Afghanistan Today

Sports are a large part of Afghan culture, and almost everyone plays something. Basketball and Baseball are both played there, but they are not very popular. The Afghani national basketball team has not advanced past the first round in the Olympics for some time, but they have done rather well in the Asian Games. Bowling and Soccer are the two main sports besides Buzkashi. Buzkashi has been played in Afghanistan almost as long as Islam has been there and it is considered the national sport. Buzkashi is usually played in an open field or in an arena, but there are occasionally games on the streets of cities. There are two teams, or it is every man for himself. The goal of the game is to grab the carcass of a headless goat or calf, which has usually been sitting in the sun to dry for a few days, and to carry the goat past all the other players and throw it across a goal line. All of this is done on horseback. A man who wins a buzkashi game is often given a prize, though usually not money. They could win clothing, or food, or something else that is needed to live. Buzkashi is a very dangerous sport, and people are often killed by being trampled by the horses. This is depicted in the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

Music is also very popular in Afghanistan. For a short while, it was banned by the Taliban, but it has made a comeback and now many houses even have their own record players. Afghani music has most of the same genres that we have like rock, blues, classical, and hip-hop. Hip-hop is very popular among afghan teens, much as it is here in the States. Some famous Afghan musicians are Ahmad Zahir, who made an appearance in The Kite Runner, Jawid Sharif, and Farad Darya. Some of their traditional instruments are the Daira, a tambourine like instrument, the Richak, resembling a violin, the Tula, which is like a recorder, and the Shashtar, which is like a sitar.

While the music scene thrives, Afghan education is not very good. It was recently voted worst in the world by the United Nations. In 1996, Afghanistan had the lowest literacy rate in all of Asia. Up until the 1920's, all Afghan boys were home schooled. Girls were not allowed to be educated. Recently though, public schools have become popular, and girls are allowed to be taught. All Afghani education is based on Islamic teachings, so there are no secular schools. In rural Afghanistan, where most Afghans live, 90 percent of women and 63 percent of men are illiterate. Nearly three quarters of all Afghans over the age of fifteen can not read or write.

While some aspects of Afghani life are not good, such as the Taliban or education, much of that is improving, thanks to support from nations such as the USA and Great Britain. Thanks to a new government and a new military, in years to come, Afghanistan may break away from the Taliban and Al Qaida and become the nation it once was.