The Challenges to Nation-Building

in Afghanistan comtinues....

The Afghan conflict has affected Afghanistan’s social institutions and

cultural heritage in ways more than one. Here, some of the crucial

questions relate to some major social issues like gender, refugee, sporting

traditions, cultural heritage and traditional social institutions. A crucial

issue relating to Afghan women is how to empower them and provide them with economic opportunities in the changed circumstances.

Another vital problem relates to the question of rehabilitating the

retuning refugees and addressing their needs and problems. Traditional

social institutions have suffered a setback during the war years.

Afghanistan has had traditional social and partially democratic institutions, which needs to be revived and integrated into the cohesive framework of international-national-regional and local institution system. The cultural heritage of the country has suffered huge losses due

to unjustified regimentation by the previous regimes besides the plunder

of various artifacts out of the country.

The Problem of Refugee Resettlement

The boundaries of the Afghan state are primarily artificial lines that

dissect pre-existing ethnic groups and within the boundaries of

Afghanistan too lie a wide range of different language groups.

Historically, Afghan migration to its neighbouring countries of Pakistan

and Iran is a common phenomenon.

Due to factors such as unnatural and

porous boundary between Afghanistan and its two major neighbours Iran

and Pakistan, and asymmetrical nation-building in the countries

involved, there has invariably been migration from Afghanistan. In

addition, the presence of the similar ethnic, linguistic and sectarian

groups on the other side has been a pull factor for migrants. Hence the

mass scale movement of Afghan refugees triggered by the Cold War

politics involving Afghanistan, primarily after the Soviet intervention were directed largely towards these two countries.

To be continued...