of the disharmony in the country's recent history - with one group carrying out violent acts against another, the victims are forced to respond causing a circle of violence.

The Role of Hospitality

Hospitality is an essential aspect of Afghan culture.

No matter who you are, if you visit a home you will be given the best the family has.

This relates back to the idea of gaining honour.

If you are invited for tea, which you inevitably will be, you will be offered snacks and your tea glass will be constantly filled. When you have had enough cover the glass with your hand and say "bas" (meaning 'enough').

Social Etiquette, Customs and Protocol

Meeting and Greeting

When meeting someone the handshake is the most common form on greeting. You will also see people place their hands over their hearts and nod slightly.

One should always enquire about things like a person's health, business, family, etc.

Women and men will never shake hands let alone speak directly to one another.

Eye contact should also be avoided between men and women. Between men eye contact is acceptable as long as it is not prolonged - it is best to only occasionally look someone in the eyes.

Mixing Between Genders

Free mixing between genders only takes places within families.

In professional situations such as at businesses or universities, males and females may be co-workers, but are nevertheless cautious to maintain each other's honour.

Foreign females must learn to read the rules and live by them.

If a man speaks to you directly in a social context, he is dishonouring you. If someone speaks to you on the street, that is equally inappropriate. You should avoid looking men in the eyes, and keep your eyes lowered when you walk down the street to maintain your reputation as a proper woman.

Women must always dress properly to avoid unwanted attention. Always wear loose fitting pants under your skirts and be sure the definition of your legs is indistinguishable. It is also strongly advisable to wear a headscarf in public.

On the other hand foreign men should note that it is inappropriate to initiate social conversation with a woman, and one should not ask a male about his wife or female relatives.

Men and women should never be alone in the same room. If this happens you should ensure a door is left open.

Men and women should never touch one another under any circumstances.

Gift Giving Etiquette

Dining Etiquette

Dining in Afghanistan is a different experience and there are many differences in etiquette. o Always remove your shoes at the door if visiting a home.

If eating at someone's home, you will be seated on o the floor, usually on cushions.

Food is served on plastic or vinyl tablecloths spread on the floor.

Wait to be shown where to sit.

If you can, sit cross-legged. Otherwise sit as comfortably as you can. Do not site with legs outstretched and your feet facing people.

Food is generally served communally and everyone will share from the same dish.

Do not eat with the left hand.

Always pass and receive things using your right hand too. o Food is eaten with the hands. It will be a case of watch and learn.

Leave food on your plate otherwise it will keep getting filled up again.

Business Etiquette, Customs and Protocol

Business Cards

What to Wear?

Men should wear conservative suits and shoes.

If working in the country in a non-commercial capacity then wearing the traditional Afghan dress (long shirt and trousers) is best.

Women must always dress modestly and conservatively. The general rule is to show as little flesh from the neck downwards.

If working in business, women should wear knee-length, loose fitting business skirts with loose fitting professional trousers underneath. Wearing headscarf is advisable.

Business Meetings

Business is very much personal in Afghanistan. If you have not already invested some quality time in getting to know your counterparts, then you must use initial meetings to establish trust.

Once this has been accomplished you can move on to the nitty-gritty of business.

Do not be surprised or offended if during meetings people walk in and out of a room or phone calls are taken.

If the meeting involves a group of people it will be led by the leader who will set the agenda, the content, and the pace of the activities.

Meetings are usually held to communicate information and decisions that have already been rather than a forum for discussion and brain storming.

Meeting schedules are not very structured. Start times, points of discussion, etc are all fluid and flexible. Be prepared for a lot of tangents in the discussions.

Afghani communication style is rather indirect. It is therefore sometimes necessary to read between the lines for an answer rather than expect it to be explicitly stated. For example, if someone is asked if they can complete a job on time, you will rarely get "no" as the answer. It is therefore also important to phrase questions intelligently.

Honour and shame should always be considered. Always express yourself in a way that is not direct or pins blame on someone. Never make accusations or speak down to anyone.

Negotiating

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Afghanistan - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette

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Welcome to our guide to Afghanistan. This is useful for anyone researching Afghan culture, customs, manners, etiquette, values and wanting to understand the people better. You may be going to Afghanistan on business, for a visit or even hosting Afghan colleagues or clients in your own country.

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The difference between Hijab, niqab, burka etc.

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What's the difference between a hijab, niqab and burka? - CBBC Newsround

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Hijab, niqab, burka - there are lots of different kinds of headscarves worn by Muslim women all over the world. How can you tell which is which?

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Talks about orientation, history and ethnic relations, urbanism architecture and use of space, food and economy, political life....

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Culture of Afghanistan - history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social

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Culture of Afghanistan - history, people, clothing, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social A-Bo

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the link gives information on the influence religion has on policy

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Spogmay Waziri Kakar - WNN SOAPBOX

(WNN/PWV) Washington D.C., UNITED STATES, AMERICAS: Even though the vast majority of Afghanistan's population professes to be the followers of Islam, women are not given their rights that Islam guarantees them. Mostly, women are mistreated in Afghanistan due to the traditions that undermine the basic human rights of women.

Conservative practices are used in the name of religion and tradition, denying women their formal legal rights. One such example is women's rights to inheritance and property. In Afghanistan, Islamic law determines inheritance rights. However, when it comes to women, tribal law decides their inheritance rights. Tribal laws ignore the fact that women are entitled to inherit property and land, restricting the role of women and preventing them from having secure rights to inheritance.

Islamic law grants inheritance rights to women which they may not have under tribal law. Since women are less powerful in the society, they are denied their rights due under Islamic law. Islam gives women half the share of inheritance available to men. However, even that share is not given to them under tribal norms.

Generally speaking, women by default are not considered a part of inheritance rights throughout Afghanistan. There are statutory laws on paper that guarantee women their property rights. However, mostly, women living in the cities benefit from them.

A majority of Afghans live in rural Afghanistan and women living in rural areas do not benefit from these laws, not because these laws don't apply to them but because tribal laws are more powerful and dominant in rural Afghanistan. To say that all women living in the cities are guaranteed their inheritance/property rights would be wrong as well because most women who live in the cities do not or are not able to ask for their inheritance rights for the following reasons:

Women who do ask for their property rights whether they live in urban or rural areas are considered "shameless" by their own family members, relatives, and community as a whole.

The stigma of being labeled as "shameless", forces women to remain silent and not ask for their own rights. Women are given this perception that they have to "gift" all their share of the property to their male relatives in order to remain honorable among their family and friends. In other words, the tradition is that it is inappropriate for women to inherit any property even though Islam is clear on this that they can inherit.

In a collectivistic Afghan culture, no woman wants to be branded as such because it ruins her reputation, which is very important for her survival in the community.

If a woman asks for her legal property rights from her male relatives, she is not considered a part of the family anymore or is not deemed respectful as before. In some instances, the family disowns her completely. If a woman goes through law enforcement agencies to gain her legal rights to property, it means disgracing her family's honor, and she will lose the respect she had in the family and in the community.

Women are discriminated against in Jirgas held in rural areas to decide their inheritance rights. So even if they try, they will not be given their due rights. Thus a woman cannot take the risk of being labeled as shameless and at the same time get nothing out of the case. This unfair and discriminatory local tradition has pushed women into bearing all the mishaps and remaining silent.

It is noteworthy that age is a big constraint in getting justice in Afghan society. Only older women are taken seriously. In the present times, if a woman is younger and starts to fight for her rights, she is not seen as a hero as much as an older woman would be. Therefore, younger women don't even bother to ask for their property rights because they know they will not be able to gain anything out of it.

Most of the time, women refuse to inherit and give their share to their brothers, instead, to show their love and support for them even though they know they have legal rights to inherit. They do so to gain respect in their family and community.

This has become the norm to the point that brothers expect their sisters to give them their share of inheritance. Many times a woman is not even asked if she wants to give her property to her male relatives because people know what is expected of her in such situations. Women, who do ask for their formal legal rights, lose their respect in their own family. This makes them give up their legal rights in exchange for "respect" gained in their male relative's house.

Women have to think twice before claiming their share of family property because of the consequences attached to it, discouraging them to ask for their legal property rights. In most cases, women remain silent.

When Afghans claim to be strict followers of Islamic religion, why don't they give women their legal rights to inherit according to the orders stated in the Quran? Why does tribal law determine inheritance rights for women in Afghanistan?

While there might be other reasons, poverty has a direct connection to why tribal laws decide property for women in rural areas of the country, where the majority of the population lives. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world.

The past three decades war has had a devastating impact on the economy of the country.

Even though poverty is widespread in both rural and urban areas of Afghanistan, poverty is more severe in rural areas. Poor people own some land and cattle, which they want to pass on to their sons because the daughters will be married off anyways to live in other peoples' houses. It makes much more sense for poor people in rural Afghanistan to apply tribal law in this case because it is to their benefit. If they let women inherit, not much would be left to the male relatives because, generally speaking, families in Afghanistan tend to be large.

Another reason that discourages men to give property rights to women in most cases in both rural and urban areas of Afghanistan is losing tribal connection.

Afghanistan has a tribal society. If for instance a share of land is given to a woman who has been married off to a man in a different tribe, it would mean her husband is directly involved in her father's land. This could be frustrating especially if the "new man" in the family belongs to a powerful family.

The males in a tribe do not want to lose their influence to an outsider. This is one of the reasons why people who own a lot of land prefer their daughters to be married off to their cousins because that way the property stays within the family.

There is also less judicial support for women's inheritance rights. Afghanistan has a patriarchal and male-dominated society. Those in the position of power in the judicial system do not deem women's rights important. While there are laws on papers, they are rarely applied and violators are barely punished.

In short, the only solution to this problem is economic development and implementation of law.

Women should be guaranteed their rights. Educating girls in a way that they can trust themselves should be one of the priorities of the government so that they will be able to fight for their rights instead of shying away due to the social stigmas attached to speaking up.

This may take time but is not impossible. Most women know they have a legal right to inherit property and land but they can't do anything because they can't go into war with their own family members and can't afford to lose their respect in their community.

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Follow Pashtun Women Viewpoint on Twitter @PashtunWomenVP
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Washington D.C. based BBC columnist Ms. Spogmay Waziri Kakar is a graduate of George Mason University with a degree in Government and International Politics. Kakar also consults with various news agencies. Her special focus includes U.S. foreign policy in South Asia, as well as women and gender studies and education. You can follow her on Twitter @Spogmayy
__________________________

©2014 WNN - Women News Network
No part of the text in this article release may be used or reproduced in any form without prior permissions from WNN. All other media is copyright of the owners and may not be used or reproduced without permissions.

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Religion is being used in Afghanistan to deny women their rights - Woman News Network (WNN)

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Spogmay Waziri Kakar - WNN SOAPBOX (WNN/PWV) Washington D.C., UNITED STATES, AMERICAS: Even though the vast majority of Afghanistan's population professes to be the followers of Islam, women are not given their rights that Islam guarantees them. Mostly, women are mistreated in Afghanistan due to the traditions that undermine the basic human rights of women.

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Many don't have access to health care and the services available are not accessible to women in rural areas, and those women who are poor.

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UNICEF | Children's Rights & Emergency Relief Organization

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Health care for children and women in remotest Afghanistan
By Rajat Madhok Newborn deaths account for a staggering 44 per cent of total mortality among children under 5, and represent a larger proportion of under-5 deaths now than they did in 1990. These deaths tend to be among the poorest and most disadvantaged populations. According to a new series of papers released by The Lancet, the majority of children who die before they turn one month old - nearly 3 million each year - could be saved by better care around the time of birth. In Afghanistan, mobile health teams are penetrating the remotest parts of the country in order to give mother and baby a fighting chance.
UNICEF mourns the loss of Dr. Nasreen Khan, an integral part of UNICEF Afghanistan's staff who is quoted in this coverage, who died in the tragic attack on a restaurant in Kabul on 17 January 2014.

HERAT, Afghanistan, 12 March 2014 - Deep in Herat province, the children of Jaghatai village spot a cloud of dust rising in the distance. They begin to run around the village square, shouting and screaming.

The dust is kicked up by a coming vehicle. Bibi Gul Momand and her team of health workers are making their way toward the village in their small ambulance. The women quickly gather their children and collect at the village mosque. There, the team will set up camp for a few hours to check the children and women for health problems.

Bibi Gul Momand is a trained midwife. Her team, and others like it, visit villages that are more than 25 km from the nearest hospital or health centre. They bring care right to the doorstep of children and women like those in Jaghatai, who access life-saving interventions difficultly.

Bibi Gul Momand, who claims to have assisted women in the delivery of more than a thousand babies, says, "Health facilities are very far from here, and people cannot afford to travel. They have to cope with this. Sometimes, sick people die. So we come here to support them."

Dangerous place to give birth, dangerous place to be born

Afghanistan remains one of the world's most dangerous places for women to have children. Per every 100,000 live births, 460 women will die in childbirth or during pregnancy. At least 1 in 10 children will die before their fifth birthday.

According to Dr. Nasreen Khan, Health Specialist with UNICEF in Afghanistan, there are health services available, but the majority of them are clustered in urban centres. Rural areas like Jaghatai village are therefore almost deprived of health services. "Health surveys in Afghanistan have revealed that more than 30 to 40 per cent of the population does not have access to health care," says Dr. Khan.

"Another important thing is that, even if we provide the health services, there is inequity within the provision of these services," she adds. "Even if the services are available, these are not accessible to women in rural areas, and those women who are poor."

Bringing health care to children and women

UNICEF, along with the Ministry of Public Health and other partners, is working hard to ensure every last child and woman has access to health care. They are supporting mobile health teams like Bibi Gul Momand's in Herat - and across the country.

The mobile teams include a midwife, two vaccinators, a community health supervisor and a community health worker. The team provide a variety of services for free. They check who has been vaccinated and give vaccinations. They screen for malnutrition and other health complications and provide basic medical treatment and give nutritional advice.

More serious cases are referred to the Khairia Rezaee maternity hospital in Herat city, the capital of Herat province.

Supporting rural mothers and their babies in hospital

Recently, Rukshana gave birth to a baby girl at Khairia Rezaee hospital. She traveled for five hours along a bumpy road to get there. Rukshana, who is 20, had already lost three children to miscarriage, and during unattended home delivery. So, this time, she decided to come to hospital.

"Children are sometimes born dead, and the mothers bleed a lot during deliveries at home," Rukshana explains. "Children also suffer from health problems. They get sick after being born and sometimes die from illnesses like pneumonia."

After she had her baby, Rukshana was admitted to the maternity waiting home. Supported by UNICEF, the home caters to women who come from remote communities without medical facilities. Pregnant women and new mothers can stay at the home with their families before and after delivering their babies, knowing that doctors are on hand in case of complications.

With the odds stacked against them, this service is a lifeline for many rural women.

UNICEF has also funded the construction of a special care neonatal unit, which provides medical care for babies who are born prematurely. The unit has qualified nurses and a doctor on standby around the clock.

Reaching remotest Afghanistan

UNICEF, its partners and teams of dedicated health workers like Bibi Gul Momand and her colleagues are reaching the areas of Afghanistan that are hardest to access.

Armed with trained workers, small ambulances, specially equipped hospitals and tenacity, they deliver the care, interventions and referrals that will save the lives of mother and baby and ensure that children survive - and thrive - one village at a time.

UNICEF Photography: Gender issues

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focus area 5: policy advocacy and partnerships for children's rights

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Health care for children and women in remotest Afghanistan

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HERAT, Afghanistan, 12 March 2014 - Bibi Gul Momand is a trained midwife. Her team, and others like it, visit villages that are more than 25 km from the nearest hospital or health centre. They bring care right to the doorstep of children and women like those in Jaghatai, who access life-saving interventions difficultly.

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This website shows the criminal rates in Kabul Afghanistan.

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Crime > Afghanistan > Kabul

Index

Crime Index:

76.76

Safety Index:

23.24

Crime rates in Kabul, Afghanistan

Safety in Kabul, Afghanistan

Contributors: 51

Last update: April 2020

These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years.

If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if the value is 100, it means it is perceived as very high.

Explore Quality of Life in Kabul:

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Crime > Afghanistan > Kabul Index Crime Index: 76.76 Safety Index: 23.24 Contributors: 51 Last update: April 2020 These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years. If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if the value is 100, it means it is perceived as very high.

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This link gives information on the lack of health education in Afghanistan.

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USAID, other donors, and non-governmental organizations has led to significant progress in Afghanistan's health sector.

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Harazas are being persecuted in Kabul (9/1/16)

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Harazas are being persecuted in Kabul (9/1/16)

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On 23 July, two men joined the crowd of thousands of Afghanistan's Hazara marching in protest through the streets of Kabul. They wore suicide vests under billowing perahan.

The Hazara protest was, ostensibly, in response to the Afghan government's decision to divert a promised power transmission line from Bamiyan - a Hazara enclave, where it would have brought jobs, economic growth and, most fundamentally, electricity - to another area of the country further north. But the demonstration, and the power line's diversion, was aimed too at a broader discrimination Hazaras say they suffer in Afghanistan.

The two men wearing suicide vests at the demonstration - Islamic State militants - detonated their devices as the protest reached Deh Mazang square. More than 80 protestors were killed - recent reports say at least 97 - and more than 230 injured, in the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital in 15 years. Isis's media agency Amaq confirmed the Hazara religious and ethnic minority were specifically targeted, saying the attack was aimed at the "Shia gathering".

A Hazara man is comforted as he weeps alongside unseen shoes and other belongings of those who were killed in the twin suicide attack in Kabul on 23 July. Photograph: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images

To mark the 40th day since the attack, on Thursday the Hazaras' "enlightening" movement will launch a Twitter campaign to bring to global attention what they describe as "systematic discrimination against the Hazaras".

From 3pm Thursday in Kabul, thousands of Hazaras in Afghanistan will launch an online campaign under the hashtag #justice4Hazaras to commemorate those who lost their lives in the tragedy and also to demand justice, equality and better services for the Hazaras. Simultaneously, commemorations are being held in Kabul and around the world. The online campaign has been in planning for more than a month. Protest organisers have held workshops in Kabul and around the world, and posted videos online to help the unfamiliar use Twitter and Facebook to broadcast their message.

Dawood Naji, one of the organisers of Kabul protest who travelled to Australia to speak at memorial events organised by Hazara community, told the Guardian: "The enlightening movement is about systematic discrimination. Every Hazara around the world can relate with this movement because they have experienced discrimination.

"Those who lost their lives in Kabul experience it, others experience it when they apply for a job, when they sit an exam, or request a service or security."

A Hazara woman crosses a bridge in Yakawlang near Bamiyan in Afghanistan. The area does not have basic infrastructure, a hospital or electricity. Photograph: Abdul Karim Hekmat/The Guardian

But a migration agent in Australia, who asked not to be identified for fear of impacting her Hazara clients, said the Australian government has played down the worldwide Hazara protest movement and not acknowledged the attacks in Kabul were targeted at Hazaras because of the ramification for Hazara claims for refugee status in Australia. An estimated 10,000 Hazaras have already settled in Australia.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection, the agent said, rejects refugee claims on the grounds Kabul is safe for Hazaras to be returned to and views the recent attacks on Hazara in Kabul as "rare" incidents "likely to be considered a one-off". The department had said the same thing in relation to the December 2011 bomb attacks in Kabul which killed over 50 people, mostly Hazaras.

Professor William Maley of the Australian National University, who is currently in Kabul, argues the government's position on the safety of Hazaras in Afghanistan is "completely unsustainable".

A report on Hazaras in Afghanistan, published by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in February this year, said "no part of the country can be considered free from conflict-related violence" but that "the threat of conflict-related violence faced by Hazaras is similar to that faced by members of other ethnic groups".

The persecution of Hazaras was most overt under the rule of the Taliban, but in the decade-and-a-half since, violence has continued, public beheadings of Hazara men, women and children based on their ethnicity are common, as are reports of Hazara being ordered off buses on country roads or out of their homes at gunpoint by militia and murdered. Hazaras say, most fundamentally, they are not safe in their own country.

A Hazara woman walks past the ruins of the ancient Buddha statues that once stood in the Afghan city of Bamiyan. Photograph: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images

The Hazaras say they are no longer safe on the streets of Kabul to protest, that the Afghan government can't provide security, and authorities have actively moved to crush their protest movement.

On Monday, when the Afghan president Ashraf Ghani travelled to Bamiyan to rename the local airport after a Hazara leader killed by the Taliban, a group of Hazaras took the opportunity to gather in the heart of the city to protest their treatment by the government.

But Afghan security dispersed the protest by rounding up, beating and arresting about 30 protestors. They were detained for 24 hours. The security forces assaulted four journalists and broke cameras to stop them filming the protest, according to a Human Rights Watch report of the incident.

"The political situation in the country is febrile, and the situation for Hazaras extremely dangerous," Maley told the Guardian.

"If [Isis] was able to strike targets in the heart of the Afghan capital, where the presence of Afghan security forces is relatively strong, it puts on display a commitment to attack on the basis of religious identity, plainly engaging one of the basis of refugee status under the refugee conventions; and it highlights particular dangers for Hazaras."

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Twitter campaign draws attention to plight of Afghanistan's persecuted Hazaras

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On 23 July, two men joined the crowd of thousands of Afghanistan's Hazara marching in protest through the streets of Kabul. They wore suicide vests under billowing perahan.

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-is a country in South Asia

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From the year
1838 until now

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A chronology of key events:

1838-42 - British forces invade, install King Shah Shujah. He is assassinated in 1842. British and Indian troops are massacred during retreat from Kabul.

1878-80 - Second Anglo-Afghan War. A treaty gives Britain control of Afghan foreign affairs.

1919 - Emir Amanullah Khan declares independence from British influence.

1926-29 - Amanullah tries to introduce social reforms, which however stir civil unrest. He flees.

1933 - Zahir Shah becomes king and Afghanistan remains a monarchy for next four decades.

1953 - General Mohammed Daud becomes prime minister. Turns to Soviet Union for economic and military assistance. Introduces social reforms, such as abolition of purdah (practice of secluding women from public view).

1963 - Mohammed Daud forced to resign as prime minister.

1964 - Constitutional monarchy introduced - but leads to political polarisation and power struggles.

1973 - Mohammed Daud seizes power in a coup and declares a republic. Tries to play off USSR against Western powers.

1978 - General Daud is overthrown and killed in a pro-Soviet coup. The People's Democratic Party comes to power but is paralysed by violent infighting and faces opposition by US-backed mujahideen groups.

Soviet intervention

1979 December - Soviet Army invades and props up communist government.

1980 - Babrak Karmal installed as ruler, backed by Soviet troops. But opposition intensifies with various mujahideen groups fighting Soviet forces. US, Pakistan, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia supply money and arms to the mujahideen.

1985 - Mujahideen come together in Pakistan to form alliance against Soviet forces. Half of Afghan population now estimated to be displaced by war, with many fleeing to neighbouring Iran or Pakistan.

1986 - US begins supplying mujahideen with Stinger missiles, enabling them to shoot down Soviet helicopter gunships. Babrak Karmal replaced by Najibullah as head of Soviet-backed regime.

1988 - Afghanistan, USSR, the US and Pakistan sign peace accords and Soviet Union begins pulling out troops.

Red Army quits

1989 - Last Soviet troops leave, but civil war continues as mujahideen push to overthrow Najibullah.

1992 - Najibullah's government toppled, but a devastating civil war follows.

1996 - Taliban seize control of Kabul and introduce hard-line version of Islam, banning women from work, and introducing Islamic punishments, which include stoning to death and amputations.

1997 - Taliban recognised as legitimate rulers by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. They now control about two-thirds of country.

1998 - US launches missile strikes at suspected bases of militant Osama bin Laden, accused of bombing US embassies in Africa.

1999 - UN imposes an air embargo and financial sanctions to force Afghanistan to hand over Osama bin Laden for trial.

2001 September - Ahmad Shah Masood, leader of the main opposition to the Taliban - the Northern Alliance - is assassinated.

US-led invasion

2001 October - US-led bombing of Afghanistan begins following the September 11 attacks on the United States. Anti-Taliban Northern Alliance forces enter Kabul shortly afterwards.

2001 December - Afghan groups agree deal in Bonn, Germany for interim government.

Hamid Karzai is sworn in as head of an interim power-sharing government.

2002 January - Deployment of first contingent of foreign peacekeepers - the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) - marking the start of a protracted fight against the Taliban.

2002 April - Former king Zahir Shah returns, but makes no claim to the throne and dies in 2007.

2002 June - Loya Jirga, or grand council, elects Hamid Karzai as interim head of state. Karzai picks members of his administration which is to serve until 2004.

2003 August - Nato takes control of security in Kabul, its first-ever operational commitment outside Europe.

Elections

2004 January - Loya Jirga adopts new constitution which provides for strong presidency.

2004 October-November - Presidential elections. Hamid Karzai is declared winner.

2005 September - Afghans vote in first parliamentary elections in more than 30 years.

2005 December - Parliament opens with warlords and strongmen in most of the seats.

2006 October - Nato assumes responsibility for security across the whole of Afghanistan, taking command in the east from a US-led coalition force.

2007 August - Opium production has soared to a record high, the UN reports.

2008 June - President Karzai warns that Afghanistan will send troops into Pakistan to fight militants if Islamabad fails to take action against them.

2008 July - Suicide bomb attack on Indian embassy in Kabul kills more than 50.

2008 September - US President George Bush sends an extra 4,500 US troops to Afghanistan, in a move he described as a "quiet surge".

2009 January - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates tells Congress that Afghanistan is new US administration's "greatest test".

2009 February - Nato countries pledge to increase military and other commitments in Afghanistan after US announces dispatch of 17,000 extra troops.

New US approach

2009 March - US President Barack Obama unveils new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. An extra 4,000 US personnel will train and bolster the Afghan army and police and there will be support for civilian development.

2009 August - Presidential and provincial elections are marred by widespread Taliban attacks, patchy turnout and claims of serious fraud.

2009 October - Mr Karzai declared winner of August presidential election, after second-placed opponent Abdullah Abdullah pulls out before the second round.

2009 December - US President Obama decides to boost US troop numbers in Afghanistan by 30,000, bringing total to 100,000. He says US will begin withdrawing its forces by 2011.

An Al-Qaeda double agent kills seven CIA agents in a suicide attack on a US base in Khost.

2010 February - Nato-led forces launch major offensive, Operation Moshtarak, in bid to secure government control of southern Helmand province.

2010 July - Whistleblowing website Wikileaks publishes thousands of classified US military documents relating to Afghanistan.

General David Petraeus takes command of US, ISAF forces.

2010 August - Dutch troops quit.

Karzai says private security firms - accused of operating with impunity - must cease operations. He subsequently waters down the decree.

2010 September - Parliamentary polls marred by Taliban violence, widespread fraud and a long delay in announcing results.

2010 November - Nato - at summit in Lisbon - agrees plan to hand control of security to Afghan forces by end of 2014.

2011 January - President Karzai makes first official state visit to Russia by an Afghan leader since the end of the Soviet invasion in 1989.

2011 February - Number of civilians killed since the 2001 invasion hit record levels in 2010, Afghanistan Rights Monitor reports.

2011 April - Burning of Koran by a US pastor prompts country-wide protests in which foreign UN workers and several Afghans are killed.

Some 500 mostly Taliban prisoners break out of prison in Kandahar.

2011 July - President's half-brother and Kandahar governor Ahmad Wali Karzai is killed in Taliban campaign against prominent figures.

2011 September - Ex-president Burhanuddin Rabbani - a go-between in talks with the Taliban - is assassinated.

2011 October - As relations with Pakistan worsen after a series of attacks, Afghanistan and India sign a strategic partnership to expand co-operation in security and development.

Military pact

2011 November - President Karzai wins the endorsement of tribal elders to negotiate a 10-year military partnership with the US at a loya jirga traditional assembly. The proposed pact will see US troops remain after 2014, when foreign troops are due to leave the country.

2011 December - At least 58 people are killed in twin attacks at a Shia shrine in Kabul and a Shia mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Pakistan and the Taleban boycott the scheduled Bonn Conference on Afghanistan. Pakistan refuses to attend after a Nato air strike killed Pakistani soldiers on the Afghan border.

2012 January - Taliban agree to open office in Dubai as a move towards peace talks with the US and the Afghan government.

2012 February - At least 30 people are killed in protests about the burning of copies of the Koran at the US Bagram airbase. US officials believed Taliban prisoners were using the books to pass messages, and that they were extremist texts not Korans. Two soldiers are also killed in reprisal attacks.

2012 March - US Army Sgt Robert Bales is accused of killing 16 civilians in an armed rampage in the Panjwai district of Kandahar.

2012 April - Taliban announce "spring offensive" with audacious attack on the diplomatic quarter of Kabul. The government blamed the Haqqani Network. Security forces kill 38 militants.

Nato withdrawal plan

2012 May - Nato summit endorses the plan to withdraw foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

New French President Francois Hollande says France will withdraw its combat mission by the end of 2012 - a year earlier than planned.

Arsala Rahmani of the High Peace Council is shot dead in Kabul. A former Taliban minister, he was crucial in reaching out to rebel commanders. The Taliban deny responsibility.

2012 July - Tokyo donor conference pledges $16bn in civilian aid to Afghanistan up to 2016, with US, Japan, Germany and UK supplying bulk of funds. Afghanistan agrees to new conditions to counter corruption.

2012 August - The US military discipline six soldiers for accidentally burning copies of the Koran and other religious texts in Afghanistan. They will not face criminal prosecution. Three US Marines are also disciplined for a video in which the bodies of dead Taliban fighters were urinated on.

2012 September - US hands over Bagram high-security jail to the Afghan government, although it retains control over some foreign prisoners until March 2013.

The US also suspends training new police recruits in order to carry out checks on possible ties to Taliban following series of attacks on foreign troops by apparent police and Afghan soldiers.

2013 February - President Karzai and Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari agree to work for an Afghan peace deal within six months after talks hosted by Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron. They back the opening of an Afghan office in Doha and urge the Taliban to do the same for talks to take place.

2013 March - Two former Kabul Bank chiefs, Sherkhan Farnood and Khalilullah Ferozi, are jailed for the multi-million dollar fraud that almost led to its collapse and that of the entire Afghan banking system in 2010.

2013 June - Afghan army takes command of all military and security operations from Nato forces.

President Karzai suspends security talks with the US after Washington announces it plans to hold direct talks with the Taliban. Afghanistan insists on conducting the talks with the Taliban in Qatar itself.

2014 January - Taliban suicide squad hits a restaurant in Kabul's diplomatic quarter, the worst attack on foreign civilians since 2001. The 13 foreign victims include IMF country head.

2014 April - The presidential election produces an inconclusive result and goes on to a second round between Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani.

2014 June - Second round of presidential election is held, with more than 50 reported killed in various incidents during the vote.

2014 July - Election officials begin recount of all votes cast in June's presidential run-off, as part of a US-mediated deal to end dispute between candidates over widespread claims of fraud.

Election deal

2014 September - The two rivals for the Afghan presidency, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, sign a power-sharing agreement, following a two-month audit of disputed election results. Ashraf Ghani is sworn in as president.

2014 October - The US and Britain end their combat operations in Afghanistan.

Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan reaches an all-time high, according to a US report

2014 December - NATO formally ends its 13-year combat mission in Afghanistan, handing over to Afghan forces. Despite the official end to Isaf's combat role, violence persists across much of the country, with 2014 said to be the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since 2001.

2015 January - NATO-led follow-on mission "Resolute Support" gets underway, with some 12,000 personnel to provide further training and support for Afghan security forces.

Islamic State (IS) group emerges in eastern Afghanistan and within a few months captures a large swathe of Taliban-controlled areas in Nangarhar province.

2015 March - US President Barack Obama announces that his country will delay its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, following a request from President Ashraf Ghani.

The lynching of a woman wrongly accused of burning a Koran in Kabul provokes widespread revulsion and criticism of hard-line clerics. Police face accusations of doing too little to save her. The incident leads to widespread protests against the treatment of women. Four men are later convicted of murder.

Taliban offensives

2015 May - Taliban representatives and Afghan officials hold informal peace talks in Qatar. Both sides agree to continue the talks at a later date, though the Taliban insist they will not stop fighting until all foreign troops leave the country.

2015 July - Taliban admits that reclusive founder, Mullah Omar, died a few years ago, and appoints Mullah Akhter Mansour as his replacement.

2015 September - Taliban briefly capture major northern city of Kunduz in their most significant advance since being forced from power in 2001.

2015 October - Powerful earthquake kills more than 80 people in northeast of country.

2015 October - US President Barack Obama announces that 9,800 US troops will remain in Afghanistan until the end of 2016, backtracking on an earlier pledge to pull all but 1,000 troops from the country.

2015 November - A new Taliban splinter group, headed by Mullah Rasool, announces its presence in southern Afghanistan. However, the group is totally crushed by the mainstream Taliban by spring 2016.

2015 December - Taliban make bid to capture Sangin, a town and district in Helmand Province. US warplanes deploy in support of Afghan security forces' attempt to repel insurgents.

2015 December - NATO extends its "Resolute Support" follow-on mission by 12 months to the end of 2016.

2016 - Over one million Afghans are on the go during the year, either due to internal displacement because of the war, or are forced to repatriate by Pakistan, Iran and the European Union, according to the United Nations.

Heavy US air strikes reverse Islamic State's gains in the east, and the group is cornered in a few districts in Nangarhar.

2016 May - New Taliban leader Mullah Mansour is killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan's Baluchestan province.

2016 July - US President Barack Obama says 8,400 US troops will remain in Afghanistan into 2017 in light of the "precarious security situation". NATO also agrees to maintain troop numbers and reiterates a funding pledge for local security forces until 2020.

2016 August to October - Taliban advance to the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, and to the northern city of Kunduz. The group has brought much of the two provinces under its control since the bulk of NATO forces withdrew by end of 2014.

2016 September - The Afghan government signs a peace agreement with the militant group Hezb-e-Islami and grants immunity to the group's leader, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

2017 January - A bomb attack in Kandahar kills six UAE diplomats.

2017 February - Rise in Islamic State activities reported in a number of northern and southern provinces.

2017 March - Thirty people are killed and more than 50 wounded in an attack by so-called Islamic State on a military hospital in Kabul.

2017 June - Islamic State militants capture the mountainous region of Tora Bora in Nangarhar province, which was formerly used as a base by the late al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

2017 August - US President Donald Trump says he's sending more troops to fight a resurgent Taliban.

2018 January - Bomb-laden ambulance explodes in Kabul, killing more than 100 people. It is one of ongoing attacks attributed to the Taliban.

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A chronology of key events: 1838-42 - British forces invade, install King Shah Shujah. He is assassinated in 1842. British and Indian troops are massacred during retreat from Kabul. 1878-80 - Second Anglo-Afghan War. A treaty gives Britain control of Afghan foreign affairs. 1919 - Emir Amanullah Khan declares independence from British influence.

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Islam is practiced by the majority of Afghani people and governs much of their personal, economic,  and political lives. Family is the single most important unit in Afghan culture. Men and women's roles are much more defined along traditional lines.

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Guide to Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette

Welcome to our guide to Afghanistan. This is useful for anyone researching Afghan culture, customs, manners, etiquette, values and wanting to understand the people better. You may be going to Afghanistan on business, for a visit or even hosting Afghan colleagues or clients in your own country.

Remember this is only a very basic level introduction and is not meant to stereotype all Afghans you may meet!

Facts and Statistics

Location: Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran

Capital: Kabul

Climate: Arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers

Population: 31,822,848 (July 2014 est.)

Ethnic Make-up: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, other 4% Religions: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1%

Language in Afghanistan

Pashtu and Dari (Afghan Persian/Farsi) are the official languages of Afghanistan. Pashtu (also written Pushtu) was declared the National Language of the country during the beginning of Zahir Shah's reign, however, Dari has always been used for business and government transactions. Both belong to the Indo-European group of languages. According to estimates, approximately 35% of the Afghan population speaks Pashtu, and about 50% speaks Dari. Turkic languages (Uzbek and Turkmen) are spoken by about 11% of the population. There are also numerous other languages spoken in the country (Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, etc.), and bilingualism is very common.

Afghan Culture & Society

Islam

The Ethnic Make-up and Tribes

Afghanistan is a vast country and as a result has a rich mix of ethnicities and tribes.

The Pashtun are Sunni Muslims who Pashtu. They constitute around 42% of the population and are concentrated in Nangrahar and Pakhtya provinces. A large population also live in neighbouring Pakistan.

Tajiks comprise roughly 27% of the population. They are Iranian in origin and speak a form of Persian found in Eastern Iran. Most are Sunni Muslim. Most reside in Kabul and Herat provinces,although some reside in the mountains north of Hindu Kush, and the Iranian border.

Hazaris make up about 9% of the population. They are descendants of the Mongols, and speak a dialect of Persian that contains many Turkish words. They are also Shiite Muslims which led to much of their persecution under Taliban rule. Most live in the Hazarajat region.

Uzbeks live in the northern parts of the country and also comprise only 9% of the population. They are Sunni Muslims and speak a dialect of Turkish.

The Turkomen are a small minority with making only 3% of the population.

Baluchis are pastoral nomads who speak Baluchi, an Iranian language. They comprise 2% of the population.

The Family

The family is the single most important unit in the Afghan culture.

Men and women's roles are much more defined along traditional lines.

Women are generally responsible for household duties, where as men will be the bread winners. In the cities professional women do exist.

Families commonly arrange marriages for their children. Factors such as tribe, status, network, and wealth are the major factors forming any choice.

Families traditionally live together in the same walled compound, known as the kala. When a son gets married he and his wife begin their married lives in a room under the same roof.

As with much of the Muslim world, the family is sacred and as such, is highly protected. As a result, probing about the family is not advised.

The Concepts of Honour and Shame

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. o The issue of honour drives much of the behaviour surrounding the protection of women, modes of dress, social interaction, education and economic activity.

If someone's honour has been compromised, they are shamed and will look for a way to exact revenge for themselves, their family or group.

The role of honour and tribalism has fuelled much of the disharmony in the country's recent history - with one group carrying out violent acts against another, the victims are forced to respond causing a circle of violence.

The Role of Hospitality

Hospitality is an essential aspect of Afghan culture.

No matter who you are, if you visit a home you will be given the best the family has.

This relates back to the idea of gaining honour.

If you are invited for tea, which you inevitably will be, you will be offered snacks and your tea glass will be constantly filled. When you have had enough cover the glass with your hand and say "bas" (meaning 'enough').

Social Etiquette, Customs and Protocol

Meeting and Greeting

When meeting someone the handshake is the most common form on greeting. You will also see people place their hands over their hearts and nod slightly.

One should always enquire about things like a person's health, business, family, etc.

Women and men will never shake hands let alone speak directly to one another.

Eye contact should also be avoided between men and women. Between men eye contact is acceptable as long as it is not prolonged - it is best to only occasionally look someone in the eyes.

Mixing Between Genders

Free mixing between genders only takes places within families.

In professional situations such as at businesses or universities, males and females may be co-workers, but are nevertheless cautious to maintain each other's honour.

Foreign females must learn to read the rules and live by them.

If a man speaks to you directly in a social context, he is dishonouring you. If someone speaks to you on the street, that is equally inappropriate. You should avoid looking men in the eyes, and keep your eyes lowered when you walk down the street to maintain your reputation as a proper woman.

Women must always dress properly to avoid unwanted attention. Always wear loose fitting pants under your skirts and be sure the definition of your legs is indistinguishable. It is also strongly advisable to wear a headscarf in public.

On the other hand foreign men should note that it is inappropriate to initiate social conversation with a woman, and one should not ask a male about his wife or female relatives.

Men and women should never be alone in the same room. If this happens you should ensure a door is left open.

Men and women should never touch one another under any circumstances.

Gift Giving Etiquette

Dining Etiquette

Dining in Afghanistan is a different experience and there are many differences in etiquette. o Always remove your shoes at the door if visiting a home.

If eating at someone's home, you will be seated on o the floor, usually on cushions.

Food is served on plastic or vinyl tablecloths spread on the floor.

Wait to be shown where to sit.

If you can, sit cross-legged. Otherwise sit as comfortably as you can. Do not site with legs outstretched and your feet facing people.

Food is generally served communally and everyone will share from the same dish.

Do not eat with the left hand.

Always pass and receive things using your right hand too. o Food is eaten with the hands. It will be a case of watch and learn.

Leave food on your plate otherwise it will keep getting filled up again.

Business Etiquette, Customs and Protocol

Business Cards

What to Wear?

Men should wear conservative suits and shoes.

If working in the country in a non-commercial capacity then wearing the traditional Afghan dress (long shirt and trousers) is best.

Women must always dress modestly and conservatively. The general rule is to show as little flesh from the neck downwards.

If working in business, women should wear knee-length, loose fitting business skirts with loose fitting professional trousers underneath. Wearing headscarf is advisable.

Business Meetings

Business is very much personal in Afghanistan. If you have not already invested some quality time in getting to know your counterparts, then you must use initial meetings to establish trust.

Once this has been accomplished you can move on to the nitty-gritty of business.

Do not be surprised or offended if during meetings people walk in and out of a room or phone calls are taken.

If the meeting involves a group of people it will be led by the leader who will set the agenda, the content, and the pace of the activities.

Meetings are usually held to communicate information and decisions that have already been rather than a forum for discussion and brain storming.

Meeting schedules are not very structured. Start times, points of discussion, etc are all fluid and flexible. Be prepared for a lot of tangents in the discussions.

Afghani communication style is rather indirect. It is therefore sometimes necessary to read between the lines for an answer rather than expect it to be explicitly stated. For example, if someone is asked if they can complete a job on time, you will rarely get "no" as the answer. It is therefore also important to phrase questions intelligently.

Honour and shame should always be considered. Always express yourself in a way that is not direct or pins blame on someone. Never make accusations or speak down to anyone.

Negotiating

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Afghanistan - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette

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Welcome to our guide to Afghanistan. This is useful for anyone researching Afghan culture, customs, manners, etiquette, values and wanting to understand the people better. You may be going to Afghanistan on business, for a visit or even hosting Afghan colleagues or clients in your own country.

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This link has information on everything about or mostly everything about Afghanistan. It also shows numbers on population and growth rates and the economy and it is very accurate.

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health status is one of the worst in the world. HIV/AIDs is emerging quickly causes concerns to public. HIV/AIDs is affecting drug users in Afghanistan. Afghanistan also has one of the highest mortality rates from infants 5 years and younger.

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36% of Afghanistan's population lives below the poverty line.

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In recent memory, people often think of Afghanistan as the nation of the Taliban, who provided sanctuary to terrorists like Osama bin Laden. However, they do not tend to think about how a country falls into the grip of such extremism. Often, when poverty is widespread, terrorism and instability take hold. Poverty in Afghanistan has been a serious problem for nearly three decades, starting with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

This instability can make poverty alleviation an uphill battle. According to the World Bank's 2017 Poverty Status Update Report regarding socioeconomic progress in Afghanistan, the 15 years of growth that the country has seen are now jeopardized by a recent rise in insecurity. The World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan, Shubham Chaudhuri, explains that with poverty rising from 36 to 39 percent of the Afghan population, there need to be reinforcements to guarantee that economic growth reaches Afghan families. For further information about the living conditions of the Afghan people, here are 10 facts about poverty in Afghanistan.

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in Afghanistan

1. According to Aryana Aid, poverty in Afghanistan stems from two factors: "food insecurity and the lack of a social security net." As a result, 50 percent of Afghan children are stunted and 20 percent of Afghan women of child-bearing age are underweight.

2. Food is distributed unequally throughout the country, going mainly to areas where there is heavy fighting. This puts more strain on people in other areas and contributes to the ongoing food insecurity,

3. Furthermore, half of the people living in both rural and urban regions have no access to clean water.

4. The government's strategy to address food insecurity has been to focus on adequate calorie intake, but this has left people susceptible to food price shocks, meaning they lower the quality of their diet in order to afford food.

5. The war in Afghanistan is one of the main contributing factors to poverty; 55 to 75 percent of the Afghan population is living in poverty in the worst-hit regions, whereas as other regions have lower poverty rates.

6. According to Center for Strategic and Regional Studies, the poverty rate in Afghanistan has remained stagnant since the outbreak of war in 2001, even with increases in foreign aid.

7. Only 28 percent of the entire Afghan population 15 years and older is literate.

8. Because of the lack of water and other necessities, Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world.

9. Approximately 70,792 Afghan families are taking refuge in unclean makeshift camps; 25 percent of those families have been living there for more than ten years.

10. Unemployment is a significant challenge in relocating these and other internally displaced people, as they are reluctant to return to rural areas where there are no jobs available.

To help bring some relief to these issues, Aryana Aid has been providing food packages to the people of Afghanistan since 2009. In early 2018, USAID's Office of Food For Peace provided $25 million to the World Food Programme; an estimated 547,000 malnourished Afghan people were provided with emergency aid from local and regional marketplaces.

The World Bank projected economic growth for Afghanistan in 2017, by 2.6 percent compared to 2.2 percent in 2016. The progression is predicted to continue in 2018 with a 3.2 percent growth, which will help cure the many problems listed on the top 10 facts about poverty in Afghanistan.
- Christopher Shipman

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10 Disturbing Facts about Poverty in Afghanistan | The Borgen Project

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With 36% of its population living below the poverty line, in Asia, poverty in Afghanistan is only second to Bangladesh. The Borgen Project tackles key global poverty data to present an analysis of poverty in Afghanistan, including three effective way to fight against it.