Afghanistan and the province Ghazni

Afghanistan is in the news very regularly and often these are painful news. Since the late 1970s, Afghanistan has suffered continuous and brutal civil war, which included foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan, in which the ruling Taliban government was toppled. The economy has suffered greatly from this political and military unrest, making Afghanistan one of the world's poorest and least developed countries, where two-thirds of the population lives on fewer than 3 US dollars a day. However, Afghanistan with its population of over 30 million people has achieved some measure of economic recovery and growth since 2002.

Afghanistan is a culturally mixed nation, a crossroads between the East and the West, and has been an ancient focal point of trade and migration.

A lot of detailed information on the country can be found in this article in the Internet encyclopaedia Wikepedia.

The province of Ghazni is one the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, which are the primary political and administrative subdivisions of the country.  Details on Ghazni can be found in this article.

Economic and social background on the Qara Bagh region

Qara Bagh, the district where the villages of Nai-Qala, Sada and Gawmurda are located, is one of the central highland regions, situated in the province of Ghazni, where the climate is severe and the land unfertile.

The district of Qara Bagh covers 1,799 square km. The total population is estimated at around 80.000 people. It is an ethnically mixed area.

Driven by poverty and by the scarce ecological resources, people have traditionally emigrated to Kabul, Ghazni, Lashkargah (Helmand province), Quetta (Pakistan), as well as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

This trend increased dramatically after the communist coup of 1978 and throughout the ensuing years of war. During the 1980s and 1990s, the district was the theatre of bitter internal conflicts.

The economy is largely based on the remittances of the men who work outside of the region. Most agriculture is irrigated, but production is low. Autumn wheat dominates, but spring wheat, barley, potatoes, beans, onions, carrots, turnips, and fodder plants are also cultivated. Other crops like almonds, mulberries, apricots, apples and grapes may be found in some areas.

The main livelihood is agriculture, and the economic status of people is generally poor due to instable harvest and the lack of other alternative industries. The difficulty of access and lack of governmental projects kept this area underdeveloped.

In addition to the political backwardness and economic deprivation, the educational system in this area remained particularly poor.

Education is a crucial issue for the development of Afghanistan. But as a result of the long years of war many children were deprived from study and education.

Nai Qala is one of the hamlets (qaria) of Qara Bagh. Its entire population is around 6000 people. It is a very remote area, with no established road connections, dominated by mountainous terrain, extremely isolated, accessible only on foot or donkey/horse-back, virtually cut off from the world during the long winter season, when temperatures regularly drop to - 15 degrees centigrade. It is a region with poor infrastructure, no hospital or clinic. People's main occupation is farming, despite the very scare water availability, which makes it difficult for agriculture.

Because of its central location in the district, it was decided that the school would be built in this hamlet. Therefore, the school in Nai Qala serves the children from 31 surrounding hamlets.

Press & Media Coverage

In this interview with local TV station NyonRégion Télévision on 25 September 2008, Taiba Rahim speaks about the Nai Qala project (in French).

The Nai Qala school project has also been covered in a number of press articles.

- Article in Le Temps; 28 October 2009 (in French)

- Article in 24 Heures; 27 June 2009 (in French)

- Article in Tribune de Genève; 14 April 2008 (in French)

- Article in (regional newspaper) La Côte; 20 March 2008 (in French)

- Article in (regional newspaper) La Côte; 21 May 2007 (in French)

- Article in (regional newspaper) La Côte; 11 July 2007 (in French)

- Article in Tribune de Genève dated 17 September 2007 (in French)

The role of women in the society's development

Ms Rahim has published several essays on the role of the Afghani girls and women in their society, and their importance for a stable and sustained development of Afghanistan.

- International Review of the Red Cross No. 847, p. 627-641 by Taiba Rahim (2002):  An identity of strength  - Personal thoughts on women in Afghanistan (View this Article)