1. An Introduction to
Afghanistan
Compiled by:
Kelly & Kara
O’Neil Bredemeyer
ED 608-01

2. Social Studies Introductory
Unit
on
Afghanistan
for
6th, 7th and 8th grades*
*Although these are the grades in which international subject
matter is traditionally taught, recent events have made this
particular topic matter pertinent for all students. Teachers of lower
grades should consider presenting a modified version of this
material to their students.

3. www. Sites to Visit
• For Afghan Culture:
– www.afghan-network.net/Culture/
• For links to other sites:
– www.aboutafghanistan.com/
• For facts and figures:
– www.countrywatch.com/
– www.cia.gov/
• For up-to-date news articles:
– http://news.bbc.co.uk
• For geographical information:
– www.geographic.org

4. The Flag of
Afghanistan
On the coat of arms are 2 Muslim inscriptions written in
Arabic:
“God is Great” “There is no God but Allah, and
Muhammad is the Prophet of
Allah.”

5. What Kind of
Government
Does Afghanistan Have?

6. The Government
• Afghanistan does not have a functioning
central government. It is ruled by factions.
• 90% of the country is ruled by the Taliban.
The United Nations, however, does not
recognize the Taliban as the official
government of Afghanistan.
• The capital city is Kabul.
• There are presently 30 Afghan provinces.
• The Constitution of 1964 is no longer in use.

7. What Religions do the
Citizens of Afghanistan
Practice?

8. Religion
Photo: Blue Mosque
Ninety-nine percent of Afghanistan’s
population
is Muslim.

9. What are the People Like?

10. The People
• The people of
Afghanistan are called
Afghan(s).
• Afghanistan’s
population is
27,000,000.
• The people of
Afghanistan have a life
expectancy of only 45
years.
• Many ethnic groups
make up the Afghan
population. The largest
is the Pashtun (38%)

11. The People

12. The Language
Because of the presence of different ethnic
groups in
Afghanistan, several different languages are
spoken.
– 50% of the people can speak “Dari.”
– 35% of the people can speak “Pashtu.”
– 11% of the people can speak one of the “Turkic”
languages.
– Additionally there are another 30 minor
languages spoken.
– There is a high level of bilingualism among the

13. Is Afghanistan’s Geography
Like Ours?

14. The Geography
• Afghanistan is about the size of Texas.
• Its 647,500 square miles are landlocked.
• It is located in Southern Asia. It shares borders with
Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan, Iran, and China.

15. The Geography
• The terrain is mostly rugged mountains, but
there are plains in the north and southwest
portions of the country.
• The climate is arid-semiarid. The winters are
cold and the summers are hot.

16. The Geography
• Afghanistan
suffers from
damaging
earthquakes (an
earthquake killed
5,000 people in
Takhar
Province, in 1998)
and from flooding
and droughts.
Photo: Takhar Province after 1998
earthquake

17. What Kind of Economy Do the
Afghans Have?

18. The Economy
Afghanistan is a poor country with few modern
conveniences.
It depends on farming and livestock raising (sheep and
goats).
Due to war and drought during the past 20 years, there
has been

19. Exports
Afghanistan’s main export has been the opium
extracted
from the poppy plants grown over much of the country.
The
Taliban has recently put a ban on the cultivation of
poppies.

20. Exports
Exports which are still legal:
– wheat
– fruits
– nuts
– wool
– mutton
– karakul pelts

21. Do the Afghan People Have a
History Like Ours?

22. The History
• 18th Century: The creation of
Afghanistan.
• 19th Century: The Barakzai Dynasty.
• 1919: Independence from British
control.
• 1973: A coup overthrows the King.
• 1979: Invasion by Russian troops.
• 1996: The Taliban take power.

23. 18th and 19th Centuries
• Today’s Afghanistan was created in the
early18th century by Ahmad Shah Durrani, an
Afghan general of Persian Emperor Nadir
Shah Afshar.
• In the early 19th century, the British imposed
a protectorate. During this period the
Barakzai Dynasty took the place of the
Durrani.
• In 1919, Afghanistan gained independence

24. 1933 - 1973
• King Zahir Shar
(pictured left) sat on
the Kobul throne for
forty years.
• A coup d’etat led by
his cousin in 1973
ended his reign.
• He has been living
in Rome, Italy since.

25. 1979 - 1988
• The Soviet Union invaded
Afghanistan with 80,000
men
in December, 1979, in an
attempt to impose control
for its puppet Afghan
government.
• After losing tens-of-
thousands of soldiers, the
defeated Soviets retreated
in 1988.
• 1,000,000 Afghans lost their

26. 1996 - Present
The Islamic fundamentalist movement known
as the Taliban began to take political and
physical control of the country in 1994. With
its takeover of Kobul in 1996, the Taliban
became the self-proclaimed government of
Afghanistan, although it is not recognized as
such by the United Nations.

27. What is Afghanistan Like
Today?

28. Afghanistan Today
After more than twenty years of civil war,
Afghanistan’s economy and infrastructure lie in
ruin.

29. Afghanistan Today
The civil war which Afghanistan has been
fighting
continues as the Taliban supporters face the
forces of

30. Afghanistan Today
During the many years of
fighting, millions of land mines
were buried in Afghanistan’s
countryside. Many of the
unexploded mines are now
injuring adults and children
when they accidentally trip the
wires. International agencies
are trying to help the Afghans
de-mine the land.

31. Afghanistan Today
The Taliban has been
ridding
the country of all non-
Islamic
relics. Two sandstone
statues of Buddha had
stood
carved in the side of a cliff
in
Bamiyan since around the
Third Century. They were

32. Afghanistan Today
But on March 3, 2001, the
Taliban used rockets and
mortars to destroy the
statues
in a campaign to rid the
country of “un-Islamic” and
idolatrous representations
of
the human form.

33. Afghanistan Today
Women no longer have as
many rights as they once
did. The Taliban does not
allow women or girls to
study, work in most
jobs, or
vote. Women have to be
completely covered when
walking in public and
should
be accompanied by a
male

34. The End