There is a path to the top of highest mountain.

(Where there is a will there is a way)

~ Afghan Proverb ~

The major problems facing the country of Afghanistan today are multi faceted. Obviously one of the biggest problems deals with the issue of human rights. Not only are the majority of citizens in this resource rich country living below the poverty line, the reputation of the treatment of women especailly is far under par. With the highest infant mortality rate in the world, 150 out of 1000, and a life expectancy of just 44 years, this country faces many obstacles on the way to correcting these egregious statistics. Another problems facing Afghanistan is the instability. Not only has Afghanistan been destroyed by conflict economically, socially and politically, it continues to face roadblocks in the form of terroist organizations, religous and ethnic conflicts. Although Afghanistan had its first democratic election in 2004, allegations swirled around the election of Hamid Karzai by a 50% margin. Allegations of corruption, voting fraud among other things created a hostile air. Karzai has been president of this desolate land for seven years. Karzai has two vice presidents, first Mohammad FAHIM Khan; second. The government of Afghanistan is an Islamic Republic. Many of the features the Afghans use appear similar to our own democratic republic. They use a fair and free elections. Presidents are elected to a five year term with an option to be reelected once. The president appoints some 20 individuals to his cabinent. The legislative branch is comprised of a bicameral National Assembly consists of the Meshrano Jirga or House of elders and the Wolesi Jirga or House of People. The Afghani government also has a judicil branch, with nine supreme court justices. These juctices are appointed by the president with approval from the Meshrano Jirga. The amount of political parties in Afghanistan is quite surprising. There are well over thirty different political parties in this desomated country. Hopefully with these competeing parties comes hope of change and progress.

The Constituion in Afghanistan, which has been revised and edited over five times, is very interesting to read. It clearly states the importance of Islam to the country and implys that religous undertones exist in all facets, throughout the country. Article 22 of the current Afghan constituion is especailly interesting. It states, similarly to ours, that every Afghani civilan is equal and should be treated as equal, including women. The reputation in this southeast Asain country is so pathetic in the area of women's rights, yet it still states, in the constitution that a woman's rights will be equal to a mans.

Although President Karzai is not a perfect leader, rumor continue to circulate about government mis spending, financail allegations plague his adminstartion as do allegations of corruption and voting fraud, he has stablized the country slightly in the past few years. Karzai also far exceeds the likes of a Taliban or Islamic Extremeist ruler. 

Afghanistan is country rich in natural resources, including but not limited to, oil, copper and talc. It needs the investments of foreign investors who are not afraid to put there money into the rivitalization of Afghanistan. The average child in Afghanistan only goes to school until they are nine years old. That is the third grade. How can a country, with the greatest percentage of its population in its teens and early 20s, be successfull when its youth have the education of a third grader? When the American and NATO troops finally do pull out of the desert, what will happen?

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai



Thousands Killed-Deadly Year in Afghanistan



The bombing of a bank in Kabul in February killed many



News reports released this month find 2010 to be the deadliest year to date in war plagued Afghanistan. The civilian death toll reached an alarming rate, the UN claims 2777 Afghan people, mainly women and children, were victims of  violence that blankets the region. The UN claims that anti government elements were responsible for 2080 deaths, which is 75% of the civilian deaths in the past year. This statistic has been on the rise since the war began in 2001. The second greatest cause of civilian casualties has been cited as suicide attacks and IED explosions. The UN states in a report that 462 Afghan people were killed by fringe, anti-government extremists, most likely linked to terrorist cells such as Al-Quieda and the Taliban. This upward trend has risen 105% in the last two years. Most of these killings have occurred in the Southern Providences of Afghanistan, Helmand and Kandahar. The Afghan government in coalition with the UN want to regulate the killing of civilians by anti-government extremists. These organizations wish to create laws that will restrict the ability of these groups to murder innocent people. The government in Afghanistan is considering designating a separate body of officials dedicated to stopping these murders and attacks. This group would have power to respond to these crises.

The UN and other organizations are calling for troop withdrawal by 2014, all foreign troops now stationed in the country and maintaining security will hand control over the Afghan security personnel. This transition will prove very telling for the Afghan people and the future of the country. Many Afghan people do not like the army forces in their country, just last week an air strike lead to the death of nine small children. Commonly civilians are mistakenly killed in the crossfire between military and insurgent groups.



The death toll in 2010 rose steadily to the highest yet. Insurgents mostly to blame for wide spread violence.



Afghanistan human rights

I became very interested in the Middle East, especially Afghanistan, after reading Khaled Hosseini's "1000 Splendid Suns" and "The Kite Runner". Both these riveting novels reveal the atrocities committed against those  deemed less equal because of their ancestory and ethnicity as well as the inhumane treatment of women. Afghanistan is the deadliest country to be born in. The strict rules of the extremeist Islamic followers condemn women to a life of torment and abuse. RAWA, Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, is an  organization founded in the late 1970s aimed to help establish more rights for women and curb the violence against women taking place in Afghanistan. The organization, founded by an Afghan woman who was assassinated by members of the KGB working with extremist forces, aimed to raise awareness internationally concerning the plight of these women.

In the past nine months over 4,000 documented cases of violence have occured against Afghan women. Oftentimes these cases go undocumented because perpetraters are not punished, and if they are they are given a meager slip on the wrist. Most of the violent cases against women have occured in the country's biggest city Kabul. Oftentimes women are beaten, stoned, set on fire or murdered by those closest to them. In Afghanistan women are forced into marriage some at the mere age of 13. Men in villages sell their daughters for bags of opium to men their same age. Due to cultural, traditional and religious ideals women are not viewed as equals. They are not afforded the same opportunities as men and are often afforded less rights than animals are in America.The horror stories that come out of this desert land are not tales from stories or movies, they are real, reality for the women that exist in Afghanistan.


Self harm, mutiliation and suicide combine to form a rising trend in this Middle Eastern nation. Many women would rather die than suffer daily abuse at the hands of male family members or husbands. Often women who see no end to their suffering set themselves on fire, a practice not understood by many. An article published in the New York Times by Alissa Rubin relates the story of a 20 year old woman who doused herself in gasoline and set herself on fire to escape the habitual torment she faced at the hands of her opium addicted husband. The young woman was married at 13 and was forced to care for an older man who perpetually beat and raped her. Burning to death seems such an excrutiating and terrible way to die, but for many women they do not know another way out. Often they feel that if they are weak, hurt and scarred maybe someone in their family will care for them and love them. This is rarely the case and not only are they not tenderly cared for they are discared by their families and tormented further by their husbands.

http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2010/11/17/burning-desperation-why-did-you-burn-yourselfo.html#ixzz1Fg4XMzez

http://www.afghan-web.com/woman/afghanwomenabuse.pdf

Recent surge in Violence

In the past few weeks there has been a sudden surge of violence in Afghanistan. The death toll from the recent attacks in Afghanistan has reached over 100. On Monday, the 21st, 32 Afghan civilians were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a government office in Kunduz. The civilians were waiting in line outside the office to recieve new paperwork and/or identity cards, said Mohammad Ayob Haqyar head of the Kuduz district. In July withdrawl of selected NATO and US troops is scheduled to begin. Speculators have indicated the possible surge in the attacks is due to the projected withdrawl. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. In the last few weeks over three large scale attacks have occured. The Saturday before this most recent bombing a suicide bomber detonated his bomb in the lobby of a bank where many police officers were chasing their paychecks. The attacks seem to target civilians and governement officials. Because of the upcoming withdrawl and the prosepct that in just under three years Afghanistan's newly created army and police force will have complete control of the country, the attacks seem to be increasing.

I think that this recent surge in violence is extremely interesting due to the recent revolutions in so many of the Middle Eastern countries. Because Afghanistan currently has 140,000 international troops stationed in it revolts similar to the ones in Libya and Egypt are highly unlikely. The coinsidence is however interesting. Hopefully the Taliban is not aiming to reinsert control over the struggling nation.

Afghanistan has a long and complex history of political and civil unrest. Because Afghanistan, often known as the crossroads of central Asia, was such a diverse region it continued to endure fighting and bloodshed off and on throughout the centuries. Today Afghanistan is an Islamic nation. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in the country at 47%. Tajiks make up the second largest ethnic group at 27%. Hazaras make up a smaller ethnic group at 9% along with Uzbeks. The most common languages in Afghanistan are Dari and Pashto, however over 70 other dialects exist in the various regions outside of the cities. Obviously Afghanistan's wide diversity is cause for many of the problems the country faces today. The mains religions of the country are Sunni Muslim 80% and Shi'a Muslim.19% The life expectancy in this war devestated region is only 44 years for both men and women. The life expectancy in the U.S. is almost double that. The literacy rate is low as well with approximately 43% of males literate and only 12% literacy rates for females. Islam in Afghanistan is embedded into every aspect of culture as are the the age old traditions and cultural practices of the country. It was not until 2004 that the first democratic election took place in Afghanistan. Voter turnout totaled over 8 million. Hamid Karzai, the currect Afghan president, was elected for a five year term.

On October 9, 2004, Afghanistan held its first national democratic presidential election. More than 8 million Afghans voted, 41% of whom were women. Hamid Karzai was announced as the official winner on November 3 and inaugurated on December 7 for a 5-year term as Afghanistan's first democratically elected president.

About 85% of the citizens in Afghanistan depend on farming and agriculture to survive. Because of the desperate need these people face daily drugs has become an important cash crop, specifically poppies that contain the chemcial used to manufacture heroin.

This map shows the country and its major cities. Kabul is the capitol but Kandahar, Jalalabad and Herat are all large cities as well. Afghanistn contains 37 districts or proviences and is only the size of Texas. It lays west of Paksitan and borders Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Recently a report was released on Aljazeera exploring the lives of Afghan children. In 2009 UNICEF released reports naming Afghanistan as the worst country in the world to be born. Because of the perpetual violence plaquing this country and the incident of widespread disease many children do not live past the age of five. Afghanistan, unforntunately, is home to the world's highest infant mortality rate: 1 in 5 kids do not live to see five years old.  Because of the Taliban influence in the country and their strong belief that women should not be educated, attacks have been carried out on schools. Many children have been victims of violence such as IEDs. The rate of children killed in attacks in Afghanistan has risen since last year. In addition to death due to violence many children perish young due to complication from common illnesses like pneumonia. UNICEF and other organizations are calling for a child protection law to be inforced in the country.Currently 40% of Afghanistan's people live below the poverty line and over five million children do not attend school, the majority of them girls.