Queen Soraya played an important part in
political life in Afghanistan, in particular as a
champion of the king's ambitious modernization
project. She is credited with setting up the first ever
Afghan women's hospital and girls' school as well as
being the first woman to have publicly taken off her
veil during a Loya Jerga (Grand Council) meeting in
1928. For this reason, she can be considered the first
modern Afghan woman. King Amanullah Khan's reign
came to an abrupt end following a rebellion carried
out by the Shinwari tribe in 1928. Queen Soraya and
her husband fled the country and spent the rest of
their lives in European exile. Queen Soraya died in
1968 in Rome. Her youngest daughter, Princess India,
has recently visited Afghanistan, setting up various
charity projects.Exile of the family of Queen Soraya
of Afghanistan, 1929 France Visit of the King
Amanullah Khan and
the Queen Soraya of
Afghanistan in
Germany.UpHome
The Queen Soraya of Afghanistan
Queen Soraya of Afghanistan (1899-1968), wife of King Amanullah Khan (1892-1960), was
born in the Damascus province of the Ottoman Empire in what is now Syria. Her mother,
Asma Rasmia, was the daughter of the Omayyad mosque's muezzin. Her father, Sardar
Mahmud Tarzi (1865-1933), was the son of a prominent Afghan poet and intellectual sent
into exile by Amir Abdul Rahman Khan (1880-1901) due to political rivalry. The family
initially lived in Karachi and then sought refuge in the Ottoman empire and settled in
Damascus. A progressive-minded intellectual, Sardar Mahmud Tarzi encouraged his
daughter Soraya to study and taught her modern values.
After Amir Abdul Rahman's Khan's death in 1901, his son and heir
Amir Habibullah Khan authorized the Afghan families that had been into exile by his father
to return to Afghanistan. The Tarzi family returned to Afghanistan in the beginning
of the 20th century and established contact with the court. The Afghan royal family, in
particular Prince Amanullah Khan, was interested in Sardar Mahmud Tarzi's modern ideas
and became close to the Tarzi family, eventually marrying Tarzi's daughter, Soraya, in
August 1913.
AFGHANISTAN OLD
http://www.afghanistan-photos.com/crbst_0.html
I found this great site with history & pictures of Old Afghanistan , shame to see what it has become - well worth a visit to the site
The website AFGHANISTAN-PHOTOS.COM aims to preserve and
promote Afghanistan's heritage and culture through the collection,
preservation and dissemination of old photographs. With over 500
old photos, the archive has been patiently realized and aims to
ensure that future generations will know of traditions, places and
people that vanished long ago.
Enjoy
Thanks Jan. You should adjust the frontpage so this is on display...
AntwortenLöschenThanks for this. It is a shame that we have marginalized people with a "terrorist" moniker.
AntwortenLöschenwell depends on who "we " are .... the better informed and those who oppose the
AntwortenLöschenwar have not , and thats a hell of a lot of people. They are victims of many invasions & violence .. who blames people from trying to repel invaders
I had pictures of Afghani girls at University in the 50s somewhere will add them when I find them ...
http://blondino01ontal9.multiply.com/journal/item/232
http://www.afghangrown.org/
the crops
Who benefits from the Afghan Opium Trade?
The United Nations has announced that opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has soared and is expected to increase by 59% in 2006. The production of opium is estimated to have increased by 49% in relation to 2005.
Implemented in 2000-2001, the Taliban's drug eradication program led to a 94 percent decline in opium cultivation. In 2001, according to UN figures, opium production had fallen to 185 tons. Immediately following the October 2001 US led invasion, production increased dramatically, regaining its historical levels.
Yet in a bitter irony, US military presence has served to restore rather than eradicate the drug trade.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=3294
The US and allies invaded our country under fine slogans of “democracy”, “women’s rights”, “liberation” and so on, but today they are supporting and helping the dirtiest enemies of such values in Afghanistan.
AntwortenLöschenThe US and its allies are in Afghanistan only for their own regional, strategic and economical interests. Having its military bases in Afghanistan, the US can tighten its grip in Asia and compete with its rivals: China, Russia and Iran. In addition, it has opened its new Guantanamo in Kabul, the Bagram Airbase. This prison houses more than 600 inmates who have no right “to challenge their detention”. There have been many reports of abuse in the prison and many prisoners are said to be innocent.
Afghan women bear brunt of hypocritical ‘war on terror’
http://www.rawa.org/rawa/2009/09/27/afghan-women-bear-brunt-of-hypocritical-war-on-terror.html
Seven years ago, the US and its allies occupied Afghanistan in the name of human rights and women’s rights, while at the same time they betrayed these values. They brought into power the Northern Alliance, who made civil war from 1992-6, and have turned the Taliban from mice into wolves.
They have also turned Afghanistan in the centre for drug trafficking. There has been a 4500% increase in opium production since 2001, President Karzai’s ( supported by the west ) brother, is a famous drug trafficker. And they are paying money to a mafia government to struggle against the planting of opium. Is this possible?
the US and its allies are supporting and empowering criminals by inviting them to join the Government?
Long & Great Article by the lady herself
http://www.newint.org/features/special/2009/08/11/not-whos-voting/
Afghan women had slowly gained rights through the 20th century. They helped write their country’s 1964 constitution. They served in parliament and went to universities. They were 40 percent of the doctors and 70 percent of the teachers. Then the Taliban turned their homeland into a patriarchal jail.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Afghan women did gain rights throughout the twentieth century — in the cities. In the countryside, where the majority lived, no such thing happened. And the Taliban did not turn the Afghan homeland into a patriarchal jail; it was already a prison for women.
There are three causes for women’s predicament. First, Afghanistan was and is a rural society, and in the south and east dominated by tribes. This tribal society is deeply patriarchal, with women commodified into a resource to be bartered, sold and fought over. Hence the Pashtun man is honor-bound to defend zan, zamin and zar (woman, gold and land).
I saw a documentry of a local musical band from from late 60s & 70s who used to do concerts in Kabul. I will try to share it if I found it.
AntwortenLöschen