Today, a more appropriate name for Afghanistan would be the "Graveyard of Rights." In recent years, as the Taliban reasserted its control over the country, the extremist Muslim leadership have imposed restriction after restriction upon women and girls. The Taliban first limited the educational and employment opportunities for women. It then sought to limit their voice, imposing oppressive restrictions upon women raising their voice in public. The restrictions even prohibit women from signing or laughing in public. The Taliban are literally oppressing the voice of women and girls.
Hence, the challenge. Typically, I spend time researching the post, delving not only into cooking, but the cuisine and culture of those who prepare the food. I could write a post about the Pashtun people, who constitute a plurality of "Afghans," and their cuisine. I could also write about the other "Afghans" -- such as the Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Aimaks, Turkmen, Balochs, Nuristanis and Pamiris -- and their cuisine. But, how can I ignore the plight of women in Afghanistan, a plight that crosses ethnic lines.
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| Afghan women (Source: Wikipedia) |
The answer is that I don't. This post will feature a challenge to prepare a main course of Afghan cuisine, but I will do so while explaining the plight of women, contrasted with their undeniable contribution to Afghan society and their unquestionable right to be free from arbitrary and capricious legal restrictions.
I want the women of my country to know that they are equal to men in the eyes of religion, of civil laws, and humanity. God created them equal."
-- Lina Rozbih, Journalist and Poet
Unlike most of the empires that passed through, the United States engaged in nation building, with a focus on establishing governmental institutions. In 2004, Afghanistan adopted a new constitution. A product of 500 delegates representing Afghan men and women who met at the Constitutional Loya Jira, Article Twenty-Two declares "[a]ny kind of discrimination and distinction between citizens of Afghanistan shall be forbidden. The article further provides, "[t]he citizens of Afghanistan, man and woman, shall have equal rights and duties under the law.
During the twenty or so years that the United States worked in Afghanistan, opportunities opened for women. Indeed, at the time the Constitution was adopted, women constituted twenty-seven percent (27%) of the lower legislative house (compared to women constituting only 25% of the U.S. House of Representatives). Those women, along with their male counterparts, enacted laws prohibiting a range of crimes against women, including domestic violence and forced marriage, as well as established other prohibitions, such as preventing women or girls from going to school or preventing women to own property.
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| Female students (Source: United Nations) |
By 2020, women made substantial strides in Afghanistan. Over three million girls attend school, and, at the university level, girls are 25% of the students. The literacy rate had tripled for women (although even with that progress, it was only 30%). Women were 19% of the doctors, 40% of the nurses, 35% of the public school teachers, 27% of the government employees, 12% of judges, 10% of attorneys and 20% of provincial council members. Considering that women had been persecuted for years and decades prior to 2001, the gains over the two decades marked considerable progress.
"Because of the Taliban, Afghanistan has become a jail for women. We haven't got any human rights. We haven't got the right to go outside, to go to work, to look after our children."
-- Faranos Nazir, 34 year old woman in Kabul
In 2021, the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, creating a power vacuum that the Taliban quickly filled with the Second Islamic Emirate. Much like the First Islamic Emirate, which was the Taliban's rule between 1996 and 2001, the government moved quickly to strip women of not only the progress they made over the previous two decades, but also of their fundamental rights. The damage is substantial. The Taliban have banned girls from attending secondary school (that is, up to Grade 7), thereby significantly limiting their educational opportunities. For those women attending universities, the Taliban has imposed numerous restrictions upon them and their education. The government first banned women from pursuing certain degrees, such as agriculture, mining, civil engineering and journalism. Thereafter, the Taliban banned women from universities altogether.
The loss of rights extends beyond the educational system, it includes stripping women of their legal rights. The Taliban went so far as to invalidate thousands of divorces that had been decreed between 2001 and 2020. It dissolved the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, but established a female moral police department.
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| Afghan women after 2021. (Source: United Nations) |
The Taliban also stripped women of employment opportunities, ordering women to stay home rather than go to work. It also banned women from many occupations in the legal system, government, and private sector.
Finally, the Taliban issued a series of decrees that greatly restricted the movement of women outside of their homes. Indeed, women cannot leave their home without a mahram, which is a close relative. Even if a woman went out on her own, the Taliban imposed rules prohibiting many -- from health centers to coffee shops -- from providing goods and services to them.
MAIN COURSE
For this particular challenge, I wanted to focus on a particular ingredient ... the tomato. While the tomato may be native to South America, it has its place in Afghan cuisine. This main course -- Kofta Challow -- features lamb or beef meatballs cooked in an onion-spiked tomato sauce.
KOFTA CHALLOW
Recipe adapted from Afghan Yummy Food
Serves 4
Ingredients (for the rice):
- 3 cups basmati rice
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 2 cups coriander (cilantro), minced
- 1 green pepper, minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 onions minced
- 1 pound ground beef or veal
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 cup tomato sauce
Directions:
1. Prepare the rice. Rinse the rice and set aside for a few hours before cooking. Boil water in a pot. Add the rice and boil for a few minutes or until the rice is soft and long. Drain the water from the rice.
2. Continue preparing the rice. Heat a pan on high heat and add vegetable oil, boiled rice, salt dissolved in warm water and the spices. Mix well. Make holes with the back of the spatula. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel and place it on the pot. Cook on low heat for at least 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Prepare the meatballs. Add coriander, green pepper, one onion, garlic and mince in a food processor. In a big bowl, add the meat and spices. In a large saucepan, add the oil and heat on high heat. Add the second onion (minced), and sauté. Add the tomato sauce. Add water and leave on high heat until it comes to a boil. Make small balls form the meat mixture and add to the sauce. Leave it on low for 30 minutes to cook.
4. Finish the dish. Serve with basmati rice or naan bread.
SIDE DISH
The tomato sauce continues onto the side dish, Banjan Salat. This dish is a simple one, consisting of eggplant, tomato sauce, and some spices. It is also different in terms of presentation insofar as it is served either at room temperature or cold. As I am not a very big fan of eggplant, I was a little apprehensive about a cold dish. I did like the spiced tomato sauce, but I still need to work on my liking of eggplant.
BONJUN SALAT
Recipe from Recipeland
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 3 medium eggplants
- 2.5 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup corn oil
- 1.5 cups tomato sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or minced fresh chiles
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon mint leaves
Directions:
1. Prepare the eggplant. Slice the eggplants crosswise into 1.5 inch thick pieces. Sprinkle them with 2 teaspoons of coarse salt and let stand for 15 minutes. Rinse the eggplants under cold water, which removes the bitter taste. Rinse and dry well on a towel.
2. Brown the eggplants. Heat the oil in a skillet and lightly brown the eggplant slices over moderate heat for 5 minutes. Remove and put in a serving bowl to cool.
3. Prepare the sauce. Put the tomato sauce, pepper, chile, cinnamon, mint and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a pan. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, which is long enough to integrate the flavors.
4. Finish the dish. Pour the sauce over the eggplant, refrigerate until ready to use. The salad can remain in the refrigerator for several days. Serve cold or at room temperature.
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In doing a challenge to prepare a main course from Afghanistan, it is impossible to ignore the plight of women in that country. Extremist religions of every kind often subordinate (or subjugate) women, depriving them of important and necessary opportunities to learn and seek better lives. The Taliban is depriving women of their fundamental rights, as well as denying the undeniable: namely, women have a lot to contribute to the political, economic and social success of Afghanistan. While I think I succeeded in making Kofta Challow, my mind will always look to a possible future where women could once again contribute to the future of the country.
PEACE.
