Why Does Afghanistan Need a Cultural Revolution?
Author: Muhibullah Nuri, former head of policy at the National Security Council of Afghanistan, member of the Advisory Board of “Sangar”
The presented images relate to the celebration of Nowruz with the participation of Central Asian countries in Washington, D.C. — a place where even American citizens welcomed the expressions of this cultural heritage with surprise and enthusiasm.
The headwear that my friend and I wore is a handmade craft and a shared symbol of Bukhara’s cultural heritage, which is still widely распространён among Tajiks and Uzbeks on both sides of the Amu Darya and is part of the living cultural memory of this region.
The painting shown in the image depicts a landscape on both sides of the Panj/Amu Darya River in the “Mah-Mai” area of Afghanistan and Darvoz in Tajikistan; it is a work by Safarshah, a distinguished Tajik artist residing in the United States, created during his recent trip to Tajikistan.
It is enough to compare the cultural and artistic richness on both sides of this river to understand the depth of the need for a cultural revolution in Afghanistan. While the region and the world host and celebrate our cultural heritage in their capitals, unfortunately, the roots of this rich culture in its own homeland are being weakened and destroyed.
On this side of the Amu Darya, an incident recently occurred that clearly demonstrates this crisis. Nida Mohammad Nadim, the acting Minister of Higher Education of the Taliban, committed an act completely inconsistent with the status of an education official: he insulted and beat a Kabul University student, Yaquboglu, simply for wearing an Uzbek skullcap. According to the student, the Taliban minister violently threw his headwear — a symbol of his cultural identity — to the ground and then slapped him in the face.
This incident reveals a bitter and alarming reality: the fundamental problem of Afghanistan is not only political and not only rooted in ethnic, linguistic, or religious differences; alongside economic poverty, it stems from cultural poverty and deep cultural backwardness. This level of backwardness has reached a point where a person is subjected to humiliation and violence because of their clothing.
It is evident that someone who cannot tolerate and accept cultural diversity is not fit to govern a civil and multicultural society such as Kabul. Such a person is far better suited to remain within the narrow circle of their village or tribe than to rule over a society with a developed and diverse civilizational structure.
Such behavior should not be viewed merely as an individual incident or an isolated case; rather, it must be understood as a symbol of an assault on human dignity and a struggle against cultural diversity. What is taking place is part of a broader process of forced homogenization and the elimination of diverse identities, which has taken root across various layers of social life.
While on the other side of the Amu Darya, culture and art are on a path of flourishing, on this side, the signs of cultural decline and decay are clearly visible. The recent incident at Kabul University is only one example of the harsh face of fanaticism and opposition to pluralism that has affected the cultural environment on this side of the Amu Darya.
Today we are faced with a chain of anti-cultural policies and actions: from hostility toward education and the closing of schools for girls, to the restriction of academic institutions and their transformation into tools for promoting extremism; from banning music and silencing the voice of art, to the gradual removal of the Persian language from public and administrative spaces; as well as the destruction of cultural symbols, including the monument to Amir Alisher Navoi in Balkh. Even traditional clothing and ancient celebrations such as Nowruz have not been spared from this policy of exclusion.
To overcome this historical deadlock, Afghanistan more than ever needs a cultural revolution — a revolution not of violence, but one based on awareness, reflection, and the redefinition of social values. The reality is that war, extremism, and ethnic nationalism have rendered the deep intellectual and cultural layers of our society vulnerable.
We need a transition from exclusionary cultures to a culture of pluralism — a culture in which the Uzbek skullcap, the Pashtun lungi, Hazara traditional clothing, the Persian language, and other elements of identity are interwoven like the threads of a single carpet called national identity.
At the same time, confronting “cultural terrorism” is an unavoidable necessity so that art and music can once again regain their place as means of softening the collective spirit of society. Liberation from “sacred ignorance” and the restoration of women’s human dignity are also prerequisites for any real development and progress.
A cultural revolution in Afghanistan, in essence, means an intellectual renaissance. As long as, in the mindset of an official, slapping a student because of his cultural identity is perceived as justified or even heroic, this country will not see peace and stability.
We need a fundamental transformation — one in which respect for differences replaces the struggle against identities, and human dignity once again becomes the central pillar of social order.
