afghanistancountrywide and increasingly trans-national – rather than embracing the
European idea of individuality and personal choice. From an early age,
family members are instilled with the qaum’s multiple identities, its histor-
ies, genealogies, its place and status in social hierarchies and ethno-cultural
ties with tribal territory or a specific region, known as the watan.
Decision-making on important issues is not an individual matter but
lies with senior males, usually father, elder brothers and uncles and, in
certain circumstances, the senior women. Generally speaking, the younger
and more junior an individual is in the social hierarchy the less say they
have in such a process, though in more recent times younger men and
women can influence decisions if they have a substantial disposable income,
an influential position in government or work for a foreign organization.
Family members who pursue their own personal agenda, either without
consultation or in disregard of the wishes of senior qaum members, risk
censure and sanction; in more serious situations it can lead to ostracism,
disinheritance or banishment. The overriding consider ation in any major
decision is whether the proposed course of action will enhance the qaum’s
financial, social or political status and fortunes. Once a decision to act has
been made the extended family will pool their financial resources, call
in favours and debts of honour from government officials, and request
distant relatives to accommodate and facilitate family members travelling
to their area.
In a politically volatile and often violent society, another major con-
sideration is how the qaum can ensure the security and protection of its
members. This can be accomplished by marriage alliances, appointments
in government, the military or with influential foreign organizations. It
is not uncommon for extended families to hedge their bets by having
members serving on all sides of the conflict. During the Soviet occupation
of Afghanistan, for example, many Afghan families had relations serving
in the Soviet-backed Communist government as well as fighting with, or
financially supporting, the anti-government mujahidin.
Since the Taliban era Western discourse has focused heavily on women’s
rights in Afghanistan; indeed, following the attacks of 11 September 2001
President George Bush cited the Taliban’s extremist gender policies as one
justification for regime change. For some Western commentators and polit-
icians, veiling or not veiling has become the litmus test of Afghanistan’s
modernity, or lack thereof, and of Islam’s too. Images of women clad in the
burqa, the all-encompassing, tent-like cloak traditionally worn by women
in Afghanistan, regularly adorn articles on Afghanistan in the media and
even academic publication, to such an extent that the burqa has become the