I have decided to launch This is Afghanistan, a corner of Blingistan dedicated to an online loya jirga, an e-majlis if you will, to discuss, connect and amplify voices of Afghan people, at home and abroad. There is no one way to be Afghan: for the marginalised and proud, let's celebrate our nuances goddamnit: This is Afghanistan. 

The purpose of This is Afghanistan is not just to unite Afghans, and celebrate our homeland, but also to create solidarity with the entire global south + global oppressed proletariat. There are so many overlaps between the Afghan people's struggle and other groups of people, and we are not free until we are all free- we are stronger together!

loya jirga translates to "grand assembly" in Pashto, jirga's are part of Pashtunwali, the code of laws used by the Pashtun people of Afghanistan. Majlis means "council" in Dari. Instead of calling this a "blog", which I find to be a frivolous term used to share cooking recipes, I am calling this an online loya jirga, or e-majlis, because even if it's clunky, it's also cheeky and decolonial. 

If a word is in italics, it is also translated at the bottom of the post.

 

To contribute/contact email us at:
 amplifymyvoiceblingistan@gmail.com  
To access the Google Drive, a 'One Stop Shop' on all things Afghanistan click here.

  

Click on a post title to access.