An Introduction to Afghanistan

Compiled by:

Kelly & Kara O’Neil Bredemeyer

ED 608-01

Social Studies Introductory Uniton

Afghanistan

for

6th, 7th and 8th grades*

*Although these are the grades in which international subject matter is traditionally taught, recent events have made this particular topic matter pertinent for all students. Teachers of lower grades should consider presenting a modified version of this material to their students.

Objective

After viewing a Powerpoint presentation and doingthe suggested related activities, students will:

• be able to locate Afghanistan on a map.• know at least two pertinent facts about each of the

following: Afghanistan’s history, people, language, economy, geography, and government.

• be able to define the highlighted terms in the presentation with 80% accuracy.

Materials

• A dictionary for each table.

• An encyclopedia for each table.

• A map of the world.

• Computer access.

• Copies of the daily paper for each class.

www. Sites to Visit• For Afghan Culture:

– www.afghan-network.net/Culture/

• For links to other sites:– www.aboutafghanistan.com/

• For facts and figures:– www.countrywatch.com/– www.cia.gov/

• For up-to-date news articles:– http://news.bbc.co.uk

• For geographical information:– www.geographic.org

Activities

• After viewing the slide presentation, the students will copy an outline map of Afghanistan and transpose it onto an outline map of Texas (drawn to same scale) for comparison.

• Students will use a world map to establish the geographic coordinates of Afghanistan and will establish what regions of the USA are at the same latitude. They should draw appropriate comparisons to weather and agriculture between the sites.

Activities

• Students will ascertain which State(s) in the US has a population similar to Afghanistan’s.

• Students will ascertain the life expectancy of various American ethnic groups, and will compare them with those of Afghanistan. They will then research and ultimately draw conclusions as to what factors might lead to the low life expectancy of Afghans.

Activities

• Students (boys and girls) will take turns draping donated bed sheets over their heads (with an area cut-out for vision, like a Burqa) and walking around the classroom.

• They will then write a journal entry describing the experience. They should discuss whether anything was more difficult? Could they find any benefits to wearing one? What could be the negatives of having to wear a Burqa every day?

Note to Teachers

Terms which we recommend for use in unit

vocabulary lists or for use as further research

topics have been highlighted throughout the

presentation.

The Flag of Afghanistan

On the coat of arms are 2 Muslim inscriptions written in Arabic:

“God is Great” “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah.”

What Kind of GovernmentDoes Afghanistan Have?

The Government• Afghanistan does not have a functioning central

government. It is ruled by factions.• 90% of the country is ruled by the Taliban. The

United Nations, however, does not recognize the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan.

• The capital city is Kabul.• There are presently 30 Afghan provinces. • The Constitution of 1964 is no longer in use.

What Religions do the Citizens of Afghanistan Practice?

Religion

Photo: Blue Mosque

Ninety-nine percent of Afghanistan’s population

is Muslim.

What are the People Like?

The People• The people of Afghanistan

are called Afghan(s).• Afghanistan’s population

is 27,000,000.• The people of Afghanistan

have a life expectancy of only 45 years.

• Many ethnic groups make up the Afghan population. The largest is the Pashtun (38%) followed in size by the Tajik (25%).

The People

The LanguageBecause of the presence of different ethnic groups inAfghanistan, several different languages are spoken.

– 50% of the people can speak “Dari.”– 35% of the people can speak “Pashtu.”– 11% of the people can speak one of the “Turkic”

languages.– Additionally there are another 30 minor languages

spoken.– There is a high level of bilingualism among the

population.

Is Afghanistan’s Geography Like Ours?

The Geography

• Afghanistan is about the size of Texas.

• Its 647,500 square miles are landlocked.

• It is located in Southern Asia. It shares borders with Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Iran, and China.

The Geography

• The terrain is mostly rugged mountains, but there are plains in the north and southwest portions of the country.

• The climate is arid-semiarid. The winters are cold and the summers are hot.

The Geography

• Afghanistan suffers from damaging earthquakes (an earthquake killed 5,000 people in Takhar Province, in 1998) and from flooding and droughts.Photo: Takhar Province after 1998 earthquake

What Kind of Economy Do the Afghans Have?

The Economy

Afghanistan is a poor country with few modern conveniences.

It depends on farming and livestock raising (sheep and goats).

Due to war and drought during the past 20 years, there has been

a large loss of labor and capital, and the disruption of trade and

transport of goods has had serious effects on the lives of many

Afghans.

Exports

Afghanistan’s main export has been the opium extractedfrom the poppy plants grown over much of the country. TheTaliban has recently put a ban on the cultivation of poppies.Because poppy farmers have little else to fall back on, manynow have to face devastating poverty.

ExportsExports which are still legal:

– wheat– fruits– nuts– wool– mutton– karakul pelts

Do the Afghan People Have a History Like Ours?

The History

• 18th Century: The creation of Afghanistan.

• 19th Century: The Barakzai Dynasty.

• 1919: Independence from British control.

• 1973: A coup overthrows the King.

• 1979: Invasion by Russian troops.

• 1996: The Taliban take power.

18th and 19th Centuries

• Today’s Afghanistan was created in the early18th century by Ahmad Shah Durrani, an Afghan general of Persian Emperor Nadir Shah Afshar.

• In the early 19th century, the British imposed a protectorate. During this period the Barakzai Dynasty took the place of the Durrani.

• In 1919, Afghanistan gained independence from British control.

1933 - 1973

• King Zahir Shar (pictured left) sat on the Kobul throne for forty years.

• A coup d’etat led by his cousin in 1973 ended his reign.

• He has been living in Rome, Italy since.

1979 - 1988

• The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan with 80,000 men

in December, 1979, in an attempt to impose control for its puppet Afghan government.

• After losing tens-of- thousands of soldiers, the defeated Soviets retreated in 1988.

• 1,000,000 Afghans lost their lives in the fight against the Soviet Union.

1996 - Present

The Islamic fundamentalist movement known as the Taliban began to take political and physical control of the country in 1994. With its takeover of Kobul in 1996, the Taliban became the self-proclaimed government of Afghanistan, although it is not recognized as such by the United Nations.

What is Afghanistan Like Today?

Afghanistan Today

After more than twenty years of civil war,Afghanistan’s economy and infrastructure lie in ruin.

Afghanistan Today

The civil war which Afghanistan has been fightingcontinues as the Taliban supporters face the forces ofthe Northern Alliance.

Afghanistan Today During the many years of

fighting, millions of land mines

were buried in Afghanistan’s

countryside. Many of the

unexploded mines are now

injuring adults and children

when they accidentally trip the

wires. International agencies

are trying to help the Afghans

de-mine the land.

Afghanistan Today

The Taliban has been ridding

the country of all non-Islamic

relics. Two sandstone

statues of Buddha had stood

carved in the side of a cliff in

Bamiyan since around the

Third Century. They were

built to 175’ and 120’ in

height.

Afghanistan Today

But on March 3, 2001, the

Taliban used rockets and

mortars to destroy the statues

in a campaign to rid the

country of “un-Islamic” and

idolatrous representations of

the human form.

Afghanistan TodayWomen no longer have as many rights as they once did. The Taliban does not allow women or girls to study, work in most jobs, or vote. Women have to be completely covered when walking in public and should be accompanied by a male from their family.

The End