Afghanistan's new beginning.After 26 years of war--and 2 years after the U.S. overthrew the repressive Taliban government--Afghanistan finally has a democratic constitution. On January 4, members of the country's loya jirga Noun 1. Loya Jirga - a grand council or grand assembly used to resolve political conflicts or other national problems; "he convened a Loya Jirga that persuaded tribal leaders to acquiesce" , or grand council, approved the constitution. And so began a new phase in the history of this embattled em·bat·tled adj. 1. Prepared or fortified for battle or engaged in battle: embattled troops; an embattled city. 2. Central Asian country Noun 1. Asian country - any one of the nations occupying the Asian continent Asian nation country, land, state - the territory occupied by a nation; "he returned to the land of his birth"; "he visited several European countries" . The renamed Islamic Republic An Islamic republic, in its modern context, has come to mean several different things, some contradictory to others. Theoretically, to many religious leaders, it is a state under a particular theocratic form of government advocated by some Muslim religious leaders in the Middle of Afghanistan will have an elected President and a national assembly with two houses: the Wolesi Jirga or "house of people," and the Meshrano Jirga or "house of elders
The House of Elders, also natively known as the Jaargah e Buzurgan is the upper house of the bicameral National Assembly of Afghanistan, alongside the Jaargah e Mardumi ("people's assembly" or ." Presidential elections could be held as early as this summer. The process of approval was not easy. For nearly three weeks, 502 men and women met in a huge white tent in Kabul, the capital, to make speeches, argue, and debate. In the end, the delegates accepted the many necessary compromises. "It is a constitution of all the country," interim President Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (Persian and Pashto: حامد کرزي) (b. December 24, 1957) is the current President of Afghanistan, since December 7, 2004. He became the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime. said to the delegates. "None of you is the loser; none of you is the winner." The new constitution safeguards the rights of Afghanistan's ethnic minorities and of women, who are guaranteed 25 percent of the seats in the Wolesi Jirga. The government still faces ethnic division and many challenges from tribal warlords Warlords may refer to:
OBJECTIVE Students should understand * Afghanistan's ruling council recently approved a new national constitution. THINKING SKILLS MAKING INFERENCES: What did Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai mean when he told the Afghan constitutional delegates, "None of you is the loser; none of you is the winner"? (President Karzai's comment emphasized how the new constitution protected the rights and freedoms of all Afghans--and was not a victory of one group over another. The comment was praise for the spirit of cooperation among the 502 Afghan delegates who drafted the new constitution.) ACTIVITY AFGHANISTAN: Have students follow the developments in the newly formed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Students should refer to newspapers, magazines, and the Internet to keep track of any news items concerning Afghanistan. STANDARDS SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8 * Power, authority, and governance: How President Bush's proposal to reform U.S. immigration policy An immigration policy is any policy of a state that affects the transit of persons across its borders, but especially those that intend to work and to remain in the country. could affect the nation. * People, places, and environment: How political social, and religious factions united to draft a national constitution for Afghanistan. RESOURCES * Daniels, Roger, Guarding the Golden Door (Hill & Wang, 2004). Grades 7-8. * Banting, Erinn, Afghanistan--The Culture (Crabtree Publishing, 2003). Grades 7-8. WEB SITES * U.S. Citizenship and Immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. Services http://uscis.gov/graphics/ index.htm * Afghanistan www.odci.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/geos/af.html |
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