What is afghanistan

Taliban are ousted from Kabul and Hamid Karzai becomes head of an interim power-sharing government. NATO formally ends its combat mission in Afghanistan, handing over to Afghan forces, who face a growing insurgency.

President's office. UN news about Afghanistan. International forces. See Afghanistan in pictures. During the Taliban's rule, the group was condemned by the international community for murdering innocent Afghan civilians and denying food supplies to starving citizens. In , following the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11 of that year, the U. The Taliban refused. The United States and its allies then took military action in Afghanistan and drove the Taliban from power in December Both the Taliban and al Qaeda fled Afghanistan and relocated to nearby Pakistan, where they set up political and military outposts.

Thousands of girls—who were banned from being educated under Taliban rule—went to school for the first time. Women were free to get jobs and take part in government activities, both of which were forbidden under the Taliban. In , Afghanistan adopted its current constitution and became an internationally recognized government, electing Hamid Karzai as its first president.

Under its constitution, the president and two vice presidents are elected every five years. But the government struggled to extend its authority beyond the capital city of Kabul because the Taliban forces continued to try to regain control of the country. In , the Taliban and the Afghan government began to discuss a peace treaty, and though some people were concerned that the talks wouldn't progress, U. His successor, Joe Biden , extended the date for the withdrawal to August 31 of that year.

After nearly 20 years of U. By August 15, , the Taliban had taken control of all major cities, including the capital of Kabul. President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, and the Afghan government all but collapsed.

The United States is sending military troops to the country to help the American diplomats and support staff still remaining at the U. All rights reserved. Personality Quizzes. Along with the dutar and zirbaghali, there are variations on the fiddle ghichak , the flute badakhshani , and cymbals. Uzbeks and Tajiks share a preference for the dambura, which is a long-necked, plucked lute. At home, women often play the daireh, a drum. Of course, one of the most important instruments in Afghanistan is the human voice.

Afghan folk music is traditionally played at weddings, holidays such as the New Year celebration, and rarely for mourning. Wedding music plays a vital part in Afghan folk music. A traveling people known as Jat, related to Gypsies, sell instruments door-to-door and play their own variety of folk music. The Jats frequently play for weddings, circumcisions and other celebrations as well.

Afghan songs are typically about love, and use symbols like the nightingale and rose, and refer to folklore like the Leyla and Majnoon story. The classical musical form of Afghanistan is called klasik, which includes both instrumental ragas, naghmehs and vocal forms ghazals. Many ustad, or professional musicians, are descended from Indian artists who emigrated to the royal court in Kabul in the s.

Radio broadcasting was introduced to Afghanistan in and fostered the growth of popular music. Modern Afghan popular music used orchestras featuring both Afghan and Indian instruments, as well as European clarinets, guitars and violins. Parwin became, in , the first Afghan woman to broadcast on the air on Radio Afghanistan, while Ahmad Zahir, Mahwash, and Biltun found large audiences.

Religious Diversity As with much of the region, the rise and fall of political power has been inextricably tied to the rise and fall of religions. The eastward sweep of Islam reached Afghanistan in the 7th century AD, and today the vast majority of Afghans are Muslim.

In recent history, there have been small Sikh, Jewish, and Ismaili communities in Afghanistan. Buzkashi is a game that dates itself into Afghan antiquity. Today the rider or team who is able to pitch a dead calf across a goal line first wins. The game may last as long as a week and is as free-wheeling as the Afghan spirit. Afghans also play a wide variety of sports such as soccer, cricket, martial arts, etc.

Education System The modern educational system was introduced at the end of the nineteenth century by the Afghan government and combined traditional Islamic learning with a modern curriculum.

In , education was declared universal, compulsory and free. With its expansion, the secular system came to be regarded as the principle medium for creating a national ideology and emphasized productive skills. The Afghan educational system is currently experiencing a period of rehabilitation and reconstruction. Twenty years of conflict caused the exodus of many teachers and qualified instructors and caused literacy rates to plummet. Violence throughout the country during the Soviet invasion, the Civil War, and the Taliban period, made the existence of primary and secondary schools near impossible.

Schools still existed during these times, but they had little access to resources or qualified professionals. Today, starting at age seven, children attend six years of primary school, three years of middle school and three years of secondary school. Traditional religious schools, found in towns and villages, teach children basic moral values and ritual knowledge through the study of the Koran, the Hadith Sayings of the Prophet Mohammad , and popular edited religious texts.

Herat, Kunduz, Ghazni, Kandahar and Kabul have become important centers for religious scholars. In recent years, education development has been a focus for international aid. The Government of Afghanistan similarly view education is the key to the long-term success of the Afghan state. The loya jirga is centuries old tradition and a quintessential part of the Afghan government.

A decision-making assembly, the jirga refrains from time limitations and continues until decision are reached through consensus. The jirga addresses a variety of issues, such as foreign policy, military action, or the introduction of new ideas and reforms. Approximately 1, delegates from all over Afghanistan took part in the loya jirga in Kabul. Each district elected 20 people, who then held a secret vote to select one person to represent the whole district.

The districts in Afghanistan had at least one seat, with more seats allotted for every 22, people. Ultimately, women held of the remaining seats. In , another historical loya jirga convened to discuss the proposed Afghan constitution, which was ratified on January 4th, The most pressing issues were those of centralized power, social reform, and the feasibility of a free-market economy in Afghanistan.

In September of , President Karzai proposed holding jirgas along the Afghanistan-Paksitan border during a trilateral meeting with U. Tribal elders on each side will side will meet with the participation of both President Karzai and President Musharraf with the hopes of resolving the problems of regional extremism and terrorism through consultation and consensus. Aid has since grown tremendously. To date, the World Bank has provided a total of over 5.

The investment pipeline looks promising and includes investments in the power and education sectors. This sound framework has enabled the ARTF to adapt to changing circumstances and development priorities with consistency and consensus. The World Bank is the Administrator of the trust fund. The CPF also aims at supporting economic growth that includes all members of society, with a focus on lagging areas, urban informal settlements, and people driven from their homes by conflict.

The project will support up to a total of 1, new civil service positions to enable the ministries to meet their objectives and deliver on their priorities. The Eshteghal Zaiee - Karmondena Project aims to strengthen the enabling environment for economic opportunities in cities where there is a high influx of displaced people. The project will support actions to increase returnees' access to civil documents, provide short-term employment opportunities, improve market enabling infrastructure, and support investor-friendly regulatory reforms.

Enrollment in key priority disciplines those that contribute to economic and social development has increased substantially from 64, at the project baseline to about 81, The project helps Ministry of Higher Education to develop a policy and by-law for the practice of e-learning.

This will support gradual introduction of blended learning, incorporating e-learning into the university curriculum, as well as recognition of blended learning toward program credits. The Skills Development Program project supports the Government of Afghanistan in its strategy to build market relevant vocational and technical skills for economic growth and development.

Under the Afghanistan Second Skills Development Program, national occupational skills standards have been benchmarked to an international level with the support of an international certification agency, and corresponding curricula developed for 15 trades.

The restructuring also places strong emphasis on implementation of an action plan for addressing issues associated with Gender-Based Violence. Financial Sector: The Access to Finance Project aims to build institutional capacity to improve access to credit of micro, small, and medium enterprises. The Targeting the Ultra Poor TUP program in six provinces Balkh, Kabul, Kandahar, Kunar, Laghman, and Takhar , where it has been successful in targeting and initiating meaningful improvements in the well-being of ultra-poor beneficiaries.

Based on the success of the program, the TUP was scaled up in to reach close to 4, households in two more provinces Parwan and Nangarhar. Health: Bringing most of the efforts in public health service delivery under one umbrella in Afghanistan, the Sehatmandi Health Project aims to increase the utilization and quality of health, nutrition, and family planning services across Afghanistan.

The project supports implementation of a Basic Package of Health Services and an Essential Package of Hospital Services through contracting arrangements across the country. Sehatmandi also supports efforts to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Public Health at central and provincial levels to effectively carry out its stewardship functions.