Why do girls in Afghanistan dress up as boys?

In Afghanistan there are girls who are allowed to put on pants, climb trees and do some things that only their brothers are allowed to do. They are girls in boys’ clothes who live like boys. Why is that?

In Afghanistan, the birth of a boy counts much more than the birth of a girl. Women who do not bear sons are often despised. That is why mothers dress up their daughters as boys. On the one hand, boys have a lot more freedom than girls, and on the other hand, a woman who has given birth to a boy is shown much more respect than a mother of daughters.

Gaming is often dangerous in Afghanistan – why?

The security situation in Afghanistan is still bad in some regions today. There are still many contested areas. Many schools in these areas are still closed. Schools are often misused as warehouses for military purposes. There are no books stored there, but weapons. The Taliban is still in power in parts of the country. Then there is the danger of land mines.

What are land mines?

There are millions of landmines in Afghanistan all over the country, a country located in Asia according to transporthint. A mine contains explosives that will ignite if someone steps on it. More than 400,000 children have lost a leg or arm to these landmines. The danger of stepping on such a mine while playing in Afghanistan is great. Many children are injured or killed.

More than a million Afghan children no longer have parents. That means that every tenth child in Afghanistan has neither a mother nor a father.

Child labor in Afghanistan

Many children in Afghanistan have to work and help their families to survive. That is one of the reasons why too few children attend school in Afghanistan. They work in mines, in agriculture, or sell things. In Kabul in particular, there are many children on the streets trying to earn a little money here.

Much work that children do is harmful to their health. Often they receive little or little wage. Some children even have to work as “gold prospectors”. They work in mines. Work in the brickworks is also a terrible activity for children. The work here is particularly dangerous because the clay from which the bricks are baked contains lead and lead is a poison that is harmful to humans.

It is not known exactly how many children work. There are probably more than a million children in Afghanistan.

More and more children are attending school in Afghanistan

Much was promised, especially to the young girls, when the Taliban’s rule was violently overturned in 2001. The USA and its allies, such as Germany, wanted to help the country rebuild, give the children a school education, expand roads and traffic routes and set up hospitals, i.e. improve the infrastructure. Since the end of the Taliban’s rule, more children and, above all, more girls have been attending schools, mostly public schools, but also religious schools or private schools. That sounds good. Schooling in Afghanistan should actually last twelve years. At least officially. But what does it look like in reality?

Too few children attend school in Afghanistan

But as the United Nations Children’s Fund reports, more than three million children are still unable to go to school. Most of them are girls. The main problem is the shortage of teachers, as many teachers do not have any proper training to teach children. Then there is the poverty of many people. Often children in Afghanistan have to work and support their families. And in Afghanistan there are still families who especially do not send girls to school because it has a long tradition there.

But the children who are allowed to attend school are happy about it, even if many schools in Afghanistan are still poorly equipped.

What is typical of Afghan cuisine?

Typical are rice dishes called Chalau and Palau, as well as stews that are similar to the curries known from India, but are called Qorma in Afghanistan. There are also kebabs, pickled vegetables and definitely yogurt. This yoghurt is often processed further, from which Chaka is created, a mass that is formed into balls, which are then called Kurut and which are often sold on the market.

Lamb, goat, beef, camel, poultry and game come into question as meat, pork not, since Afghanistan is predominantly Muslim Country is and Muslims do not eat pork. But meat is rare. When there is meat, it is often lamb, which is prepared in many different ways, often with vegetables. Kebab is also mostly made from lamb. These are pieces of lamb grilled on a spit. However, there are many Afghans who cannot afford meat and have to do without it.

Bread is served with most meals in Afghanistan. This is a special Afghan flatbread known as naan designated. This is also the name of bread in India. Nuts and dried fruits are often used in Afghan cuisine. These don’t just go into the sweet dishes. The main desserts are puddings with milk and sweet rice dishes.

Afghans prefer to drink tea with their meals, both black and green. Chai tea is also popular.