An Introduction to Afghanistan Compiled by: Kelly & Kara ONeil Bredemeyer ED

Social Studies Introductory Unit on 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 doing the suggested related activities, students will: be able to locate Afghanistan on a map. know at least two pertinent facts about each of the following: Afghanistans 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: – For links to other sites: – For facts and figures: – – For up-to-date news articles: – For geographical information: –

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 Afghanistans. 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 t he 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 Government Does 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 Afghanistans population is Muslim.

What are the People Like?

The People The people of Afghanistan are called Afghan(s). Afghanistans 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 Language Because of the presence of different ethnic groups in Afghanistan, 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 Afghanistans 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 Afghanistans main export has been the opium extracted from the poppy plants grown over much of the country. The Taliban has recently put a ban on the cultivation of poppies. Because poppy farmers have little else to fall back on, many now have to face devastating poverty.

Exports Exports 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 Todays 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.

King Zahir Shar (pictured left) sat on the Kobul throne for forty years. A coup detat led by his cousin in 1973 ended his reign. He has been living in Rome, Italy since.

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

Present The Islamic fundamentalist movement known as the Taliban began to take political and physical control of the country in 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, Afghanistans economy and infrastructure lie in ruin.

Afghanistan Today The civil war which Afghanistan has been fighting continues as the Taliban supporters face the forces of the Northern Alliance.

Afghanistan Today During the many years of fighting, millions of land mines were buried in Afghanistans 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 Today Women 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