Membership badge of Da Afğānistān Sarandoy Tolanah

Membership badge of Afghan Girl Scouts

Scouting in Afghanistan was officially founded in 1931 by a Royal Decree. Afghanistan was a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 1932 until the Afghanistan government dissolved the Scout Association in 1947. Scouting was reestablished in 1956, named Da Afğānistān Zaranduy Tolanah (DAZT) and was readmitted to the World Scout Conference on June 1, 1964, having a membership of over 2,000 Scouts, both boys and girls and adult leaders. The communist government banned the Afghan Scout Association in 1978. By 1981, DAZT was no longer recognized by the 28th World Scout Conference, because of domestic disturbances that deprived Afghanistan of the democratic environment necessary for Scouting to continue. Scouting is a worldwide youth organization. ... 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the supranational organization which governs most national Scouting movements. ... 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

The revival of Scouting in Afghanistan

Several times in the 1990s, and again in 2002, political and social changes in Afghanistan opened opportunities for the rebirth of Scouting in Afghanistan. In early 2002, the Interim Administration of Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested embassies of selected countries to assist in reviving Scouting in Afghanistan, and groups began to emerge, led by adults who had been involved with the program prior to 1978. // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but otherwise retaining the same mindset. ... 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The fledgling group is Da Afğānistān Sarandoy Tolanah, the Afghan Scout Association, working toward WOSM recognition, which started as of February 2004. The national office in Kabul, which operates out of two rooms in the Ministry of Education building, estimates there are about 20,000 Scouts across Afghanistan. All groups are sponsored by the Ministry of Education.

Adult Scout leaders are for all sections are usually schoolteachers, others volunteers may join, subject to the approval of the Ministry of Education. All Scouts work in the schools, acting as hall monitors, crossing guards and honor guard for school visitors. Some groups are beginning to work outside the school as well, making public announcements in the bazaar, cleaning mosques, helping firefighters, performing first aid and helping injured people get to hospital. The Afghan Scout program is focused more on civic duty rather than as a pastime.

Currently the Afghan Scout Association is for boys and girls, men and women, and offers Cubs (ages 8 to 12), Scouts (ages 12 to 18) and Rovers (ages 19 to 25). Cubs, Scouts and Rovers all wear their uniforms to school or university, as that is where they perform most of their duties.

The period of war left Afghanistan with a broken communication system, so word has been slow to spread between Scout groups. There are very few computers, almost no Internet access and no countrywide telephone system. Scouts have to be counted during visits to the regions. New ideas from Kabul are difficult to spread. As a result, each group designs its own uniform and badges. Scouts have to make their own uniforms, buying the tan-colored material from the bazaar and then having it tailor made into a shirt and pants (boys), or long shirt and baggy pants (girls). Boys also have to tailor make a pillbox hat from the same tan material. Girls wear either the pillbox hat or a chador. A leather Scout belt with a brass belt buckle completes the uniform. The total cost for these items is about 500 Afghanis, or ten dollars; a huge sum when one considers the monthly salary for a teacher in Afghanistan is about 30 dollars. Scouts usually perform odd jobs to earn the money a few Afghanis at a time and often a Scout group will pool its money to buy a uniform for a new member. Kabul Kabul (34°32′ N 69°10′ E, Kâbl, in Persian کابل) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan with a population variously estimated at 2 to 4 million. ... Chador A chador (in Persian: چادر Châdor) is an outer garment worn by women; it is one possible way in which a Muslim woman may follow the hijab dress code. ...

Many details distilled from an article by Lieutenant Colonel David Ross, UNAMA Military Liaison Officer, Kunduz, Afghanistan