Women and Modern Art in Afghanistan

By Mujib Mashal

“Area Pollution,” by Arezo Waseq, part of a large exhibition in June by the Center for Contemporary Arts — Afghanistan at Kabul University.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Under the watchful eye of a male instructor, a teenage boy is deep in focus, trying to trace and copy from a postcard as accurately as possible. For years, this has been the art scene in Afghanistan: stale, and dominated by men. Realism has long ruled as the only accepted style.

The degree of accuracy in copying from a picture — and occasionally a live model — has been the only yardstick by which artists have been judged.

The tide, however, seems to be turning, even if gradually. For one week in June two spacious auditoriums at Kabul University hosted a large exhibition on the themes of pollution and the environment.

The exhibition had two remarkable qualities: All 18 participating artists were women, and the genre was modern art, a rarity in Afghanistan. Even today Kabul and Herat are the only Afghan provinces — out of 34 — to have a faculty of fine arts in their universities.

“The curriculum at most of our arts institutions has not changed for years,” said Rahraw Omarzad, the director of the Center for Contemporary Arts — Afghanistan.

“Such copying and copying only kills the creativity of our artists,” Mr. Omarzad said. “It gives them no opportunity, no room to develop a style of their own.”

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Afghanistan Graduates Another Class Of Policewomen

Officials in Kabul have announced the graduation of more policewomen as Afghanistan bids to increase the female presence in its security forces, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan reports.

The class of 16 women received their certificates in a ceremony in Kabul on August 5 after eight months of training at the national police academy. They will soon be assigned to different parts of the country according to the needs of various districts.

Police academy General Director Sayed Mohammed Qudusi told reporters at the ceremony that Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry is doing all it can to make the newly established education and police training system for women effective.

The academy is funded by the U.S. government.

Afghanistan is encouraging a larger presence of policewomen as part of its effort to drastically increase its overall police force.

Cadets at the academy were taught how to conduct house searches, methods of recognition, explosives neutralization and dismantling, use of firearms and making arrests, as well as techniques used in detecting the smuggling of drugs.

“Our aim is to bring and restore social order [to Afghanistan],” Qudusi said. “We have to organize our programs and bring the quality of education to a level that is in accordance with the needs of society. We have to realize these needs on the ground and act accordingly.”

Qudusi said the academy’s goal is to have trained 5,000 female police officers by 2015. He said that so far a few hundred female cadets have graduated.

Policewomen serve several important functions in Afghanistan. For example, they are more adept at dealing with female criminals or in frisking women. Many say their existence in a strict Islamic society like the one in Afghanistan can help counter negative female stereotypes.

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VIDEO: UK Forces Foot Patrol in Kabul

HQ ISAF British Force Protection Company, Delta platoon, on a foot patrol around Kabul. The soldiers routinely patrol area districts to interact with local Afghans, provide security presence, and scan the area for improvised explosive devices that endanger Afghan civilians and NATO forces.



Credit: ISAF Media Channel
To Link to the ISAF Media Channel Youtube Account click HERE

International community supports phased Afghan control over security

At the Kabul conference yesterday the international community expressed its support for President Karzai's objective that the Afghan National Security Forces should lead and conduct all military operations in all provinces of Afghanistan by 2014.

The Kabul International Conference, hosted by the Government of Afghanistan and the UN, took place Tuesday 20 July 2010.

It was attended by representatives from around 70 partner countries including the UK, international and regional organisations and financial institutions.

The conference was opened by President Hamid Karzai, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Rassoul and UN Special Representative Staffan de Mistura.

Foreign Secretary William Hague meets Provincial Governor Nuristani in Herat, Afghanistan, ahead of Tuesday's conference

The communiqué issued from the conference states:

"The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the international community held a historic meeting today in Kabul to renew their commitment to the Afghan people.

"The Conference marked a new phase in their partnership, the Kabul Process, and a heightened commitment to a secure, prosperous and democratic Afghanistan."

The communiqué goes on to define measurable benchmarks for the Afghan government's programme on areas including Governance; Rule of Law; Human, Gender and Children's Rights; Economic and Social Development; Regional Cooperation; and Counter-Narcotics.

To read the whole article click here

Pictures: Crown Copyright & Eric Kanalstein/United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)]

Ministers 'united' on Afghanistan

UK ministers have put on a united front after Defence Secretary Liam Fox suggested the focus in Afghanistan should move away from reconstruction.

William Hague and Hamid Karzai took part in discussions

He had said troops were there for UK security not for "the education policy in a broken 13th-century country".

But after talks with Afghan leaders in Kabul he and International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell both stressed their commitment to redevelopment.

Foreign Secretary William Hague refused to set a date for UK troop withdrawal.

Before the talks, which took place on an unprecedented trip to Afghanistan by the three Cabinet ministers, Dr Fox argued in the Times newspaper that British troops were not in the country to fix Afghan society.

'Strong words'

"We have to reset expectations and timelines," he said. "National security is the focus now. We are not a global policeman. We are not in Afghanistan for the sake of the education policy in a broken 13th-century country. We are there so the people of Britain and our global interests are not threatened."

The BBC's Mark Dummett in Kabul said these were "strong words" from Dr Fox that signalled the new administration was considering a different approach to the war from its Labour predecessors.

But in a separate interview, Mr Mitchell said creating a stable society in Afghanistan was "absolutely crucial".

To see full article, click here

Karzai reaffirms 2014 date for Afghan-led security

By Deb Riechmann & Rahim Faiez, Businessweek

President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday reaffirmed his commitment for Afghan police and soldiers to take charge of security throughout the nation by 2014 and urged his international partners to spend their money on Afghan priorities not "quick-impact" projects.

Afgan President Hamid Karzai (C), US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) and UN chief Ban Ki-moon (L) pose following the International Conference on Afghanistan in Kabul, on July 20, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Karzai spoke at an international conference on the future of Afghanistan where representatives of 70 nations and organizations were endorsing a plan for how Afghan security forces would eventually take charge, but it's still unclear when the transition would actually begin.

"I remain determined that our Afghan national security forces will be responsible for all military and law enforcement operations throughout our country by 2014" -- more than three years after President Barack Obama's date for the start of an American troop drawdown, Karzai said. "Our goal is to transfer the three organs for national security forces into trusted national institutes dedicated to fulfilling their constitutional duty of ensuring the integrity and security of our country."

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance will never allow the Taliban to topple the government of Afghanistan. But he said that transition to Afghan-led security would be based on "conditions, not calendars."

Karzai also expressed his government's desire to take charge of more of its affairs. He asked his international partners not only to channel 50 percent of their foreign assistance through the government within two years, he urged them to align 80 percent of their projects with priorities that have been identified by Afghans.

To read the full article, click here

Business booms for ancient Afghan letter writing art

Afghan letter writers wait for customers in Kabul. Picture - Reuters
By Dawn.com reporter

Scribes like Mohammad Qasim once wrote poignant love letters of Persian poetry for illiterate Afghans. Now he mostly helps people fire off forms to the government, especially complaints over abuse of power.

And business is booming.

Traditional letter writers in South Asia appear a dying breed amid rising literacy and Internet. But in Afghanistan with much criticised crime and violence under President Hamid Karzai coupled with high illiteracy levels, bad news can be good news for these writers-for-hire.

“Business is growing,” said Qasim, a letter writer sitting on a traffic-clogged road in central Kabul. “People have more powers to complain ... They also have more things to complain about.”

Scores of writers like Qasim sit in the sun, under the shade of parasols in Afghanistan's capital. Many are not nostalgic about the past. Their makeshift tables are full of official-looking papers that they fill in, for a few cents.

In a country where more than two thirds of a population of 27 million are illiterate, letter writers have been a way for Afghans to communicate with each other for decades.

Nowadays, many requests are letters to police from victims of crimes like robberies and kidnappings - the kinds of cases that have stained Karzai's US-backed government and have undermined his battle against the Taliban insurgency.

Others are paperwork for government ministries, some are legal matters over property. It is a sign too of the improvement in governance since the fall of the Taliban, despite widespread perceptions from Afghans that progress has been too slow.

But few are personal messages.

“Few people want personal letters nowadays. We didn't have this then,” said Mohammad Arif, a 62-year-old former army officer, pointing to his mobile phone.

One of the few customers that day that recited her personal message to Arif attracted several nosy onlookers.

Despite being one of the world's poorest countries, mobile phone use has boomed and is one of the few commercial success stories during the nine-year war with the Taliban.

From middle class Kabul residents to poor villagers in strife-torn provinces like Kandahar and Helmand, the mobile phone can seem an almost obligatory accessory.

“I haven't written a love letter since before the civil war,” said Qasim, a 48-year-old graduate and scribe. He referred to the 1992-1996 civil war after the withdrawal of the Soviet army.

“Before the boys were freer, the girls were freer. Some would not wear headscarves.” said Qasim. “It was freer then.

He worked through the 1996-2001 Taliban rule, With many ministries closed, he wrote letters to Taliban commanders.

As he talked, two blue burqa-dressed women arrived at his desk. One widow, a slightly-stooped figure named Afghan Gul whose husband was killed by the Taliban several years ago, asked Qasim to fill in a form requesting identification for a child.

“Life would be much more difficult without these people,” Gul said.

But many literate Afghans also use the scribes' services.

They value these writers for knowing the style of how to address officials, and having the right forms to fill in.

Arif said business was up by over half in the last four years. “Now there is an opportunity to make complaints. Ten years ago there were no such opportunities.”

School tries to bring music back to Afghanistan

By Jerry Harmer, Associated Press

From the outside, it looks like any other school in Kabul. A red two-story building is sealed off from the street by a high wall. A few trees stand in the front yard. Children constantly go in and out.

But listen carefully. When the noise of the traffic dies down, you can hear the gentle sounds of violins being played and the patter of drums. In this city where music was illegal less than a decade ago, a new generation of children is being raised to understand its joys.

"This school is unique in Afghanistan," said Muhammad Aziz, a 19-year-old student who dreams of becoming one of the world's greatest players of the tabla, a South Asian drum. "It's the only professional music school and there are so many good teachers here."

The new National Institute of Music has been offering some courses for the past several months, but the formal opening will be later in May.


The school's aims: to revive long-neglected musical traditions, to stock schools with qualified teachers and, perhaps one day, to form the country's first symphony orchestra. Of the school's students — there are 150 now, though there will soon be 300 — half are either orphans or among the tens of thousands of children who spend their days working on Afghanistan's streets.

Over a 10-year course they'll rediscover old traditions, master new instruments and learn their musical heritage. They'll study the music of Afghanistan, South Asia and the West. It's also a regular school, with courses in English, math and history.

William Harvey, who came from the United States to teach at the new school, knows what he has found.

"Great talent can come from unexpected places," said Harvey, a classical violinist from Indiana.

Just a few years ago, things were very different.

In 1996, Kabul was captured by Taliban militants as they fought to take over the entire country and impose their version of Islamic fundamentalism. The changes were immediate: men had to wear beards, women had to be veiled or at home.

Music was destroyed. Joyous Taliban fighters unwound audio cassettes in the streets of Kabul, stringing the tape from trees like Christmas decorations. Only singing was allowed — often limited to religious songs or songs praising the Taliban — and playing musical instruments was banned.

But in 2001, the Taliban fell, and one man dreamed of musical renewal. Ahmad Sarmast, an Afghan music scholar and the son of a classical composer and conductor, came back to Afghanistan from Australia to rebuild its music scene after 25 years of war and five years of Taliban rule.

And, he thought, it had to begin with children.

"The musical tradition is in a big mess," said Sarmast, who formed the school as a joint initiative with the Afghan Education Ministry and Monash University in Australia. "I believe that through music education we can contribute to the revival of those traditions by including them in the formal training now."

Sarmast says it will cost about $11 million — in cash and donated equipment — to finish construction and run the school for its first 10 years. Funding came from a range of international donors, and nearly 5 tons of musical instruments came from the German government and the German Society of Music Merchants. The curriculum was developed with the help of the National College of Music in London.

Sarmast is hoping to produce teachers who can re-establish music programs in schools across Afghanistan. In a country with one of the world's worst poverty rates, he is also reaching out to Kabul's poorest children.

Twelve-year-old Marjan Fidaye used to sell chewing gum to passers-by to help feed her family. Today, she is one of Harvey's violin students.

Like the other street children, she is paid $30 a month to replace the lost income her family depends upon. But the school's aim is to turn the lives of children like her around, to give them an education, and maybe even a chance at a musical profession one day.

"I was selling on the streets before so I'm very happy I came here," says Marjan, clutching her violin. "I want to be a good student, to learn something here, to make something of my life."

PICTURE of the day: Kabul foot patrol

Members of B Company, 3 Royal Anglian Regiment, attached to 10 Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, carry out a foot patrol around the busy streets of central Kabul, Afghanistan.
The soldiers patrol on foot to deter suicide bombers, challenge suspicious activity and reassure the locals about security in their city.
A street vendor goes about his business, selling duffle coats for the onset of Kabul’s harsh winter chill.
A man is stopped in his vehicle after Sgt Micky Prescott spots a loaded weapon on his lap. The man’s paperwork is in order: He is a private bodyguard and permitted to carry the firearm.
The vast majority of locals are friendly, especially the children who chat to the soldiers...
...and pose for the camera.


Pictures: Lieutenant Sally Armstrong Royal Navy

Lisa Bandari: Kabul Blogger - Afghanistan Elections: Final day of campaigning

Lisa Bandari - First Secretary Political Kabul

I, like many of my Afghan colleagues, sat avidly watching the second of the Presidential debates with the leading candidates last night – using my imperfect language skills to try to understand their Dari responses, and watching the body language when they went into Pashto. The incumbent, Hamid Karzai, appearing on a debate for the first time in the campaign, appeared poised and confident, and covered familiar ground. Dr Bashardost, former Planning Minister and parliamentarian, was impassioned with the popular touch, and Dr Ghani, former Finance Minister and World Bank official, outlined detailed policy plans.

As someone who’s worked on Afghan domestic politics and elections for a year, I’ve eagerly awaited these final days. It’s been fascinating to compare campaigning in the UK with campaigning in Afghanistan, where modern campaigning methods have co-existed alongside more traditional methods to get the vote out. Rather than the slick ad campaigns I remember from the UK, more conventional posters of the candidates adorn walls and lampposts, in a variety of outfits to appeal to different demographics.

And with similarities to the US campaign style, the leading candidates have held large rallies for supporters – but offered them free lunches as incentives to turn up. More modern campaign fixtures such as opinion polls have also stimulated debate among Kabul politics watchers, with speculation on whether any candidate will pull off the 50% needed to win on the first round. These are reassuringly familiar to Western diplomats, but need to be treated with caution here, where opinion polls are not established predictors of election success, and where some unknowns still remain for polling day.

I’ve spoken to as many people as I can on how they will make their decisions on Thursday. It seems to me that the results are likely to be determined by a mixture of the old (ethnic, tribal, party political and historical allegiances), and the new, particularly for younger, educated voters (policy platforms and vision). Both come down to individuals, and their communities, making judgements about which candidate will best safeguard their future.

As I work with my colleagues to finalise our own preparations for polling day, including taking part in the EU’s observation mission here, it’s easy for us to forget in the election frenzy that these elections are a stopping point in the country’s wider democratic journey. The engagement and faith of the Afghan people in the process, both for provincial and presidential elections, is as important as the results.

The young men and women who will vote in this election and who make up a huge proportion of the population will be crucial in securing the country on the right path. As someone grateful for the sacrifices British women made to bring us the vote in the UK, I hope they turn out to have their voices heard, and claim their stake in their country’s future.

Helmand day one - the visit - BBC

In the first entry of his diary from Afghanistan's Helmand province, the BBC's Ian Pannell joins British troops at one base as it receives a visit from the chief of the defence staff.

In just a few hours, the urban, (relatively) cosmopolitan centre of Kabul, shrouded by snow-capped mountains and political intrigue, gives way to a very different country of mud compounds, tribal alliances and desert battles.

The Helmand desert in the south of the country is at the heart of a conflict that has already been running longer than World War II and shows no sign of easing. In fact there is every indication it is about to become far more intense.

There are "camps", which usually have the population and facilities of a small town.
Then there are the "FOBs", the Forward Operating Bases which oversee the military operations from the field and are often about the size of a small village.

Then there are the "PBs" - and that is where we have come, to "Patrol Base" Argyll in the southern province of Helmand.

It is small, dusty, dirty and very much on the frontline. It is home to just 60 soldiers, led by the Princess Of Wales's Royal Regiment but with the help of many others, including the Royal Navy, the First Battalion The Rifles, the Royal Engineers, and the Royal Marines, as well as the Gurkhas and army medical services.

This is increasingly the shape of military units operating in Afghanistan.

"Forward location" is how Lieutenant Colonel Doug Chalmers prefers to describe it.
The lack of a static frontline in this battle is just one of the many challenges the military face as the Taleban ebb and flow around the province, so Lt Col Chalmers' description is probably far more accurate.

The chief of the defence staff has come to see the campaign at close quarters.
He is the head of UK armed forces so the whole base was on orders to be up bright and early, to be on form and to make the place spic and span. No mean feat.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup arrived in the middle of a growing political storm about the military campaign here.

He spoke exclusively to the BBC, insisting there had been dramatic progress although he conceded that there was far more left to achieve.

Speaking at the weekend, former SAS commander Major Sebastian Morley described achievements here as "worthless" and accused UK forces of not holding ground.

A few weeks ago Foreign Secretary David Miliband said there was a "strategic stalemate" and last weekend US President Barack Obama said he didn't think US troops were winning the war.
The chief of defence staff says it is not just about "holding" ground but "dominating" it.

Every day patrols and operations leave this base to do just that, trying to convince an undecided local population that they are in control.

"It's about ensuring you can dominate the terrain. And at the same time we are patently holding and building throughout Helmand," he says.

Soon the troops in Helmand will be joined by more US forces, thousands of them. They arrive as questions grow about the resources and tactics Britain has used to defeat the Taleban.

Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels, US Vice-President Joe Biden said of Afghanistan: "We are not now winning the war but the war is far from lost."

Eyes roll and sighs escape at this news at the evening briefing at Patrol Base Argyll. It is not what the military here want to hear and not what they believe.

For the last seven years, thousands of British troops have been fighting here.

There has been progress but it has been tough, slow and limited. The question is whether there is the political will and enough public support to allow them to finish the job they started.