Transcript Afghanistan

“The Price of Going to Class” (NYT)
In your CE spiral WRITE & 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?
Afghanistan:
People, Places, &
Politics
Notes & Photos taken from PBS & ABC-Clio
Data Overview
• Capital: Kabul
• Size: Slightly smaller than TX
• Population: 31 million (2006)
–80% Sunni
–19% Shi’a
• GDP per capita: $800
–80% in agriculture
Geography
• Landlocked trade is
difficult/ expensive
• Mountainous faces
earthquakes &
drought
• Extreme temps
• 120°F in summer
• -15°F in winter
Geography
•Limited water
land is overgrazed
 desertification
 even harder to
farm
•Covered by 5-7
million
landmines
Ethnicity
• Pashtun (42%)Sunni
• Tajik (27%)Sunni
• Hazara (9%)Shi`a
• Uzbek (9%)Sunni
The People
• Some of poorest in world try to farm in place faced
by drought, famine, & war
• Woman is drying dung to use as home insulation
• 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
eliminate to focus on
useful crops
Political History
• 1979: Invaded by USSR
– Guerrilla war backed by US
• 1989: sign treaty with USSR
• 1995/6: Taliban takes control of govn’t
– Strict Islamic law, no women’s rights
• 2001: harbored al-Qaida, US bombed &
forced Taliban out
• 2004: Hamid Karzai is 1st elected pres.
• 2006: Taliban begins resurgence, US
fights, one province lost already
Osama bin Laden
• Leads al-Qaida: 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-Qaida & other
extremists to gain support &
recruits…
President Karzai
• Elected in 2001, 2004,
2009
– 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)
On your own paper WRITE & answer on 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?