Download Afghanistan: People, Places, & Politics

Afghanistan:
People, Places, &
Politics
Notes & Photos taken from PBS & ABC-Clio
Data Overview
• Population: 29.1
million (2010)
– 80% Sunni
– 19% Shi’a
• GDP per capita:
$1,416
– 80% in
agriculture
• #172 on HDI in
2012 (low level
of development)
Geography
• Landlocked trade is difficult/
expensive
• Mountainous faces earthquakes
& drought
• Limited water land is overgrazed
 desertification  even harder to
farm
• Covered by 5-7 million land mines
• Extreme temps
• 120°F in summer
• -15°F in winter
The People
• Some of poorest in world try to farm in place faced
by drought, famine, & war
– Pictured left: Woman is drying dung to use as home insulation
– Pictured Right: Boy is carrying a melon across mountainous terrain
16 yr old works
for $1 a day
Schools lack
resources, desks,
etc. Girls were
banned from 19952001
US soldiers are
very common &
often interact
with local
people
Woman is part of
work-for-food
program making
land suitable for
farming
Afghan
men at
Friday
prayer
Women cover themselves
to show modesty
Opium
• Supplies 89% of opium
in world (illegal- makes
heroin)
• Makes up 1/3 of GDP
• Drug lords make
millions
– Govn’t trying to focus
on useful (legal)
crops
Modern Political History
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1995/6: Taliban takes control of govn’t
2001: harbored al-Qaeda, US forced Taliban out
2004: Hamid Karzai is 1st elected pres.
2006: Taliban begins resurgence, US attacks again
2009: President Karzai re-elected
2011: Osama Bin Laden killed in Pakistan
2012: Taliban & US try to reach peace agreement &
fail; UN stays troops will be withdrawn in 2014.
• 2014: After 13 years Britain, the US & Australia
officially ended combat operation October 28
Osama bin Laden
• Leads al-Qaeda: militant Islamic terrorist group
• Takes credit for 9/11
• Harbored by Afghanistan/Pakistan Killed 5/1/11
Mullah Mohammad Omar
The Taliban
• Ruled Afghanistan prior to
2001
– Women had no rights or educ.
– No TV, music, games, or sports
• When ousted, went to poorest
ppl, warlords, al-Qaeda & other
extremists to gain support &
recruits
President Karzai
• Elected in 2001, 2004,
2009
– 2001: interim head of
government
– Democratic Islamic Republic
• Multiple assassination
attempts
• Main Goals:
– Improve infrastructure
– Keep Taliban out of power
– Control drug lords & trade
“The Price of Going to Class” (NYT)
In notes section answer one of the following 3 questions:
1.
Imagine you are a girl in Afghanistan. What are the
potential fears you will have about going to school?
How will these feelings impact you on a short-term
basis? Long-term?
2.
What do you believe, 20 years down the road, will
be the outcome of educating or not educating
women on the democratic processes in
Afghanistan?
3.
What is your opinion on America’s involvement in
the Afghanistan government and actions taken in
regards to the Taliban?