Afghanistan why is poetry important

Divide up my forgetfulness to any number, it will go around. These dark suggestions that I follow, are they a part of some plan? Friends, be careful. We look back and analyze the events of our lives, but there is another way of seeing, a backward-and-forward-at-once vision, that is not rationally understandable. Only God can understand it. Satan made the excuse, you caused me to fall, whereas Adam said to God, We did this to ourselves.

Whoever acts with respect will get respect. Whoever brings sweetness will be served almond cake. Good women are drawn to be with good men. Love, tell an incident now that will clarify this mystery of how we act freely, and are yet compelled. One hand shakes with palsy. Another shakes because you slapped it away. Both tremblings come from God, but you feel guilty for the one, and what about the other? These are intellectual questions. The spirit approaches the matter differently.

Who are we then in this complicated world-tangle, that is really just the single, straight line down at the beginning of ALLAH? No matter how fast you run, your shadow more than keeps up. But that shadow has been serving you! What hurts you, bless you.

Darkness is your candle. Your boundaries are your quest. You must have shadow and light source both. Listen, and lay your head under the tree of awe. When from that tree, feathers and wings sprout on you, be quieter than a dove. When a frog slips into the water, the snake cannot get it. Then the frog climbs back out and croaks, and the snake moves toward him again.

Even if the frog learned to hiss, still the snake would hear through the hiss the information he needed, the frog voice underneath. But if the frog could be completely silent, then the snake would go back to sleeping, and the frog could reach the barley. And the grain of barley is such that, when you put it in the ground, it grows. Daoud Monir, said he has seen a newfound appreciation of poetry across Western Afghanistan, one that is growing quickly and is often in line with aspirations for peace.

On any given week, you can be sure that the main subject will be war and peace, but there is a lot going on here, including that these sessions give our women a chance to critique the patriarchy. This feature story highlights one of the many ways the UN and Afghanistan are working together to overcome the many challenges to achieving this goal.

Skip to main content. Welcome to the United Nations. Toggle navigation Language:. Subscribe Audio Hub. People talk about their desires; their bodies. A new generation of poets in Afghanistan is exploring the physical side of love — and isolation is their inspiration Coronavirus — latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage.

On weekends, Kabul residents take to the otherwise deserted hills, a welcome break for many, especially during the coronavirus outbreak. Photographing poverty's pandemic: 'Afghans have learned to live with fear'. Read more. It is the only state-owned public library in Kabul and the oldest of the handful of public libraries in Afghanistan. At first, Wujodi worked as a library clerk — shelving and cataloguing the books, magazines and newspapers using a manual catalogue card system.

Then he took charge of the periodicals section, organising them by date and subject. He is often the first to arrive each morning, just beating the early morning rush-hour traffic, and always the last to leave as dusk falls on the capital. He now dedicates his time to eager high school and university students seeking a helping hand as they look for material for their thesis and research assignments in a country where education resources remain scarce — although his desk is open to anyone looking for advice, references or just a debate over some tea.

In the world of art and culture, Wujodi is both well known and well respected for his writing and poetry. His work includes mystical Sufi teachings, but he has also tackled taboo subjects, writing about lust and love outside of marriage. While many of these works were not included in his 15 published books, he says his risque approach has been commended by his peers.

When the first public library was established in Afghanistan in , it was with the purpose of preserving sacred religious texts. But during the s, under the rule of a new king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, and during a period of relative stability, the idea of libraries as a source of public knowledge and information took root.

But in , the Taliban took control of Kabul city and decreed that all printed material with pictures or paintings of living creatures were non-Islamic and should be burned. They destroyed books in libraries across the country, including the National Library in Kabul and the Library of Kabul University.

According to one report, 15 out of the 18 libraries in Kabul were closed during the rule of the Taliban In some cities, all of the library books were destroyed — 80, books are thought to have been lost during that time.

Wujodi says that when the Taliban came to Kabul Public Library, the head of the library convinced them to leave without burning the books. Today, the library hosts a collection of thousands of books and magazines donated by international donors and publishers. There are novels, history books, texts on social sciences and interpretations of the Quran.

In comparison to most Afghan libraries, which have just a few hundred books, Wujodi says it may be the most varied collection of books in the country. It is one in which many are illiterate and have had no access to an education.

In Afghanistan, 3. In the hardest-to-reach areas, and conflict zones, around 85 percent of out-of-school children are female. Attempts by the international community to increase literacy and education in the country have not included the renovation and upgrading of public libraries and their collections. Wujodi and the librarians at Kabul Public Library met with government officials to ask for a budget for renovations and new books and resource materials but he says no support, financial or otherwise, has been offered.