THE KITE RUNNER Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 1

THE KITE RUNNER
ETHNICITIES
economy are farming and herding. In general the Hazarajat
is a very neglected area. There is little infrastructure or
basic services available to the Hazara people of this region.
Because of the difficulties of life in the Hazarajat and the
lack of economic opportunity there, many Hazaras have
migrated to cities such as Mazar I. Sharif and Kabul. In
the 1960s, an estimated 30 to 50 percent of Hazara men
migrated from the Hazarajat to the cities. There they were
(and still are) generally employed in low-wage jobs and tend
to occupy the lowest socioeconomic classes.
The Hazaras have not passively accepted their oppressed
status, however. In the 1960s and 1970s, many Hazaras
united in an attempt to organize for greater rights and
opportunities. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan,
the Hazaras battled the Communist government for control
of the Hazarajat, and maintained a greater level of selfdetermination
than many other areas of Afghanistan under
Soviet rule. In the 1980s, an agreement was reached
between the Afghan government and the Hazaras that they
would live independently within Afghanistan in exchange
for a peaceful relationship with government forces. However,
the Taliban were ruthless in their persecution of the Hazaras,
most notably perpetrating a massacre in the city of Mazar I.
Sharif in 1998 that killed over 8,000 people, of whom the
overwhelming majority were Hazaras targeted because of
their religion.
-written by Laura Farrell-Wortman, dramaturgical intern
PASHTUNWALI
Pashtunwali literally means the way of the
Pashtuns. It is the rules, regulations, laws and
moral code of the Pashtun tribes which have
protected the world’s largest tribal society for
over 2000 years. Pashtunwali is evident in The
Kite Runner through Baba’s protection of Ali and
Hassan and through the hospitality of Farid’s
family, who fed Amir as their guest, even though
the family could not afford to feed themselves.
Costume Design Sketch for
Ali by designer Kish Finnegan
Pashtuns are generally Sunni Muslims and are
organized by tribal society along family, clan,
sectional, and tribal lines. Each section has its own
Rinabeth Apostol, Barzin Akhavan and
the company of The Kite Runner.
Photo by Kevin Berne.
chief, or malik, and the most powerful clan often provides the chief of the tribe. Although
the tribal system has undergone changes, traditionally chiefs have to be successful
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 17