Marriage Customs in Afghanistan

Afghan's marriage traditions are family and community oriented affairs.  The marriage celebration are three
day long events.  It requires a lot of planning and very expensive.  Afghan's marriage customs are governed
by marriage laws that are strict and preciptive.  Afghan marriages allows young girls of
ten years of age of even younger to be engaged only.  The marriage can only take place when they
are sixteen years of age.  Muslim women are unable to marry a non-Muslim man, however Muslim men
are able to marry a non-Muslim woamn.  Matching is another marriage custom, the bride and groom

(child marriage)

are usually "first" cousins.  Once the proposal is accepted then thats when the celebration begins.
workcited: http://www.muslim-marriage-guide.com/

Globalization

Afghanistan's govenment is behind in political strength due to the wars, Narcotics and terrorism.  The
culture has not advanced much from old traditions of how women are treated and
their advancement in the work force.  Due to those "old traditions" women of Afghan still
must cover up, eventhough the women do have a choice to cover up or not, they still choose to
cover up.  Afghanistan maybe behind, they still have some technologies, such as phones

(cell phones), social network access.
workcited: http://www.faqs.org/

Politics and social systems/social issues

Afghanistan is divied into 34 provinces, each has a capital and a governor in office. Provinces are
further divided into 398 smaller provicial districts, which covers a city or number of
villages. Provincial governors and the district governors are voted in, every 5 years during
the nation's presidential election.  Social issuses, consist of over crowding in villages and cities, poor
health care, poor economy.  36% of Afghanistan citizens live below the poverty line.  42 percent
of the population live on a dollar a day, according to USAID.  Afghanistan is one of the least

developed contries in th world.
workcited: en.wikipedia.org

Culture Constructions

photo provided by: www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2009/08/14/
afghanistan-passes-and-8216-barbaricand-8217-
law-diminishing-womenand-8217-s-rights.html

Gender Roles-

In afghanistan men have always had more power than women. Recently that has changed on some level in 1959 the all male government supported the voluntarily removal of the veil and the end of the seclusion of women. in 1978 they did a report showing that about 8% of women were bringing an income in. Even though the government supports women having more rights and authority. A lot of people still don't believe that this is right in afghanistan and still practice older ways of women in veils, belief that women do not have contact with any man who is not there father, brother and husband. It is also believed that they should stay home and do the "motherly" duties.

Religion- 

Even though there hasn't been any type of census done in many years there are estimates that show that 80% of afghanistans are Sunni Muslim, 19% is Shi'a Muslim; and the other 1% is makes up the other religious groups. 

Art- 

The most recognized art in afghanistan is called Gandhara art which is based on Greco - Buddhist art. Which showed the first representations of the Buddha in human form.  

Picture provided by:ssubbanna.sulekha.com/blog/
post/200907/the-buddha-iconography-in-hindu-texts/comment/1597331.htm

works cited: 

http://countrystudies.us/afghanistan/58.htm
http://www.afghanistans.com/information/people/religion.htm

Language

There are two official languages in Afghanistan, Pashto and Dari. The national language of the country is Pashto even though only 35% of the country speaks Pashto and approximately 50% speaks Dari. By royal decree in 1936 Pashto was declared the national language for Afghanistan.
Bilinguilism is very common in afghanistan. Besides Pashto and Dari about 11% of Afghanistan speaks Turkic languages. Both Pashto and Dari are written with the Arabic alphabet but there are some modifications. Dari is primarily used for business and government.
"Pashto is a member of the southeastern Iranian branch of Indo-Iranian languages spoken in Afghan, Pakistan and Iran." Khushal Khan Khattak who is known as Afghanistan's national poet is a main influence on Pashto language from the 17th century.




works cited: www.omniglot.com/writing/pashto.htm

Minority & Majority Population

The Population of Afghanistan is estimated at about 32.7 million.

Afghanistan is home to a number of ethnic groups.

Over 3.5 million Afghan citizens live abroad as refuges. The majority are in Pakistan and Iran.

Life expectancy for both men and women within Afghanistan is only 44 years. The infant mortality rate is 166 per 1,000 live births.


Capital: Kabul, population 1,780,000 (2,000 UN estimate)
Major cities: (All 1988 UN estimate, 2010 populations likely to be much higher)
Kandahar, population 226,000
Herat, population 177,000
Mazar-e-Sharif, population 131,000
Jalalabad, population 58,000
Konduz, population 57,000


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Works Cited: http://asianhistory.about.com/od/afghanista1/p/ProfAfghanistan.htm

Food & Cuisines Influences

Afghan food is tasteful fusion of the regions. Major ethnic groups are Pashtuns, Tajiks and Uzbeks. The Afghans prefer cuisine which is neither too spicy nor hot. 

Afghan Specials 

Qabli Pulao

it is the most popular dish of Afghanistan. It is steamed rice with chops of raisins and carrot. It is often served with lamb. Other variants of pulao are also available in Afghanistan. People eat it with meat, vegetables orbeans. 

Kebabs Lamb kabab is a favorite of the Afghans. Afghan kabab is mostly served with naan, and rarely rice. Lamb chops, ribs, kofta (ground beef) and chicken kababs are served in good Kabul restaurants.

Qorma Qormas (Korma) are very popular among Afghan people. Onions are fried and meats, fruits, spices or vegetables are added to them.

Mantu Mantu are steamed dumplings fattened with minced onion beef.

   

Variety of Breads Afghans consume three types of bread. These breads are locally called Naan, Obi Naan and Lavash. Naan is made of wheat and is thin, long and oval shaped. Obi Naan is shaped like a disk and is thicker than naan. Lavash is very thin bread and used as plating for meats and stews. 

Rice Dishes One popular rice dish is chalow.. Chalow is fluffy white rice with each grain separated. The Afghans love to eat chalow with Qormas.

Khameerbob Khameerbob (pasta) is a popular native dish. It is prepared for special occasions at home.

Fruits & Nuts Afghanistan produces high quality fruits particularly grapes, apricots, pomegrenates, melons, plums and berries. Exceptional varieties of oranges also grow in Afghanistan. Melons of Mazar-e-Sharif, oranges of Jalalabad, grapes and pomegranates of Kandahar are famous. Walnuts, almonds, pistachios and pine nuts are also very popular in the country.

Dairy Products like dairy products like yogurt and whey.

Drinks Common drink in Afghanistan is tea (chai).

Habits of Eating

Afghan people are fond of non-vegetarian dishes. Usually they don't use cutlery. Food is gulped with right hand, using naan (a kind of bread) as scoop. The Afghans treat their guests with great respect and try to serve their guests with as good food as they can provide.

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Works Cited: Food in Afgahnistan 
Pictures provided by Google