Social project- Afghanistan Imagine living in a country where women have no rights, no freedom?

Kinship

In Afghanistan there are many different rules and obligations of men and women. For example the man in the house leads, while the women wash and cook, as well as many other chores. All of the farming is done by the males in the house. The men handle working in the family businesses. Men handle most of the contact to the outside world. Normally the adult males participate in the political events. The wife of the male always supports his decision. These chores and obligations are divided up by age and gender. Afghanistans way of marriage and dating is far different then what we have in Canada. In Canada we can choose who we want to spend the rest of our lives with, in Afghanistan the daughters mothers choose their husbands. In Afghanistan dating is non-existent, from the moment you hit puberty you are then separated from the opposite gender. Most women are bought. Meaning the groom traded cows or paid money to buy the bride. Most of the bride price ensures financial stability in case of divorce. Most of the weddings in Afghanistan usually last three days. Activities are usually held at the brides familys house, some are held at the grooms. Most activities happen with genders segregated. Everyone gathers for the contract signing. If a couple wants a divorce the man has to say it three times in public for it to become official. Men can have up to four wives but he must love and care for each one equally. If they have premarital or extramarital sex punishment can result in death. Arts- clothing

The clothing in Afghanistan is very different then our North American way of dressing. The mens typical outfit consists of many items such as: a perahan tunban, Perahan meaning knee length shirt and tunban meaning baggy trousers. Some men wear a vaskot, which is a type of dress coat or an open vest. Most men wear an item called a turban, a type of head wear. Merchants, teachers, government officials and community leaders wear a cap called a qarakuli. Womens clothing is just as different as the mens clothing in Afghanistan. Most women wear long colorful dresses with a short jacket, a long coat or a shall. The types of headwear women wear are either chadiri or a burqa. A chardiri or a burqa are headwear that cover your whole head but leaving an opening for the eyes so that you can see out of it. The chadiri was required when the Taliban ruled. Women wore lots of gold and silver jewelry. Many people in Afghanistan wear a tawiz. A tawiz is a special amulet to protect against evil. Artwork Artwork in Afghanistan is very different from ours in Canada. In Afghanistan they had many budist and hindu statues but while the Taliban ruled most of the statues were destroyed. Other types of art that are popular in Afghanistan are Persian carpets, copper utensils, as well as gold and silver jewelry. They also love embroidery. Embroidery is when you create ornamental designs with thread and silk, cotton, gold, silver, and other materials. You create these on any woven fabric, leather, paper etc. The utensil you use to create the pattern is with a needle. Music

Music in Canada is not like all the other types of music around the world, take Afghanistan for example, there music is based on a certain topic or feeling. The first kind of music that was formed was called Regvida. Regvida music was often about the devotion to Allah. Sufi, is another form of music in Afghanistan. This music is said to help you communicate with Allah. This music is normally played with a rebab. A rebab is a stringed instrument with a metal soundboard. Folk music is a very popular type of music. Each ethnic group has its own style. This music usually tells about honor, love, war, and family. Lots of folk songs are based on epic poems. A Landai is a two lined poems sung by Pashton women. During the war against britten in the 1800s, the Afghan army was ready to retreat. But then the army heard a woman named Malalai sing a landai, after the army heard this, they became inspired and won the battle. Dance We have dances in Canada such as the twist or the electric slide. In Afghanistan there national dance is called the Atan. Most people perform this dance before going to war. They also perform it on special occasions like weddings for example. The Atan dance is very easy to learn men normally carry guns, sticks, and swords while dancing in circles. While they are doing this they are stomping, clapping and shouting. Another dance that is performed is very simple as well men and women line up in rows of ten or twelve while all the women are waving brightly colored scarves above their heads. Recreation

Afghans love sports, just as us Canadians do. Their favorite sports to play are soccer and wrestling. Their national sport is a game called Buzkashi. Buzkashi is a very unique sport. This game is where horseman compete to see who can carry a headless carcass of a calf from the circle and back again. You may think this sounds easy but along the way you are being abused from other opponents. Their job is to make you drop the carcass so they can pick it up and try for themselves. To play this game you must be a very skilled horseman. Entertainment There are many forms of entertainment in Afghanistan. Most are similar to the types we have here in Canada, for example the newspaper, television, and the radio. The first newspaper was published in 1906. It was called Siraj-ul-Akhbar. In 1996- 2001 the newspaper was tightly controlled
by the Taliban. Afghanistan National Television first started in 1974. In 1996, since the Taliban were in control so tightly over it, they shut the television network down. There were 15 local TV channels, and 60 radio stations.

Traditions Every culture has different traditions and customs. ___________________________________________. Afghans are very loyal to all the individual tribes. In certain parts of Afghanistan you are required to be armed. It depends on what your ruler dictates. This is mainly used in difficult living conditions and in the mountain areas. The traditional Afghan foods that are prepared are usually rich and spicy to complement the climate. Some traditional foods, drinks, or dishes are: Tea (chai), Rice dishes, dried up fruits and nuts, variety of many different kinds of breads and many more.

Celebrations Nauroz During the Nauroz celebration Afghans usually spoil or pamper themselves. Nauroz or New day is the celebration of shamsi. On the solar calendar shamsi is the start of the New year or the first day of spring on March 21st. On march 21st most families participate in these activities: picnics, watching sporting events, games at fairs etc. During this celebration they also celebrate the day Ali Muhammads son-in-law and cousin became the leader of Islam. Most of the families take trips to the Blue Mosque, where they think Ali is buried. On Nauroz there are many different foods prepared, like the haft-mewah. Haft- mewah is a cold soup which contains walnuts, almonds, pistachios, raisons and sanjid which is a date-like fruit. There is also a dish called samanak which is like a sweet pudding. In this celebration they have many different legends and rituals. Sometimes Afghan people perform rituals like jumping over the bonfire to relieve them from illness. There is a legend that is said and lots of people mainly children believe. Many people especially children try to avoid an old ugly women from other legends named Ajuzak. She only walks on Nauroz when she looks a child in the eye it is said she is giving the child the evil eye, which is a curse. Some other people believe Ajuzak are good. Farmers believe that if it rains on Nauroz it means Ajuzak is washing her hair, this symbolizes that the harvest will be good in the new year. Jeshn

Jeshn is another type of celebration. It marks when Britains rule over Afghanistan ended in 1919. Britain ruled for 80 years off and on. The activities people participate in on this day are listening to political people say speeches, watching horse races, parades, fireworks and performances of people dancing the national dance the Atan. Education The education systems are very different then what we have here in Canada. For instance some schools were destroyed because of the war. In every 5 Afghans 1 are of school age. When the Taliban ruled boys were given education in Islamic madrassas. Madrassas are different to school systems. This system focuses on teaching the students Arabic and Koran instead of the basic skills. Women were not allowed to go to school when the Taliban ruled. Womens literacy rate in Afghanistan was the lowest in the world. 28% of people over the age of 15 (43% men and 13% women) can read and write as well as basic math skills. Majority of the teachers that teach at the schools are untrained. A type of education system is the traditional system. Most mosque schools use this system. This system is ran by male teachers who can narrate Koran from memory. This system is only available for boys. As you can see the basic education is very different and more complicated then Canadas education. Higher Education The Kabul University specializes in the fields of medicine, law, political science, literature, theology, engineering, pharmacy and agriculture. When all the war broke out in 1992 lots of

facilities closed down. But at this time they have been reopened. When the Taliban ruled only a few went onto higher education all of these people were males. Women are not normally allowed to attend but since so many missed out on the prior education few were accepted. When the girls were not allowed to go to school a lot of them attended illegal classes. This higher education is very different from what we have in Canada. Religion There are many different types of religions such as Roman Catholic, Ukrainian Orthodox, and in Afghanistan the religion is Islam. In Afghanistan Islam is the official religion is Islam. Ninetynine percent of the afghan population is Muslim. Of the Muslim culture eighty- four percent of the ninety- nine are Sunni. The other fifteen percent are Shiite. Although all Muslims believe in God (Allah) they have different point of views on who should be the leaders of the Islam world. Shiites strongly believe that Muhammads direct ancestors should be the leaders of the Islam world, now Sunnis believe in other claims to leadership. In the Islam religion the people follow five principles known as The Five Pillars of Islam. The first principle is The Declaration of Faith. The second principle states that they pray five times a day for Allah (God). Principle number three claims that if they have lots of money they have to donate it to the poor and needy. The fourth principle is the must fast during daylight hours for one month (holy month) or also known as Ramazan. The fifth principle says that at least once in your lifetime you must make a pilgrimage (journey) to the holy city of Mecca. People who teach these princaples are called Mullahs. Mullahs lead the prayers in the mosque, they conduct children and adults in their religious schools, and they also conduct weddings and funerals.

Mullahs also help people with personal problems and give them advice to try and resolve them. The religious temple is called a Mosque. The Mosque is a place of worship. The Mosque temples can be used as a meeting place as well as a shelter for when u need it most. Since the Taliban stopped ruling Afghanistan, non-muslims dont have to wear the yellow tags that separate them from everyone else. Each city in Afghanistan have at least one Mosque. All muslims pray before sunrise, early afternoon, late afternoon, after sunset, and before going to bed. Lots of people go on pilgramiges to shrines. Women and children are the ones who normally do so. At theses shrines they can buy an amulet called a tawiz. A tawiz protects you from evil and brings you good luck.