Pashtunwali

Afghanistan is a land locked country of 652,225 square kilometers bordered by Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and China. The topography is a mixture of small foothills, plains, and highlands. The country has a dry climate. The summer is hot and dry, while the winters are very cold with a lot of snow in the highlands. Steppes and desserts cover most of the country, and yet small pockets of cultivated land can be found. It is an agricultural country and irrigation is practiced intensively. Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan; it became the capital of the country at the end of eighteenth century and is located in a wide basin on the road linking India to Central Asia.

The word “Afghan” has been used historically to designate the members of an ethnic group also called Pashtuns. Afghanistan was formed by the political expansion of Pashtun tribes in the middle of the eighteenth century and was ruled by many Pashtun Sultans. The country had not been united until the end of nineteenth century and at the same time Persian-speaking Hazaras were brought into the country for manual labour. Then later during 1900s Turkmen, Uzbek, and Tajik population was also incorporated into the state. These people brought their languages with them- uzbeki spoken by Uzbeks and Persian (officially called Dari) spoken by Hazaras, Tajiks, and Turkmens. By mid 1900s Dari became official language of Afghanistan a long with Pashtoo.

Different Pashtun tribes had ruled Afghanistan for ages, but this trend ended during the communist regime of Afghanistan in 1978. This regime also allowed the “outsiders” to become players of the political “Buzkashi” and the concept of a political party was introduced.

The word Pashtuns also means “people of the mountain” because of which Pashtuns call themselves the direct descendants of Aryans. They take a lot of pride in their identity; they live a very unique lifestyle, which revolves around honour and pride, also known to the outside world as “Pashtunwali”. Pashtunwali is a broad concept, which consists of certain duties that a Pashtun has to follow and stand by it. The world called Pashtunwali is a “code” because of the duties. It is not a written code, one doesn’t inherit it or obtain it, one is expected to develop it and then live by it. There are no government institutions to ensure the implementation of this unwritten code of life but Pashtun members of the society internalize these social norms to such an extent that they directly become a matter of one’s conscience rather than an executive order of a distinct authority.

Central to Pashtunwali is “nang” or honour. A Pashtun child is taught by his or her parents to live an honorable life and live for honor. “Melmastiya” or hospitality is what Pashtuns are known for, at least in Afghanistan. According to Melmastiya you are not only expected to give food and shelter to anyone who knocks on your door but also protection. A Pashtun is supposed to protect a guest from any kind of harm no matter what it takes. “Badal” or revenge, most western writers define it as: “the only way to redeem one’s honor is to avenge it” which is entirely wrong. The concept of Badal exists and it literary means revenge, but in afghan society honor comes from forgiveness not from a barbaric act.

The mentioned “duties” or “code” is a social trait that exits in every society, but when a Pashtun society is discussed in the context of lifestyle, the outside world labels this trait as a form of barbaric “code”. This “code” is also used to explain why the Pashtuns of Afghanistan gave shelter to Osama bin Ladin. Taliban called bin Ladin a “guest” of all Afghans. The western writers use Pashtunwali to explain why is this so; Melmastiya’s main dimension is the need (Nanawati) to provide refuge to a guest no matter what it takes. This is related to the code nang or honour. This is the reason why Osama bin Ladin found a home in Afghanistan when nobody else will have him, according to the outside world.

Pashtuns are very sensitive about their honor, especially about the honor of their women folk. Touching unacquainted women is at times considered a serious and an intolerable offense; in cases of adultery and unlawful relationships the punishment sometimes is death and neither male nor female is pardoned. Casting an evil eye on women is equal to putting one’s life in danger. This is another pillar of Pashtunwali honor known as “Tor”. This obligation has died out over the last few decades among most of the Pashtuns of Afghanistan but still practiced by the Pashtuns or Pakhtuns of Pakistan living in Waziristan region. This was very significant in the life of a Pashtun woman because she had no say in any of the decisions taken by the “Jirga”- a committee of a group of elders of a village or tribe. A Jirga’s decision was the final word; no one could act against it. Fortunately this system is not practiced anymore. Afghanistan has adopted judicial system of courts, which are open for appeals especially by women. Because of this particular reason it has replaced the Jirga system in Pashtun society. Both Tor and the Jirga have vanished or have been abandoned by some Pashtun societies but it still exists for the outside world.

Pashtunwali has ruled the Pashtun world for generations; it is not complex, not written and lies only in the hands of men. The problem with this is that gender boundaries exist, for example, creating different kinds of social spaces and social orders, where women have legal authority and control of limited resources. The segregation of gender does not necessarily result in the total disempowerment of women. In Pashtunwali, women still have influence and access to specific power structures specifically within segregated, homo-socially Pashtun communities, but they have very limited power. Another problem is that Pashtuns find it difficult to practice Pashtunwali because there is economic disparity and especially since they are unable to act autonomously. These are the reasons why Pashtunwali is becoming a myth in Afghanistan and “Democracy” is the new way of life now.