History

__History of Afganhistan__

Afganhistan has been a mainly a muslim country since about 1882. It's a country with a very diverse culture due to its immovable mountains and deserts. This has made many ethnic contributions to Afganhistan. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afganhistan and are dominant in politics and have a large culture. The population also contains the following ethnic groups: Tajiks, Hazara, Aimak, Uzbeks, Uygher, Turkmen and a some other small groups. There is a long history of Russian Military involvement in Afganhistan such as Tsarist expansions and the Panjdeh incident. During the Soviet Era there was a lot of interest in this region. This led to the Soviet Wars, which was a nine-year conflict between Soviet forces. Previously in Afghanistan, socioeconomic status was based on ethnicity which in a way stratified the greater portion of Afgan society. There was a lot of income inequality as the upper class consisted of the royal tribal clans while the lower class consisted of families like Hassan's family from the Kite Runner. The Kite Runner deals with the political aspects of this situation and proves that Hazzaras and Shias really had no way of moving up the social ladder unless they denied their identity or became rich or wealthy. In reaction to some of these injustices, many people helped to change the system that was unfairly facilitating these situations of injustice. Many Afgans started to believe in the ideas of Marxist or Islamic right which meant that rights were based on ideaology and not wealth or heritage which in a way promised greater equality for all people.