- A vast majority of people in Afghanistan are Islam.
- Over 99% of Afghans are Muslim.
-> A muslim is a supporter/follower of the Islamic Religion.
- There are aproximately 20,000 Hindu's and Sikhs,
livving in major cities in Afganistan i.e. Kabul and Kandahar.
Gender Differences - The current need to protect women's morality stems from the fact that Afghan society regards women as the perpetuators of the ideals of the society.
- As such they symbolize honor -- of family, community and nation -- and must be controlled as well as protected so as to maintain moral purity.
- By imposing strict restraints directly on women, the society's most sensitive component symbolizing male honor.
- The practice of purdah, seclusion, including veiling, is the most visible manifestation of this attitude.
- This concept includes an insistence on separate spaces for men and women and proscriptions against interactions between the sexes outside the mahrammat.
-> The mahrammat are the acceptable male guardians such as father, brother son and any other male with whom a women may not marry.
- Pashto and Dari (Afghan Persian/Farsi) are the official languages of Afghanistan.
-> Pashto 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 Pashto and Dari are written primarily with the Arabic alphabet
- Mountains dominate the central and eastern part of Afghanistan, covering about three-fourths of the country.
- A loess plateau, sloping towards the north, covers the northern part of the country
-> It borders with the outskirts of the huge desert Kara Kum where the lowest point of Afghanistan (259m) is situated. - A comprehensive demographics of Afghanistan points out to the fact that the land is inhabited by different ethnic groups.
->Pashtun,
->Hazara
->Uzbek
->Turkmen
->Baloch
->Hazara.
- In the majority of the Afghanistan, Dari language is widely spoken, followed by
->Pashto
->Hazaragi
->Nuristani
->Brahui
->Pamiri
->Hindko
->Urdu
- "When the sun dropped low behind the hills and we were done playing for the day, Hassan and i parted ways. I went pas the rosebushes to baba's mansion, Hassan to the mud shack where he had been born, where he'd lived his entire life." (6)
->This quote shows that there are indeed different levels of social class in Afghanistan at the point in time from whence the book takes place, Amir being in a High/Upper class, while his best friend Hassan, is in a lower poverish class. - " In none ... did Baba ever refer to Ali as his friend" (25). -> Baba and Ali have known eachother for almost their entire lives, yet Baba doesn't ever refer to him his "friend".
Afghan History: kite flying, kite running and kite banning. (2004). Retrieved December 07, 2009 from Afghan Magazine: http://www.afghanmagazine.com/2004_06/articles/hsadat.shtml. Which Afghan social classes do The Kite Runner's main characters represent? (2008). Retrieved December 07, 2009 from Yedda: http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:u9qf7tuz0yqj:yedda.com/questions/afghan_8626166241717/+afghanistan+upper+class&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.
Identification, and Seperation in Afghanistan
By: George Curdy Dutton Jr.
======================================================================================
Religions- A vast majority of people in Afghanistan are Islam.
- Over 99% of Afghans are Muslim.
-> A muslim is a supporter/follower of the Islamic Religion.
- There are aproximately 20,000 Hindu's and Sikhs,
livving in major cities in Afganistan i.e. Kabul and Kandahar.
=====================================================================================
Gender Differences- The current need to protect women's morality stems from the fact that Afghan society regards women as the perpetuators of the ideals of the society.
- As such they symbolize honor -- of family, community and nation -- and must be controlled as well as protected so as to maintain moral purity.
- By imposing strict restraints directly on women, the society's most sensitive component symbolizing male honor.
- The practice of purdah, seclusion, including veiling, is the most visible manifestation of this attitude.
- This concept includes an insistence on separate spaces for men and women and proscriptions against interactions between the sexes outside the mahrammat.
-> The mahrammat are the acceptable male guardians such as father, brother son and any other male with whom a women may not marry.
======================================================================================
Language Barriers- Pashto and Dari (Afghan Persian/Farsi) are the official languages of Afghanistan.
-> Pashto 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 Pashto and Dari are written primarily with the Arabic alphabet
======================================================================================
Geographical Differences
- Mountains dominate the central and eastern part of Afghanistan, covering about three-fourths of the country.
- A loess plateau, sloping towards the north, covers the northern part of the country
-> It borders with the outskirts of the huge desert Kara Kum where the lowest point of Afghanistan (259m) is situated.
- A comprehensive demographics of Afghanistan points out to the fact that the land is inhabited by different ethnic groups.
->Pashtun,
->Hazara
->Uzbek
->Turkmen
->Baloch
->Hazara.
- In the majority of the Afghanistan, Dari language is widely spoken, followed by
->Pashto
->Hazaragi
->Nuristani
->Brahui
->Pamiri
->Hindko
->Urdu
======================================================================================
Connections To The Text
- "When the sun dropped low behind the hills and we were done playing for the day, Hassan and i parted ways. I went pas the rosebushes to baba's mansion, Hassan to the mud shack where he had been born, where he'd lived his entire life." (6)
->This quote shows that there are indeed different levels of social class in Afghanistan at the point in time from whence the book takes place, Amir being in a High/Upper class, while his best friend Hassan, is in a lower poverish class.
- " In none ... did Baba ever refer to Ali as his friend" (25).
-> Baba and Ali have known eachother for almost their entire lives, yet Baba doesn't ever refer to him his "friend".
=======================================================================================
Some useful links
http://countrystudies.us/ afghanistan/58.htm
http://www.afghan-web.com/ language/
http://www.aims.org.af/afg/ overview/afg_overview.html
http://www.photius.com/ wfb2000/countries/afghanistan/ afghanistan_geography.html
http://www.123independenceday. com/afghanistan/demography. html
Works Cited
Afghan History: kite flying, kite running and kite banning. (2004). Retrieved December 07, 2009 from Afghan Magazine: http://www.afghanmagazine.com/2004_06/articles/hsadat.shtml.
Which Afghan social classes do The Kite Runner's main characters represent? (2008). Retrieved December 07, 2009 from Yedda: http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:u9qf7tuz0yqj:yedda.com/questions/afghan_8626166241717/+afghanistan+upper+class&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.
I know this is wrong