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Home >>  Culture & Conflict Studies  >>  Bamyan Province

Bamyan Province

Bamyan Basic Map
Governor Habiba Sarabi
Governor Habiba Sarabi
Source: US State Department






Video Profile | Provincial Overview (PDF)

In the News

  • Thousands complete literacy training in Bamyan, Pajhwok Afghan News, October 30, 2011:
    “Forty thousand people, 60 percent of them women, completed a three years literacy course in the central province of Bamyan, officials said on Sunday.”

Bamyan Province is located in eastern Afghanistan. The population of approximatley 400,000 are primarily Hazara, with 16% Sadat, 15% Tajik, and a variety of other ethniciites of lesser representation. Agricultural and animal husbandry is the primary occupation of inhabitants while day labor is secondary. Wheat, barley, potatoes remain the active crops.

The Governor, Habiba Sarabi is the first female governor of Afghanistan, appointed in March of 2005. She has focused heavily on health and infrastructure issues in Bamyan province. Provincial aid projects number at under 1300, with about $25 million planned spending. A number of PRT projects and NGOs are also active in the province.

Click to view Bamyan Province Tribal Map Click to view Bamyan Tribal Map
Click to view Tribal Map

Human Terrain:


The first Central Asian Muslims to come under the Russian yoke, Tatars still retain their own republic within the Russian Federation. During the colonial era they were often used as spies and guides for Russian and later Soviet efforts, and were heavily involved in commercial activities. In Afghanistan, many of the Tatars settled after either trying to escape the Russians, or as traders. In Bamiyan, they are primarily found in Sheber District. Tatar Tree (PDF)

The Qizilbash are an Imami Shia group thought to be descended from Persian “mercenaries and administrators left behind by the Safavid Emperor Nadir Shah Afshar to govern the Afghan provinces.”[3]  After the demise of the Safavid Empire in Afghanistan, the Qizilbash, due to their higher levels of education and experience as administrators, remained influential in the Afghan court and government bureaucracies.  Their Shia faith combined with their disproportionate political influence often resulted in resentment by large portions of the Sunni majority within Afghanistan.[4]  Also, they were used by the shahs as personal bodyguards and assigned to put down uprisings among the populace, which further alienated them from the Pashtun majority.  Due to the persecution, religious and political, the Qizilbash frequently resorted to the use of taqiyya, the practice of precautionary dissimulation or the adoption of a dual religious identity.  In order to play a role in government and society, the Qizilbash, like other Imami Shia, publicly portrayed themselves as Sunnis or Pashtuns while they privately maintained their Shia faith.[5]  In present day Afghanistan, the Qizilbash continue to practice taqiyya making it difficult to gain accurate census data.  It appears that they largely reside in urban centers and “tend to be predominantly urban professionals—doctors, teachers, engineers, and lawyers.”[6]

Pasthun: The largest single ethnicity of Afghanistan, the Pashtun, and in particular the largest tribe of said, the Ghilzai, formed the backbone of the Taliban movement. Traditionally beholden to the moral code of Pashtunwali (“the way of the Pashtun”), they can easily be deeply offended by breaches of the code and carry the grudge for generations. The Pashtuns are fiercely independent and often view themselves, as the largest ethnicity in the country, as the rightful leaders of Afghanistan. That being said, they suffered much during the Soviet invasion, and must be included in any effort to secure and develop the country. Many of the Pashtuns in Bamiyan are Kuchis, nomads who have traditionally been accused of poaching Hazara land, especially during the Taliban era.


Sayyid: Claiming descent from the family of the Prophet (PBUH), the Sayyids hold a revered place in Afghanistan. The Sayyids are of Arab descent and have a tightly held lineage. What makes them of particular interest in Bamyan is that for the most part they are Shi’a Muslims, where as in the rest of Afghanistan they are primarily Sunnis. The few that do inhabit Bamiyan live for the most part in Kahmard.

Primary Political Parties

Harakat-e Islami (NUF)
A Shi’a party originally led by Muhammad Asif Muhsini, the Harakat-e Islami fought the Soviets with support from Tehran. Known for having many Hazara as well as non-Hazara members, this Shiite party refused to join the Hazara coalition Hizb-e Wahdat in the ensuing civil war. Since 2005 they have been led by Hojjatolislam Seyyed Muhammad Ali Jawed, a minister in Karzai’s first cabinet. National Directorate of Security Chief Brigadier General Waziq is a large player in this party.

Ittihad-i-Islami (Sayyaf)
This party is under the guidance of one Abdul Rasool Sayyaf, and has been since the anti-Soviet campaign. Despite ideological and cultural similarities with the Taliban, Sayyaf did not join them (for personal reasons) and went with the Northern Alliance. He follows strict Wahhabi interpretations of Islam, and is not known for tolerance. In the past this party has been known for its foreign supporters and followers; the former often Arab, the latter from places as diverse as the Southern Philippines, Chechnya, and Bosnia.  In February 1993 government forces and members of the Ittihad-e Islami massacred over 700 Hazara in the Afshar district of West Kabul.

Hizb-i Wahdat (Mohaqqeq)
The Shiite umbrella party, Hizb-I Wahdat is composed of seven of the eight Shiite parties (minus the Harakat-e Islami) that existed in Afghanistan from the time of the anti-Soviet campaigns. Now led by Wolesi Jirga member (and former planning minister) Hajji Muhammad Mohaqqeq, the party continues to represent both Shiites and Hazaras. During the period of Taliban rule, the party held fast in the Hazarajat whilst the Taliban tried through blockade to bring the Hazaras to their knees through starvation.

1. US State Department Afghanistan Culture and Ethnic Studies, 2004.
2. US State Department Afghanistan Culture and Ethnic Studies, 2004.
3. U.S. Library of Congress, Country Studies: Afghanistan, found at http://countrystudies.us/afghanistan/50.htm, accessed on 25 September 2007 and Louis Dupree, Afghanistan, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980): 331-32.
4. World Culture Encyclopedia, Qizilbash, found at http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Qizilbash.html, accessed on 25 September 2007.
5. Etan Kohlberg, “Some Imami-Shi’i Views on Taqiyya,” Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 95, No. 3 (July-September 1975: 395-402 and Louis Dupree, “Further Notes on Taqiyya: Afghanistan,” Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 99, No. 4 (October-December 1979): 680-682.
6. World Culture Encyclopedia.


