History of Slavery in Afghanistan

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1 Rabia Latif Khan; Deconstructing Afghan Historiography: A Case Study of Hazara History Writing; Afghanistan Edinburgh University Press, 2022., October 2022, vo. 5, No. 2 : pp. 201-220 (Access available from Wikipedia Library)
1 Page 202:

".. This was due to their low socio-economic status and the prevalence of owning Hazaras as slaves,

even after slavery was outlawed.1 .." (1 Ibrahimi, The Hazaras, 90.)

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Page 208/209:


".. Relaying these experiences of racist abuse

suffered in public, as well as recounting the community’s collective memory of past

subjugation both during and after the reign of ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan, coupled with

the awareness of the prevalence of owning Hazaras as slaves meant that ethnic

consciousness took hold among Hazaras at a much later stage than for Pashtuns and Tajiks, for instance.24, 25 (24: Afghan historian Hasan Kakar notes that, “[...] [t]he price paid for the [Hazara slaves]

was generally the lowest”, showing that even with slaves there was a hierarchy (1979:

175). Kakar also cities the British explorer and diplomat Alexander Burnes in his book

titled, “A political and diplomatic history of Afghanistan, 1863–1901”, stating that, “[...]

In 1838, Alexander Burnes noted that “All the drudgery and work in Kabul is done by

some Hazaras, some of whom are slaves and some free; in winter there are not less than

ten thousand who reside in the city, and gain a livelihood by clearing the roofs of snow

and acting as porters [...].” As previously noted, most Hazaras were Shi’as, and only

some were Sunnis. Their neighbors were all Sunnis. Consequently, the Hazaras were “[...]

oppressed by all their neighboring nations, whom they served as hewers of wood and

drawers of water.”” (2006: 126).)


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Page 209:

".. For example, slave ownership is explicitly mentioned in

the work of the renowned Hazara historian Fayz Muhammad Kateb Hazara in his

multivolume history of Afghanistan, Siraj al-Tawarikh, published in the early

twentieth century. He states that “[Hazaras] were plundered, killed, and

enslaved...”, meaning that slave ownership of Hazaras was being detailed in

official texts well over a century ago.26 .." (26 Kateb, Siraj al-Tawarikh, 772.)

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Page 212

".. as well as

scholarship produced by Hazara researchers, such as Niamatullah Ibrahimi and

anthropologist Khadija Abbasi. .."

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2 Niamatullah Ibrahimi: The Hazaras and the Afghan State: Rebellion, Exclusion and the Struggle for ... Page 90 (Preview available @ google books)
Page 90: ".. In 1904 Amir Habibullah decreed that Hazaras who were displaced by his father could return to their original land (Farhang 1988 pp 298 299). Amanullah also tried to improve situation of Hazaras, by legally outlawing slavery (there were still thousands of Hazara slaves in the country), first by decree in 1921 and second by a constitutional provision in 1923 (Moosavi, 1998, p. 157) .."
3 The Hazaras of Afghanistan S. A. Mousavi Chapter 5 Socio political change in Hazara society since the 1890s (Mousavi cites Faiz)
Page 77 : ".. Until 1919 some Hazaras were still kept as slaves by the Pashtuns; although Shah Amanullah banned slavery in Afghanistan during his reign, the tradition carried on unofficially for may more years. .."
4 Faiz Faiz Muhammad Kateb ?
5 Revolution Unending: Afghanistan, 1979 to the Present (French title: Dorronsoro, Gilles. La révolution afghane: des communistes aux tâlebân. France, Karthala, 2000. available @ Google books and Wikipedia library ) Gilles Dorronsoro
Page 45 ".. At the end of 19th century.. . The declaration of jihad by the Amir of Kabul and that of Shi'ite ulema in response, was to justify worst atrocities, and in particular the enslavement of a segment of the Hazara population; Hazaras were sold in the markets of the capital as late as the first years of 20th century. The amir also sent Sunni mullahs to convert them.60 (60: Louis Dupree The political use of religion Afghanistan in KH Silvert)

Page 46: ".. Following these events, amir Habibullah (1901 1919) proclaimed an amnesty, However few Hazara returned from exile and it was not until accession to the throne of Amanullah who repudiated anti shi'ite discrimination, that some of those who had fled came back. In the rebellion of 1929 the Hazaras actually supported the king. Significantly slavery was abolished by decree in 1921, a measure confirmed in the 1923 constitution. .."

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  • Rebecca Stuh: Reading Khaled Hosseini, p 75, seems good for Afghan fiction review but not sure as academic history ref.