AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  

THE DISCRIMINATIONS TOWARD HAZARA PEOPLE

AS SEEN IN KHALED HOSSEINI’S THE KITE RUNNER

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

  

By

WIDYA RANI HAPSARI

  Student Number: 044214027

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2008

  

THE DISCRIMINATIONS TOWARD HAZARA PEOPLE

AS SEEN IN KHALED HOSSEINI’S THE KITE RUNNER

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

  

By

WIDYA RANI HAPSARI

  Student Number: 044214027

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2008

  i A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

  

THE DISCRIMINATIONS TOWARD HAZARA PEOPLE AS

SEEN IN KHALED HOSSEINI’S THE KITE RUNNER

By

WIDYA RANI HAPSARI

  Student Number: 044214027 Approved by

  Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S., M.Ed. November 27, 2008 Advisor Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. November 27, 2008 Co-Advisor ii

  A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

  

THE DISCRIMINATIONS TOWARD HAZARA PEOPLE AS

SEEN IN KHALED HOSSEINI’S THE KITE RUNNER

  By

  

WIDYA RANI HAPSARI

  Student Number: 044214027 Defended before the Board of Examiners

  On October 29, 2008 And Declared Acceptable

  

BOARD OF EXAMINERS

Name Signature

  Chairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A. _________________ Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. _________________ Member : Adventina Putranti, S.S. _________________ Member : Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S., M.Ed. _________________ Member : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. _________________ Yogyakarta, October 29, 2008.

  Faculty of Letters Sanata Dharma University

  Dean Dr. I. Praptomo Baryadi, M.Hum.

  

Because things will hasten while you are waiting… Hyde v

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  This thesis is my biggest work as student of the Department od English Letters. First and foremost, I would like to thank Allah Ya Rahman for giving me this wonderful opportunity to be a scholar. Alhamdulillah, finally this is done.

  I almost did not make this thesis in time. I could not manage my time well and I almost failed to fight against myself. I would like to thank Maria Ananta Tri Suryandari, S.S, M.Ed., my advisor. I will remember the ‘time management’ thing she said. I thank her for the spare time though she is really a busy bee. Then I would like to thank my co-advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. I thank him for the correction of my thesis.

  My deepest gratitude for my mom, Hj. Christianti T. Rimba, S.H. and dad, Sugeng Widodo, S.H., M.M., they are my best sponsors in life; I thank both of them for everything (I could not ask for better parents). I thank them so much for trusting me in every choice in my life. I also would like to thank my sister, Weningtyas Rah Hutami, and my brother Permadi Sinung Dewanto.

  And then to the person I always adore, Yudha Wastu Jagratara. I really appreciate his support and attention during the hardest time in making this thesis.

  I thank him for his patience and understanding in every single thing.

  I would like to say tons of thanks to my beloved friends. Adisty Herliningtyas, S.S., Ephifania Sheilla Paramita, S.S., and Fransiska Dewi Hastuti, I thank them all for the lovely friendship we share in college. And the next one would be to Dewi Wening Dwi Andari, my partner in leisure, I must have gone mad without her jokes. My classmates of 2004, thanks for all semesters we vi shared together. Then to Yason Hendro, I thank him very much for the discussion and correction.

  Last but not least, I would like to thank all of English Letters’ lecturers and staffs at the secretariat. It is impossible to do this without their help. Thank you very much for the last four years.

  There are many people who support me but it is impossible for me to mention all the names here, but I thank them all very much.

WIDYA RANI HAPSARI

  vii

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................i

APPROVAL PAGE ........................................................................................ii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE...................................................................................iii

MOTTO PAGE ...............................................................................................iv

DEDICATION PAGE ...................................................................................v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..........................................................................vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................viii

ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................x

ABSTRAK ......................................................................................................xi

  

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .................................................................1

A. Background of the Study .....................................................................1 B. Problem Formulation ...........................................................................4 C. Objectives of the Study ........................................................................5 D. Definition of Terms ..............................................................................5

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ................................................7

A. Review of Related Studies ...................................................................7 B. Review of Related Theories .................................................................9

  1. Theory on Character and Characterization .................................9

  2. Review on Racial Discrimination ...............................................11

  3. Review on Minority ....................................................................13

  4. Review on the Situation of Afghanistan ......................................16

  5. Review on the Hazaras in Afghanistan ........................................19

  C. Theoretical Framework ........................................................................24

  

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY .............................................................26

A. Object of the Study ..............................................................................26 B. Approach of the Study .........................................................................28 C. Method of the Study .............................................................................29

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ..........................................................................31

A. The Characteristics of the Hazaras in The Kite Runner .......................32

  1. The Hazaras as the Outsiders ..........................................................32

  2. The Hazaras as the Lowest Class in the Society.............................38

  3. The Hazaras as the Oppressed People with Minority Status .........42

  B. The Discriminations .............................................................................52

  

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION .....................................................................65

  viii

  

BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................68

APPENDICES ..................................................................................................70

Appendix 1: Summary of The Kite Runner ......................................70 Appendix 2: Pictures of The Hazaras and the Pashtuns .................73

  ix

  

ABSTRACT

  WIDYA RANI HAPSARI. The Discriminations Toward Hazara People as

  

Seen in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Yogyakarta: Department of

English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.

  This study discusses a novel written by an Afghan author named Khaled Hosseini entitled The Kite Runner. This novel tells about the discriminations toward the Hazara people in Afghanistan which has been happening for generations.

  There are two questions in this thesis, namely: 1) How are the Hazaras characterized in The Kite Runner? 2) How do the characteristics of the Hazaras represent the discriminations in Afghanistan?

  To solve the first problem, some literary reviews concerning the theory of character and characterization are conducted to find out the characters’ characterization. To solve the second problem, two theories are used, which are the theory of minority and discrimination. Theory of minority is used to analyze the characters’ characterization who were born with the identity of the Hazara and as a result became the oppressed minority. And the theory of discrimination is used to analyze the discrimination that happens in the characters’ life.

  The results of the study show that the Hazaras in Afghanistan are characterized as the outsiders, the lowest class in the society, and the oppressed people with minority status who face the discriminations. Their physical appearance and religion make them face the unfair situation in life. They are unwanted and abandoned. On top of things, they are the minority in Afghanistan society. This makes them deal with inhuman treatments from other Afghans. The discriminations happened because of their identity as Hazara people. The Hazara characters in this story are the examples of the discriminations that happen for generations. The Hazaras also become the objects of massacre by the Taliban. The results of this study give the readers information about the fact that happens in Afghanistan for a long period of time. At the end of the results, discriminations are still believed as the never ending social problem in Afghanistan. x

  

ABSTRAK

  WIDYA RANI HAPSARI. The Discriminations Toward Hazara People as

  

Seen in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra

Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2008.

  Skripsi ini membahas tentang sebuah novel karya seorang penulis Afghanistan bernama Khaled Hosseini yang berjudul The Kite Runner. Novel ini menceritakan tentang diskriminasi terhadap kaum Hazara di Afghanistan yang terjadi dari generasi ke generasi.

  Ada dua pertanyaan yang terdapat dalam skripsi ini. Pertanyaan yang pertama adalah 1) Bagaimanakah kaum Hazara dikarakterisasikan dalam The Kite

  

Runner ? 2) Bagaimanakah karakteristik kaum Hazara mewakili diskriminasi

  yang terjadi di Afghanistan? Untuk memecahkan masalah yang pertama, beberapa telaah referensi yang berkaitan dengan teori karakter dan karakterisasi dilakukan untuk menemukan karakterisasi tokoh tersebut. Untuk memecahkan masalah yang kedua, digunakan dua teori yaitu teori minoritas dan teori diskriminasi. Teori minoritas digunakan untuk menganalisa karakterisasi tokoh yang terlahir dengan identitas sebagai Hazara sehingga hal tersebut membuat mereka menjadi kelompok yang tertindas. Sedangkan teori diskriminasi digunakan untuk menganalisa diskriminasi yang terjadi dalam kehidupan tokoh tersebut.

  Hasil-hasil dari telaah penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa kaum Hazara di Afghanistan dikarakterisasikan sebagai masyarakat terbuang, masyarakat dengan kelas social terendah di masyarakat, dan masyarakat yang tertindas dan mengalami diskriminasi. Keadaan fisik dan agama membuat mereka menghadapi situasi yang tidak adil. Mereka tidak diinginkan dan terbuang. Selanjutnya mereka menjadi kaum minoritas dalam masyarakat Afghanistan. Hal tersebut membuat mereka mengalami perlakuan tidak manusiawi dari warga Afghanistan lainnya. Diskriminasi yang terjadi disebabkan oleh identitas mereka sebagai Hazara. Tokoh-tokoh Hazara dalam cerita ini adalah contoh dari diskriminasi yang berlangsung dari generasi ke generasi. Kaum Hazara juga menjadi objek pembunuhan masal oleh Taliban. Hasil hasil dari telaah penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memberikan informasi kepada pembaca tentang fakta yang terjadi sekian lama di Afghanistan. Pada akhirnya, diskriminasi masih dianggap sebagai masalah sosial yang tidak ada akhirnya. xi

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study In life, human beings experience many things in every moment. As

  creatures that have complete feelings – emotion, happiness, anger, sadness, and many more – they deal with those as one long episode. Sometimes these emotions are captured in aim to have something memorable. They can be childhood memories, the realities surrounding them, or even imaginations. To make them memorable, people need mediums for those things; a medium that can represent all the manifestations in their life.

  Literature is one medium to capture those experiences. We can say that literature is the imitation of human life as it captured the image and represent the feelings. John Dryden supported this in his book entitled Selected Criticism; he says that “Literature is lively image of human nature, representing passions and humors, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind” (1970: 36).

  The literary work – novels, plays, poems, etc. – is a printed evidence of human life that will be retold in the future. The story that appeals in the literary work can tell about human things. It is stated in Theory of Literature by Wellek and Warren. They say that:

  Literature is the reflection of human feeling toward his life. It is closely related to human experience through which we can learn the image of human beings that is expressed in the written way. It can also be defined as the work of arts that represents human life (1959: 94).

  1

  2 People who read literary work can get some lessons and better understanding about life from it.

  In literature, the elements inside (intrinsic) and outside (extrinsic) are both related to human beings’ experiences in life. Literature contained such feelings and even describe about social, cultural, historical, and political life. If we talk about social life, there are so many problems related to it. Human beings are social creatures and living in complex circumstances is one thing that they can not avoid. This because life is never flat; it deals with many problems and human beings are in it.

  Living in a world with diversity for human beings can be both easy and difficult. The world is one big land in which many of its people come from different backgrounds, nationalities, races, religions, languages, even tribes. One thing that we should remember, people are created different from one another.

  For several countries, those differences do not really matter in the social life. On the contrary, there are many countries that still cannot deal with those things, especially where the social structure is set by the previous society.

  In a society with strict structure, differences are mostly not well accepted. There are some states in the Middle East that still hold that common belief. As we all know, the Middle East inherits the ancient culture of Arab origin which is closely related to strict social structure. An important point about them is that even in areas that historically share the same culture, religion, and tribe, racial discrimination is still occurs. Afghanistan is one good example of a country in the Middle East with strict social structure and its practice on racial discrimination.

  3 After the 9/11 tragedy, negative propaganda is subjected to Afghanistan.

  It is seen as the homeland of the terrorists. Despite Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, the world’s view toward Afghanistan seems very impossible to be changed. Afghanistan has historically been marked by a strong society and weak state. According to William Malley and Amin Saikal in their book Regime

  

Change in Afghanistan: Foreign Intervention and the Politics of Legitimacy , they

  say that the strength of Afghanistan society has come from its web-like character, in which multiple, largely autonomous, social units, most importantly tribes and their subdivisions, have retained their identity within a political unit in the face of bureaucratic-administrative accretions within their territories (1991: 13).

  In the modern world that we live in now, racial discrimination is one serious problem in society. It is important to note that, racial discrimination can occur in many countries. It is the people who create the boundaries. They limit themselves in a limited group – exclusively made by the majority – to make a comfortable situation for them to live. Usually, people from the same race are gathered in the same society. They shared same ideas, same culture, and same faith. They believed that they will feel secure if they live with people who physically and culturally have similarities with them.

  This is also what happened in Afghanistan. Four ethnic groups – Pashtun, Uzbek, Tajik, and Hazaras – that inhabit there, the gap between the majority tribe and the minority is pretty significant. Pashtun is the majority tribe; they are big in number and also the gap creator among the other tribes. The gap is factually

  4 notable. This discrimination in Afghanistan also causes two other domino effects of civil wars and poverty.

  Many Afghan nationalists who struggle for the peace in their country have tried to tell the world about this fact in many ways. One of that is through literature. An Afghan author named Khaled Hosseini is one of those who successfully captured the real situation in Afghanistan. Racial discrimination toward the Hazaras is the idea of his novel The Kite Runner, which is set in Afghanistan. The Hazara characters: Ali, Hassan, Farzana, and Sohrab are told to be the victims of the never ending tortures by the Pashtun – and later, the Taliban

• – and their life could not be even become better generations after.

  This paper will study the racial discriminations toward the Hazaras that are depicted in the novel. Later on, the paper will observe and analyze the Hazaras and their momentous existence, and will help the writer answer the questions.

B. Problem Formulation

  The problems of this thesis will be based on the previous explanation. They are formulated as follows:

  1. How are the Hazaras characterized in The Kite Runner?

  2. How do the characteristics of the Hazaras represent the discrimination in Afghanistan?

  5 C. Objectives of the Study In this study, the two questions above will be answered by reliable and satisfying answers. First, the writer wants to discuss about how the author characterized the Hazaras in the story. Secondly, the writer will describe the Hazara identity that leads them to be a minor tribe in Afghanistan. The last one, this study intends to find the explanation for how the characteristics of the Hazaras represent the racial discrimination in Afghanistan. The analysis of the study will be focused on those two main problems that are stated in the problem formulation.

D. Definition of Terms

  Certain terms are used in this study. To explain the appropriate meaning and to avoid ambiguity of certain terms, definition of terms is needed to fulfill them all. The important terms of this study are:

  1. Racial Discrimination Racial discrimination is a term that is used to describe any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life (Costa, Banton, and Garvalov; Centre for Human Rights, 1990:14).

  6

  2. Character Character, according to Abrams in Glossary of Literary Term, is “the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialog and what they do – the action” (1993:23).

  3. Minority Minority is a national, ethnic, religious, or linguistic group different from other groups inside a sovereign State with following criteria: numerically smaller than the rest of population, must be in a non-dominant position to require protection, and differences in ethnic or national identity, in culture, language, or religion (Caportoti, Eide, and Palley; Centre for Human Rights, 1990:9).

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies There are some reviews about The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and in

  this chapter the writer will discuss three reviews. The first one to discuss is a review written by Royal Hamel in The Interim website which was published on February 2008 entitled The Kite Runner Teaches Friendship, Atonement. This review discusses about the friendship between Amir and Hassan which according to the reviewer is the foundation of the story. The friendship itself will give two themes to the story. The first one is the deep devotion that Hassan expresses to Amir over and over again; and it is captured in his memorable words as he runs off to bring home the trophy kite. The second theme is atonement that surfaces in an old friend’s cryptic challenge, “There is a way to be good again.” In the story, Amir seeks forgiveness, redemption, and freedom from guilt by doing a good deed that he hopes will erase his evil past. In this review, the writer can see that loyalty is one thing that clearly depicted by the characteristic of the friendship between the two characters, Amir and Hassan.

  (http://www.interim.com/2008/feb/20kiterunner.html).

  The second review is by Torn Dragonfly in Allpoetry website which was published in May 21, 2007. The reviewer sees sacrifice as the major theme in The

  

Kite Runner . According to him, this is demonstrated through the various

  relationships existing between Amir and his family. He feels guilty throughout

  7

  8 the story to those who have made sacrifices for him (his mother died by giving birth to him, Baba for his dying in cancer, and Hassan for the silence of the lamb). In this review, it is also explained about the character development that happens to Amir. His character is developed throughout the story that allows him to make sacrifices for those around him after realizing the nature of his selflessness in the past, for not saving Hassan from the rape. This review gives the moral realization of Amir, whose heart is touched by the life changing moment. He is finally able to put his lifelong guilt to rest, gives payback to Hassan by saving his son from Assef.

  (http://allpoetry.com/poem/3693312).

  The last review is a review by Maharnilad Aguirre in her essay The Kite

  

Runner as cited from her blog. Aguirre’s review is about The Kite Runner as a

  story that does not rely on propaganda to be successful. She finds out that the story can stands on its storyline, and does not rely on its setting and time. This story, however, tries to focus more on Amir’s journey to manhood and the relationships he has along the way, than the political happenings in Afghanistan.

  The strong underlying force of this novel is the relationship between Amir and Hassan although inside it also tells about the brutality of the Taliban. According to Aguirre, Hosseini does not involve any propaganda in his novel. If The Kite Runner was really written as a means for propaganda, then Hosseini would have focused more on Assef being a Taliban member, and not as Amir's childhood enemy. Also, if The Kite Runner was propaganda, Hosseini would have further developed the ideas and facts about/behind the war and the political issues

  9 happening in Afghanistan, instead of developing Amir and Hassan as characters.

  The novel develops the relationship between the two and how they work it. (http://maggiejaneshappyboat.blogspot.com/2006/09/kite-runner-essay_28.html).

  However, this study tries to analyze something different from other related studies. This study analyzes the problem of racial discrimination in The

  

Kite Runner ; in other words, this study gives a new contribution to literary

review.

B. Review of Related Theories

  Since the aim of this study is to answer the problems formulated in the previous part, the study needs some theories that are useful and helpful to support the analysis. They are Theory on Character and Characterization, Review on Racial Discrimination, Review on Minority, and the last one is Review on the Hazaras Tribe in Afghanistan.

1. Theory on Character and Characterization

  Character is an important intrinsic element in a literary work. Without it, the story will not run well. It is important to find the definitions of characters.

  The first definition according to Abrams in Glossary of Literary Terms, character is defined as a person presented in a dramatic work, who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moved and disposition qualities that are expressed in their dialogue and their action (1982:20). Then, according to Robert Stanton in

  

An Introduction to Fiction , character refers to the mixtures of interests, desires,

  10 emotions, and moral principles that form the individuals (1965:17). In Literature

  

for Composition by Barnet, the definitions of character are tending to fall into

  two: as the figure in a literary work and as the personality that is the mental and moral qualities of a figure (1988:71).

  In order to understand a character, there is another theory that the readers need to know, characterization. Rohrberger and Wood in Reading and Writing

  

about Novel define characterization as the process by which an author creates

  character, it is the devices that he/she makes the readers to believe a character in the particular type of person he is (1971:20). Characterization is more than just physical appearance of the character. According to Dr. L. Kip Wheeler on his site Literary Vocabulary Dr. L. Kip Wheeler, characterization is an author or poet’s use of description, dialogue, dialect, and action to create in the reader an emotional or intellectual reaction to a character or to make the character more vivid and realistic. Careful readers note each character’s attitude and thoughts, actions and reactions, as well as any language that reveals geographic, social, or cultural background (http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_C.html). Furthermore, it can be said that a character needs some characteristics to distinctive him or her from other characters.

  To make the readers understand more about the character, there are several ways as stated by Murphy in Understanding Unseen (1972:161-173): a. A personal description: the author describes the appearance of a character in details such as the face, the skin color, the hair, etc.

  11

  b. A character as seen by another character: the author describes certain character through the other character’s opinion.

  c. Speech: the author gives the readers some clue about the character through what the character say.

  d. Past life: in certain events of the character’s past life, the readers will know the characteristic of him/her.

  e. Conversation of others: through the conversations done by other people, the readers will know what they say about the character.

  f. Reactions: the readers will know what kind of person the character is by seeing how he/she reacts to various situations in the story.

  g. Direct comment: the author gives direct comment to the character.

  h. Thoughts: by knowing what in the character’s head, the readers will know his/her characteristic. i. Mannerism: the character’s behavior will show his/her characteristic.

2. Review on Racial Discrimination

  The term racial discrimination is used to describe any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life (Costa, Banton, and Garvalov; Centre for Human Rights, 1990:14).

  12 A more universal definition of racial discrimination as stated by Philomena Essed in the book Understanding Everyday Racism is “Prejudice or discrimination by one group toward others perceived as a different ‘race’, plus the power to enforce it.” Groups may be almost identical physiologically, yet be divided against each other on the basis of culture, language, religion, nationality, or any combination of the above. Racial discrimination requires four elements:

  a. The belief in separate, definable and recognizable “races.” b. The belief that one “race” is superior to others.

  c. Possession of power by the “superior race” to act against “inferior races” without effective defense.

  d. Action that is both arbitrary and harmful (1991:76-77). Prejudice that remains an attitude can be emotionally painful and demoralizing, but it is not racism until it is put into action. The actions of individuals, in turn, are harmful to the degree that they are supported by power.

  Defenders of racial discrimination have put forward the motivation: racial purity, or the maintenance of a cultural identity and status quo. Some proponents of racial purity maintain that their own race is the highest and best, source of all major advances in civilization, and should therefore be kept free of contamination by others. Other proponents claim that all ethnic groups have their own value, make their own special contributions to humanity, and therefore should be kept “separate but equal” for the sake of all (1991:133).

  13 Racial discrimination, nevertheless, remains a stumbling block to the full realization of human rights. In spite of progress in some areas, distinctions, exclusions, restrictions, and preferences based on race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, continue to create and embitter conflict, and cause untold suffering and loss of life.

  Discrimination can serve to reinforce the symbolic boundaries that separate the social groups from each other. Exposure to discrimination based on race has received the most attention in the research literature as what the writer do in this study. A major limitation of prior research on discrimination has been the conceptualization and measurement of experiences of unfair treatment.

3. Review on Minority

  A universal definition of minority is stated by the United Nations through Centre for Human Rights in the Fact Sheets No. 18. Minority is a national, ethnic, religious, or linguistic group different from other groups inside a sovereign State with following criteria: numerically smaller than the rest of population, must be in a non-dominant position to require protection, and differences in ethnic or national identity, in culture, language, or religion (Caportoti, Eide, and Palley; Centre for Human Rights, 1990:9).

  14 The criteria that taken together cover all minority situations as stated below: a. Numbers.

  Minorities, obviously, must be numerically smaller than the rest of the population which constitutes the majority. However, there can be situations in which no group constitutes a majority, and a minority must be large enough to develop its own distinctive characteristics. It goes without saying that no minority—even the smallest—should suffer mistreatment or discrimination of any kind, and that its members must enjoy the protection of general human rights provision of the laws.

  b. Non-dominance.

  A minority group must be in a non-dominant position to require protection. There are dominant minorities which do not require protection. Indeed, dominant minorities violate—sometimes very seriously—the principles of equality, non-discrimination, and the expression of the people’s will as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

  c. Difference in Ethnic or National Identity, in Culture, Language or Religion.

  Minorities have stable ethnic, religious, or linguistic traits which are not those of the majority of the population in a State.

  These characteristics, however, can also be applied to groups which are not true minorities: migrant workers, refugees, stateless persons, and other non nationals (1990:9).

  15 In the modern world, the common situation is that countries embrace a mosaic of people. In most countries, there are majorities sharing a common history and cultural background, and there are smaller groups—the minorities— each with its own characteristics.

  Minority exist in countries where tribes with large amount of members are dominated the life aspects. The difficulty lies in the variety of situations in which minorities exist. Some live together in well defined areas, separated dominant part of the population. Others are scattered throughout the national community.

  Some minorities base a strong sense of collective identity on a well remembered or recorded history, while others retain only a fragmented notion of their common heritage.

  In certain cases, minorities enjoy—or have known– a considerable degree of autonomy. In others, there is no past history of autonomy self-government. To this day, no single international instrument covers comprehensively the rights of minorities. Some important agreements, nevertheless, give members of minorities the opportunity to express and preserve their cultural, religious, and linguistic characteristics.

  The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996, is particularly significant. Article 27 of the Covenant states:

  In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language.

  16 Ideally, the special rights above have special measures which are needed to safeguard the identity, heritage, and dignity of minorities. And whenever the rights of minorities are denied, universally accepted human rights will be violated.

  Although minority problems change in their scope and external manifestations with the passage of time, there is no reason to believe that the groups concerned, or their claims, will disappear, unless positive action is taken.

4. Review on the Situation of Afghanistan

  The review on the situation of Afghanistan in this part is taken from two sources. The first one is Louis Dupree’s Afghanistan. In the book, Dupree exposes Afghanistan in the age of its monarchy until 1973, the year when the book is published. The book itself is a documentary research and it contains complete information about Afghanistan at that moment. The second source is

  

The Land and People of Afghanistan: Portraits of the Nations by Mary Louise

Clifford which explain about Afghanistan in statistic data.

  Dupree’s exploration of Afghanistan finds out that it is a remote, mountainous, land-locked country in southwestern Asia. Afghanistan becomes an independent nation in 1919. In the sixty years that followed, the leaders tried to establish a government based on parliamentary democracy (1972:1). The government in Afghanistan is dominated by the Pashtuns.

  There are three major ethnic identities in Afghanistan according to Clifford. They are the Pashtun, Tajik and Uzbek. The Pashtun dominate in the

  17 southern and southeastern parts of the country, and constitute about half of the population. Tribal belonging is the primary loyalty of most Pashtuns, but historically they have formed strong tribal confederacies in response to outside threats. Different levels are valid in different contexts. The royal family of Afghanistan belongs to the Mohammadzai clan of the Barakzai tribe, within the Durrani confederation the Pashtun. Political power in Afghanistan has always been in the hand of the Pashtuns: in fact Afghan means Pashtun, and Afghanistan means the land of the Pashtuns. The terms Afghan and Pashtun are interchangeable (1989:16).

  The Pashtuns are physically resembled Arabian people. They have fair skin, big eyes and pointed nose; their hair more like wavy and sometimes curly.

  The Pashtuns are mostly strong and tall. Their religion is Sunni Islam. Sunni Islam is also known as the orthodox Islam. This sect of Islam has the strongest believe in Al-Qur’an. The Sunnis believe in every single letter of it, it being the word of Allah the Exalted. The Qur'an is neither temporal nor newly created, but is eternal. Falsehood does not approach it from before it or behind it. It is the primary source of all the Muslims' tenets of faith, their rites and rules of conduct. The Sunnis also believe that the caliph of Prophet Muhammad should be the one who is the most able and pious. At Prophet Muhammad’s death in 632, Abu Bakar, a close companion of the Prophet, became his successor or caliph. The followers of the caliph would come to be known as the Sunnis. The Sunnis accept that the first four caliphs, including Ali, were the rightful followers of

  18 Muhammad. These later become the basic different between Sunni and Shi’a (1986:17-19).

  Tajiks are found primarily in the rural northeast, mostly as mountain farmers. Many have now settled in the cities, where they play important roles in business and in state administration, and are the only non-Pashtuns to have a position with in the upper middle class. They have no tribal organization, but normally refer to themselves by valley or region of residence (1989:21).

  The Uzbek live largely in the same areas as the Tajiks in the north, as farmers, traders or craftsmen. They maintain tribal designations for them selves, but defend their Uzbek identity in dealings with for example Tajiks. Many Uzbeks have fled Russian or Soviet expansionism. Uzbek is a distinct language, but most Uzbeks are also fluent in Farsi (1989:23). Now, the Tajiks and the Uzbeks occupied Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

  Among the major ethnic groups, there are the minor ethnic groups. They are The Baluchs, The Nuristans, The Aymaqs, and The Hazaras. The Hazaras take place as the ethnic group who suffer from discriminations because of their difference in comparison to the rest of the Afghans (1989:26).

  Yet, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. Constant warfare has prevented the Afghans from developing effective irrigation systems, which are required for farming. Most of the few major roadways in the country have been destroyed in the wars. Afghanistan has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. Continual warfare is the biggest social problem facing the Afghans. The fighting has severely disrupted education, health care, employment

  19 opportunities, and even the provision of basic needs such as food and shelter (Dupree, 1972: 111).

5. Review on the Hazaras in Afghanistan

  The Hazaras are people of distinctions –set apart from fellow Afghans by religion, mixed ethnicity and an independent nature– and they have suffered for them. Camille Mirepoix in her illustrated book Afghanistan in Pictures, mentions that the Hazaras are originally believe comes from Mongolian descendant. The strongly Mongoloid appearance of the Hazaras makes it easy to distinguish them from the neighboring populations. Most Hazaras have broad faces with flat noses and narrow eyes, scant facial hair, and are shorter of build than their neighbors. It remains unclear what their origin are, but Eastern Turkic or Mongol descent have been suggested (1971:56-58). Gengis Khan is believed as the one who brings Mongolian influences to the Hazaras. For years, however, the Pashtuns have held the Mongols’ past as a shameful pall over the Hazaras. The Pashtuns judge Gengis Khan. They criticize him through what the Mongols did. They hardly separate Gengis from the Mongols and always talks about the barbaric tribes of the Mongols and the mayhem caused by the group. They have no qualms of stating how the Mongols destroy cities and killed humans. The Pashtuns have shamelessly mocked the Hazaras for being descendants of the Mongols, something that no one can control. For years they have called the Hazaras “outsiders”, “invaders”, etc.

  20 The Hazaras face persecution at the hands of the ruling Pashtun since the 18th century. Under the brutal rule of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan in the mid 19th century, the highland Hazaras were subjugated under his central authority in Kabul. After an unsuccessful revolt many Hazaras immigrate to Quetta in Balochistan and to Mashhed in north-eastern Iran. Rahman forced those that stayed to attend Sunni mosques and abandon Shi’ism. He also imposed tougher regulations by imposing heavy taxes. In 1901, his successor Habibullah Khan granted amnesty to the Hazaras but the seeds of distrust were already laid to deep.

  As a result Hazaras continue to have grievances, including desiring greater political control in their region, greater economic opportunities, freedom of religion, freedom to promote their culture, and protection from other communal groups.

  The overwhelming majority of Hazaras are adherents of Imami Shi'ism, although a few are Ismaili Shi’a, or Sunni. Ethnic boundaries are qualified by membership in religious sects, so that Imami Shi’a Hazaras would often deny their ethnic affiliation with the Ismaili Hazaras despite their shared language and phenotype. Shi’a Islam believes that Imams are descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. While the Sunnis believe that Al-Qur’an is eternal and has no false, _, to the Shi’as the Qur'an's authenticity is doubtful, and if it appears to contradict any of their sectarian beliefs or doctrines, then they give the Qur'anic text strange, far-fetched interpretations that agree with their sectarian views. For that reason they are called Al-Mutawwilah –those who give their own interpretations to the _. revealed texts– by the Qur’an’s interpreters (1971:79-81) Robert Canfield in

  21 Hazara describes the correlation of Hazaras-Iran in case of religion. As a religious minority in Afghanistan, the Shi’a has oriented themselves towards Iran, particularly for religious guidance. Institutionalized in Islam, but most frequently practiced by Shi’a Muslims, is taqiyyah, the dissimulation of one's religious beliefs to avoid persecution. Iran uses the Hazaras to wield power in Afghanistan in opposition to Pashtuns and other Sunni tribes. In the past, the Hazaras have received external support from Iran. Given Iran's regional status and power, Iranian patronage may also provide Hazaras with some degree of protection as well (1978:190).

  Hazarajat, the land of the Hazaras, comprises the mountainous central areas of Afghanistan. It has distinct boundaries; a traveler knows when Hazaras’ territory is entered because it is the only territory in Afghanistan which is isolated. While other areas of Afghanistan are multiethnic, only Hazaras live permanently in Hazarajat. While other ethnic territories extend into neighboring nation-states, Hazarajat is landlocked in the middle of Afghanistan. The geographical boundary arguably coincides with a political boundary between distinct populations.