Afghanistan by Fatema Nushin

# AFGHANISTAN

**With sweeping valleys, snow-capped peaks, and a patchwork of cultures and peoples, Afghanistan is truly one of the most gorgeous places on earth.**

Afghanistan is a beautiful landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and South Asia. Called the "Heart of Asia," it borders with Pakistan to the east and south, with Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. With 652864 square kilometers (252,072 square miles) of land, the country is mainly mountainous with plains to the north and southwest separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. By 2021, its population will be 40,510,821million, (The current population of Afghanistan is40,510,821 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2022 population at 40,754,388.) Made up mostly of, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and Pashtuns . And Kabul is the capital and the largest city in Afghanistan. All the people from Afghanistan are Muslim, about one-fifth of whom are Sunni Hanafi. The rest, especially the Hazaras and Kizilbash, follow the Twelver Imami or Ismaili Shiites “Ismāʿīlī Shiʿi Islam.” Sufism has historically been influential in Afghanistan, although less than one-tenth of the Afghan people belong to the Sufi order in the 21st century. And there are also several thousand Hindus and Sikhs.

Between 40 and 59 languages are spoken in Afghanistan. The official languages of the country are Dari and Pashto, which are defined in the 1964 constitution of Afghanistan. Dari is the most common language among the official languages of Afghanistan and acts as the language of this country. In 1980, other regional languages were granted official status in areas where the majority languages are spoken. Dari and Pashto are spoken by 77% and 48% of the population. After the two official languages , the sub-languages are Ashkunu, Kamkata-viri, Vasi-vari, Tregami and Kalasha-ala, Pamiri (Shughni, Munji, Ishkashimi and Wakhi), Brahui, Arabic, Qizilbash, Aimaq, Pashai, Kurdish, and Kyrgyz, and Punjabi. Uzbek (11%), English (6%), Turkmen (3%), Urdu (3%), Pashaei (1%), Nuristani (1%), Arabic (1%) and Baluchi (1 %).

Afghanistan's economy has steadily improved over the past decade due to the return of large numbers of wealthy migrants, the modernization of the country's agricultural sector, and the creation of more trade routes with neighboring countries and the region. Billions of dollars internationally. Assistance from foreign migrants and investors saw an increase when there was greater political credibility following NATO's involvement in Afghanistan's reconstruction. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) these days is about $ 70 billion at an exchange rate of $ 20 billion (2017) and per capita GDP (PPP) is about $ 2,000. It imports more than $ 6 billion worth of goods, but exports about $ 1 billion worth of legal products, mainly fruits and nuts. Afghanistan is one of the least developed countries in the world, with more than $ 1 trillion to $ 3 trillion in proven untapped mineral reserves. Its unemployment rate is more than 23 percent and about half of its population lives below the poverty line. Many unemployed men join foreign-funded militant groups or the criminal world, especially as traffickers. Afghanistan has long sought foreign investment to improve its economy.Afghanistan has long been known for its other minerals: High-grade iron ore has been discovered in Haji Gak, northwest of Kabul. Copper is mined in Aynak near Kabul. And uranium has been identified in the mountains near Khvājah Rawash, east of Kabul. Other known deposits include copper, lead and zinc near Kunduz. Beryllium in Khāṣ Konaṛ; Chrome ore in the Lowgar River valley near Herāt. And azure semi-precious stones in Badakhshan, in addition to reserves of rock salt, beryl, barite, fluorspar, bauxite, lithium, tantalum, gold, silver, asbestos, mica and sulfur. Taxation of mined and traded lapis lazuli and emeralds helped finance anti-Taliban forces during the civil war. But now Afghanistan's economy has fallen because of the Taliban. When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, all businesses, private companies, and even television channels were shut down.

And the economy went down and now a lot of people are unemployed and there is no source of income for the people. Afghanistan has always been a hotbed of gender inequality in various dimensions. Women / girls in particular face various barriers to education. Despite efforts to improve the education sector over the past decade, the state of women's education remains deplorable. There is still a long way to go to improve education, especially for women. And even right now girls school are closed but boys schools are open.

Afghanistan is a poor country and when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the country became poorer and people lost their jobs and incomes, more than 90% of families are in poverty, crime and abuse peaked. People are not able to meet their basic needs such as food, housing, medical care and many other things

***"Girls' schools in Afghanistan were ordered to shut down just hours after reopening."***

The 23rd of March marks the sad day for the Afghan girls and society where the dreams and aspirations of the Afghan girls, their families and the wider world have been shattered. After seven months of waiting, girls with eagerness and fervour made their way to what they hoped would be their first day back to school, since they have been denied to attend schools by the Taliban group.

* Most older girls have been out of school since August when the hardline Islamist movement seized the country.
* The Ministry of Education had said that girls above grade 6 - aged about 13 and up - would be allowed back on March 23 as schools reopened nationwide following the long winter break.
* But as excited students arrived for their classes they were abruptly told to go home again, leaving some in tears and others reacting in anger.
* The Taliban said the schools would stay shut until a plan was drawn up for them to reopen in accordance with Islamic law.
* All boys, along with younger girls, were allowed to resume their education last year.

*Sixteen-year-old Khadija stayed up all night, excited for her first day at school after seven months at home in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. But on first day of school, she returned to her home in disappointment after the Taliban suddenly ordered girls’ high schools to stay shut*

.“The school's assistant manager arrived and she was crying, she took the microphone and said that she can’t speak, we all were surprised as to why she didn’t want to speak on such a happy day and why she was crying instead of welcoming us. Then, she told us to leave the school because the officials haven’t allowed girls to come to school.”

*The last time the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, they banned female education and most employment.*

***Resistance- National Resistance Front of Afghanistan***

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), also known as the Second Resistance, is a military alliance of former Northern Alliance members and other anti-Taliban fighters who remain loyal to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, created after the 2021 Taliban offensive, under the leadership of Afghan politician and military leader Ahmad Massoud. The group exercised de facto control over the Panjshir Valley, which is largely contiguous with Panjshir Province and, as of August 2021, was "the only region out of the Taliban's hands". The alliance constitutes the only organized resistance to the Taliban in the country and is possibly planning an anti-Taliban guerilla struggle. The resistance has called for an "inclusive government" in Afghanistan; one of their objectives is speculated to be a stake in the new Afghan government.

Historically, the Panjshir Valley served as a pocket of resistance in the past against the Soviet invasion and subsequently the Taliban’s rise in the 1990s. A little north of Kabul, its mountainous landscape provides a defensive advantage that has played a strong role in making it the epicenter of guerrilla warfare, withstanding all types of foreign interlopers that have knocked on its doors.

Today, the NRF finds itself trapped in a deja-vu moment as it grapples with the challenges of ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban once again and this time alone.

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Thank you!