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History of the Hazaras
The CIA World Factbook reveals that there are an approximated 2.7 million Hazaras currently living in Afghanistan. Even though the community was considered one of the largest in the country, the 1893 massacre greatly reduced its population. This means that Hazara is an endangered community that must be taken care of for its existence. Anthropology scholars differ over the exact history of the Hazaras. However, Hazara means a thousand in the language of the Persians.
Current studies suggest that the community originated from the Mongol empire. It is believed to be a descendant of the Mongol soldiers that were left behind by Genghis Khan in the thirteenth century. The Hazaras occupy various parts of Afghanistan, but they are mainly found in Hazarajat, which is their land historically. The community is found in the central mountains of Afghanistan and is believed to occupy an area of fifty thousand square kilometers, even though some are found in the Badakhshan Mountains.
In the late 19th century, there was a campaign against the community, which forced them to settle in the western parts of Turkestan province. Within this group of people, a small group is distinguished by their faith referred to as Ismaili Hazaras, which subsists in the Hindu Kush Mountains.
Due to constant frustrations from state organs and frequent attacks on its people, the community has been forced to settle on the fringes of the state near Iran and Pakistan. This has led to cross-border migration meaning that a good number of Hazaras are currently found in Pakistan (Mousavi 89).
Regarding the language, the Hazaras are known to speak the Dari dialect, which is related to the Persian Dialect referred to as Hazaragi. A majority of the community as members of the Shi’a religious sect, even though some belong to the Ismaili sect while a minority belongs to Sunni Islamic sect.
The community is mainly distinguished because of its strong culture that adores music and poetry. Their language has several proverbs that have been utilized effectively to compose popular songs and poems in the country. The culture has been maintained through language, which is passed from one generation to the other. Only two classes existed, which included the rulers and the ruled. The class structure is based on the possession of the means of manufacturing, whereby the rich could own several flora and fauna.
With time, the economic, social, political power of the community has declined since they currently supply cheap unskilled labor, which has led to stigmatization. Few communities in the country would be willing to intermarry with the Hazaras since it is considered a poor community.
This has led to isolation, given the fact that its culture has remained static for several decades. The husband is always considered the head of the family among the Hazaras, with most of the families practicing polygamy. The mother would only take up the responsibilities of the husband in cases of death. The older wife is accorded respect. Therefore, she would take up the role of the husband in case the head of the family is absent.
The community respects the rights of women and has always advocated for the enlightenment of the girl child. This has seen many women in the community participating in civic affairs, particularly those who returned from the land of exile in Iran. Since the defeat of the Taliban in 2001, many Hazara women have played a critical role in furthering education in the community since they serve as teachers.
History shows that Hazaras settled in Afghanistan as early as the 13th century. Throughout history, Hazaras allied to the Shi’a religious values have been persecuted and have been pushed to the periphery meaning that they have suffered than any other group. Even though changes were introduced in the country after the defeat of the Taliban, the state of affairs has not changed since many Hazaras are still killed.
This is because the community is still underrepresented in policymaking and formulation. President Karzai tried to uplift the living standards of the community by appointing six cabinet ministers from the community, but this has not stopped discrimination against the community. In the mid 2oth century, the community was forced to migrate to Kabul owing to the rampant persecution meted out by senior government officials and other communities perceived to be the majority.
The community is the lowest in terms of social rankings, which is the main source of hostility. In the early 1960s to late 1970s, the community was forced to combine forces with other minorities to demand their rightful position in society. This led to the civil war that lasted for several years, claiming many lives and causing economic and political instabilities. The community was capable of resisting the pressures from other communities until the mid-1980s, with the help of their fellow tribesmen from Iran (Ratchnevsky 45).
It is factual that the community has never enjoyed its economic rights in the country since it is perceived as an outcast, which should be eliminated. Even before the Taliban government, the Hazaras have never enjoyed peace since they were often attacked and their land was taken away forcefully. They would be captured and would be sold as slaves meaning that they were never valued in society.
Critical services, such as healthcare and security, have never been availed to the Hazaras. Some historians claim that the main reason for the persecution of the Hazaras is their religious principle, which is based on the Shi’a values. The community had a stable economic and political system that gave then fame all over the continent. This never augured down well with some communities in Afghanistan.
Differences between Hazara and other Communities
The major difference between Hazaras and other communities in Afghanistan, such as Pashtuns and Tajiks, is religion. While Hazaras belong to the Shiite religious group, the Pashtuns belong to the Sunni religion. The Hazara uses religion differently as compared to other communities. In one of the novels authored by Khaled Hosseini title The Kite Runner, Pashtuns are portrayed as rich individuals who control the means of production.
They are members of the ruling class while the Hazaras belong to the underprivileged group, which relies on religion for survival. In the novel, the main character, Amir, is a Pashtun who drinks a lot and seems not interested in religious matters. The character is portrayed as a rich individual with a lot of money to waste. The novel captures the exact state of affairs in the country since Sunnis have always had a chance to fulfill their economic and political dreams as opposed to the Hazaras who have always gone through torture and persecution.
Hazaras follow their religious beliefs since they are the only things that they have control over, given the fact that they cannot access wealth easily. In terms of physical appearance, the Hazaras resemble the Chinese or the Mongol meaning that they are Asiatic since they descended from Mongolia.
The hostilities between Pashtuns and the Hazaras started in the thirteenth century when the Mongol Empire conquered the Pashtuns and enslaved them. Afghanistan is one of the states that constituted the Mongol Empire, but the Hazaras are related to the Shiite of Iran, which is an enemy of the Pashtun since time immemorial. Historical conflicts between the Pashtun and the Hazaras have always presented serious challenges to governments and global bodies.
Culturally, the Hazaras differ greatly with other communities in the country. The Pashtun community occupies many parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, meaning that they are the majority in the country. The majority of Pashtuns are nomads meaning that they do not lead a good life as compared to Hazaras who are mainly artisans.
Sunni religious beliefs prohibit its members from consuming alcohol and pork. Hazaras are different since they are liberal to the extent that they allow women to participate in politics and economics. In terms of social organization, the Hazaras differ with other groups in the sense that they allow women to take care of the home once the husband is away. This is different in for Pashtuns who are very strict on matters touching on family life.
Economically, the Pashtuns are a single unit meaning that they encourage the sharing of resources among family members. Hazaras encourage hard work among its members since resource distribution is not based on socialism, but instead, private ownership of property is encouraged (Rubin 10).
Among the Pashtuns, the entire family is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that children are brought up in the best way possible while Hazaras encourage freedom among individuals meaning that each person would determine his or her destiny.
Socially, the Hazaras have a developed social organization whereby education is encouraged among all members of society. Schools are constructed with the help of community members, but they are separate from worshiping places. For Pashtuns and other communities exercising Sunni values, schools are constructed near the worshiping places, and religious leaders are expected to monitor education programs.
Pashtuns do not encourage the mingling of girls and boys. In this regard, separate schools for boys and girls exist. On their part, Hazaras are not strict on this policy since children of the same age can attend similar classes. Unlike the Hazaras, Pashtuns have an established culture with a living code, which is highly valued referred to as the Pashtunwali.
The code suggests that people should help each other in life, and they should respect religious principles. Based on this, the communal members ought to respect family ties and welcome each other. The Hazaras are different since the value individualism. Some analysts believe that this is one of the causes of their persecution since they are never united when compared to the Pashtuns.
Social Structure in Afghanistan
Just like any other society in the world, Afghan society is structured according to classes and the caste system. The majority of social groups are egalitarian, even though some are hierarchically structured. This means that people differ in terms of wealth, which ascribes social status to individuals. Apart from stratification based on wealth, society is also arranged based on religious and ethnic lines.
Only members from the royal family would serve as state senior state officials, such as ministers and ambassadors while the rest were expected to obey the authority since the political leaders were both temporal and civic leaders. In the mid 20th century, those who occupied the higher classes were the Persian speaking Afghans who were mostly found in the urban areas. Those who practiced Shiite and Ismaeli religious principles were considered to be from the lowest class.
The Hazaras were included in this social class since their religion was perceived to be of low quality. The Pashtuns held many positions of influence at the provincial level, meaning that they controlled all sorts of political and social life. Unfortunately, the local leaders never served the locals since they were indifferent to the sufferings of the majority (Monty 78). Their major aim was to fulfill their selfish interests through the persecution of the minorities and mass grabbing of communal resources.
The richest property owners controlled local communities while the village headmen were in charge of conflict resolution. The Sayyeds were thought to be descendants of Prophet Mohammad since they belonged to the prophet’s daughter. This category of individuals was respected so much, and they played a critical role as far as conflict resolution is concerned.
In Afghan society, it is expected that members from the lower class would give their daughters to the richer classes because only the rich could afford a lavish wedding ceremony. The community discourages the wearing of western clothes, which distinguished the urban people from the locals.
Persecution of the Hazara People
Communities allied to the Sunni religious principles are to blame for the persecution of the Hazaras in Afghanistan. Communities belonging to Sunni are the majority while the Shi’a, which is predominantly Hazaras, is the minority. In the late 19th century, under the leadership of Amir Abdul Rahman, a holy war referred to as Jihad, was declared to all communities that never subscribed to the Sunni religious principles.
Such communities were to be denied their social, economic, and political rights, which would lead to untold suffering and anguish. This would force such communities to conform to the perceived major Islamic values. This persecution never distracted the attention of the Hazaras towards their religion. The community resisted an attempt by the Afghanistan leader to force all communities to convert to Sunni religion. The government sent the Pashtun tribes, which were mainly Sunni, to fight the Hazaras in the central highlands.
Consequently, the majority of Hazaras were slaughtered, particularly men, leaving the community with unable population to spur economic and social development. The Hazara women and children were enslaved since they did not have anyone to protect them from the Pashtun brutality.
The land that was previously occupied by the Hazaras was taken away, including everything in the farms, such as animals and produce. The government engaged in a campaign to attract other Sunni communities, such as Uzbeks and Tajiks, to rebel against the Hazaras. Some Hazaras managed to escape to the northern parts, but a majority of them was killed brutally — some preferred seeking refuge in the British controlled areas of India. Uzbeks participated in the elimination of the Hazaras in Bamian.
President Rahman accomplished his mission of destroying the religious establishments of the Hazaras, but their faith was intact, meaning they were unwilling to surrender their religious values in favor of the Sunni religious values. His persecution process was systematic since it aimed at weakening the community economically, politically, culturally, and socially. He ordered his militias to conduct raids on women and issue unwarranted taxes to the innocent Hazaras.
In this regard, massacres, looting of property, pillaging of homes, and turning Hazara children into slaves were the order of the day. The Shi’a Mullahs, which were the worshiping place, were destroyed and were replaced with the Sunni shrines. With the help of the government under the leadership of Rahman, at least six percent of the Hazaras was wiped out while other communities occupied the Hazarajat, as the Shi’a sought refuge in another part, including the neighboring countries of Pakistan and Iran.
Even after the leadership of the Rahman, the persecution of the Hazaras went on through the century (Merry 16). In 1929, the state officials came up with an ethnic cleansing program whereby all Sunnis were supposed to obtain identification to pave the way for the elimination of the remaining Shi’a.
A number of the Hazara had no option, but to conceal identify to obtain identification. The pasteurization program would ensure that all Hazaras were eliminated. Some of the Sunni preachers would encourage believers to eliminate Sh’as since it would be a gate pass to paradise.
The plight of the Hazaras
Hazaras have never lost hope in fighting for their survival politically since they established a political party in 1988 referred to as Hizb-e Wahdat, meaning the Party of Unity. Their regions had not roads, clinics, or even schools, implying that the government never considered them as legitimate members of the state. With Mujahedeen quitting power as president in 1992, the community was in conflicts with the government since the new head of state, Burhanuddin Rabbani ordered for their persecution.
The attack in innocent civilians led to several deaths, which attracted the attention of the international humanitarian bodies, such as Amnesty International and the United Nations. Amnesty International reported that the government-led militias killed innocent, unarmed individuals, as well as rapping Hazara women. Through his chief commander, the president ordered for the murder of Hazaras in western parts of Kabul.
The plight of the Hazaras changed in 1993 onwards when Abdul Ali Mazari represented the community at the international level to speak out about their situation. The international community noted the situation and promised to take action against any group that would participate in the persecution of the Hazara people (Mousavi 23). The leader brought all Hazaras together by encouraging them to work as a group towards the realization of their political and economic ambitions.
In the same year, the leader participated in the signing of the treaty with the Taliban government; things turned sour in 1995 when he was brutally eliminated. The Party of Unity joined hands with other forces fighting the Taliban government in 1995 to force the government to listen to their pleas. The coalition party was able to force the government to open up schools and other institutions of higher learning, including the Bamian University.
The peace enjoyed by the Hazara Shi’a was short lived since the Taliban declared Jihad on all non-Sunni religious groups upon seizure of power in 1995. It is claimed that the Shi’a faced severe persecution in the years that followed since there were mass killings in some parts of the north.
This forced the Shi’a to re-strategize on how to capture power since they could no longer tolerate the living conditions that existed (Weiers 110). In 2001, they captured power, with the assistance of foreign powers. The community still faces several challenges, even after capturing power in 2001. The condition of the Hazaras has always been improving since they captured power in 2001.
The constitution was ratified to ensure that their status is recognized. The leader of their party was given the position of the vice-president in Karzai’s government. In the recently concluded elections, the Hazaras gained twenty-five seats, which is a good number given the fact that they simply constitute nine percent of the population. Even though Hazaras are performing superbly politically, their social and economic performance in the country is dismal since they are still perceived as the lowly ranked community.
Recently, the community has been complaining of the rising number of militias and warlords since such illegal groups pose a serious threat to its existence, given the fact that illegitimate groups are made up of Sunnis. The community has clashed with nomadic Kuchis mainly because of the land issue, which has raised ethnic tension meaning that the community is sitting on the time bomb.
Victimization in Pakistan
In Pakistan, the condition of the Hazaras is critical since they are attacked each day since the collapse of the Taliban government in 2001. They are the victims of persecution following the ousting of the illegitimate government. They are believed to be the western accomplices, which has continuously exposed them to maltreatment from their Sunni counterparts in Pakistan. Since then, at least two-thousand Hazara men, women, and even children have perished and over one-thousand have been injured in Quetta region.
In Pakistan, the Sunni led militia group referred to as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is accused of the killings. As already mentioned in the history section, Hazaras found themselves in Pakistan in the 19th century following the aggressive policy of Rahman Khan who aimed at eliminating the community systemically. Some of the Hazaras ran to India, which was under the British and ended up in Pakistan owing to the unfavorable environment in India.
The Pakistani Sunnis attack the Shiites, who are mostly the Hazaras because of their Mongoloid features. The killing of the Hazaras started in the 1980s when the president of Pakistan supported an attempt by the Afghan government to wipe out the Shi’a. Zia ul-Haq was trying to legitimize his dictatorial rule by showing his supporters that he was willing to do everything to strengthen their life chances.
Moreover, the country had sufficient weapons delivered by the Soviet Union following the Afghanistan invasion. Recently, the Sunnis are encouraged by the Al-Qaeda ideology to fight the Shiites since they consider them enemies given the fact that they supported the American government in flushing out the members of the terrorist group (Rosenberg 2382).
Attacks on Shiite are mainly witnessed in Quetta, which is the capital city of Pakistan. The city is found in the province of Balochistan. The province borders Afghanistan, which is the center of tribal strife between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras. Since the 2001 attack on the Taliban, the extremist militant group in Pakistan referred to as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, (LeJ) has always issued open threats to the Hazaras through new paper adverts and other forms of advertisements.
The Taliban related militia group perceives the Hazaras as the worst enemies; hence, they deserve death. On their part, the Hazaras are of the view that the militia group does not operate in isolation, but instead has the support of the government forces, which is always against the presence of the western troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Many human rights organizations are concerned with the continued persecution of the Hazaras in the province, but the government of Pakistan is reluctant to intervene, which suggests that it might be helping terrorists in conducting their heinous acts.
In 2001, at least six people succumbed to injuries while five were seriously wounded when the Sunni related terrorists attacked a bus ferrying Hazaras from Hazara town to Alamdar road. LeJ terrorist group claimed responsibility, but the Pakistani government did nothing to prevent the occurrence of a similar incident in the future.
In 3003, the Sunni-led militia group attacked worshipers on Friday in Quetta, killing at least fifty-five while injuring one-fifty. The government never took any action. These attacks have been ongoing until the recent one on 16 February 2013, which killed seventy-three people and injured an approximated one-hundred and eighty when a bomb was hauled on innocent people in a busy market. Even though the LeJ claimed responsibility, the government of Pakistan is yet to arrest the perpetrators.
Appeal to the United Nations
The Hazaras have suffered so much in the Middle East due to their continued conflicts with the Sunni affiliated Muslims. The United Nations has always tried to protect the minorities in Afghanistan, but the efforts put in place are not enough since the killings have been ongoing, even after the ratification of the UN Security Council regulations. The Security Council started protecting the rights of the minorities in this country by admitting it to the United Nations in 1946.
In 1988, the Security Council authorized the deployment of forces to save lives in the country, but the troops were insufficient. In 1996, the Security Council banned the supply of weapons to the country and forced the government to grant women their rights. In 2001, the council authorized the deployment of forces to protect lives and restore democracy, but the lives of Hazaras are still in danger. In this regard, the United Nations should take an affirming action to ensure that Hazaras are safe in the region.
For instance, those leaders found guilty of perpetuating violence against the Hazaras should face charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The United Nations should champion for the establishment of the stable constitution in the country to look into the welfare of the Hazaras, who have suffered so much.
Moreover, the commission of inquiry should be set up, chaired by a well-known judge establish the real causes of hostilities between the two religious groups. It is true that the two conflicting communities belong to a similar religious group, which is Islam, but they keep on killing each other.
Works Cited
Merry, Sally. Human Rights and Gender Violence: Translating International Law into Local Justice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. Print.
Monsutti, Alessandro. War and migration: Social networks and economic strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print.
Mousavi, Sayed Askar. The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study. Richmond, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. Print.
Mousavi, Syed. The Hazaras of Afghanistan. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997. Print.
Ratchnevsky, Paul. Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991. Print.
Rosenberg, Noah.”Genetic Structure of Human Populations”. Science New Series, 298.5602(2002): 2381–2385.
Rubin, Barnett. The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the international system. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. Print.
Weiers, Michael. The Mongolic Languages. London: Routledge.
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