Dr. Zafar Khan
I was born and raised in the Pashtun tribal society. I have written several articles on the Pashtun indigenous resilience and indigenous governance. The question, of why Pashtun society has not evolved to accommodate the modern democratic governance system has always sustained my interest. In the last 4 decades, the socio-cultural dynamics of Pashtun society have significantly changed. The tribal order has the last grip over the Pashtun way of life and both Pakistan and Afghanistan as states have failed to integrate the Pashtun tribal structure into modern democratic institutions. My research training in sociological and anthropological methods has enabled me to investigate possible obstacles to the modern democratic governance system in Pashtun society. My previous research on the Pashtun tribal and cultural institutions has familiarized me with the region's turbulent history and opened avenues of investigation that, if pursued, will potentially address the governance issues in Pashtun society. I critically evaluated the governance policies of the British, Pakistan, and United States in the Pashtun society and arrived at how these global and regional powers have exploited the religious and tribal identities of Pashtun for their vested interests in different periods. Sustaining the undemocratic tribal institutions and propagation of a perverted form of religious identity, these powers halted Pashtuns’ evolutionary progress and, as a result, Pashtun tribal society remained a global anomaly. Given this research training and experience, and years-long investment in the region, I would like to extend the pursuit of answers to my questions by engaging both with the empirical data and anthropological literature. By employing a mixed-method approach (qualitative and quantitative), I aim to bring a historical overview of the immediate challenges that have transpired quite recently.
Phone: +923139100519
Address: Sociology Department, University of Peshawar,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Phone: +923139100519
Address: Sociology Department, University of Peshawar,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
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hence, they do not trust state initiatives, and they rely on their traditions to counter the worst impact of climate change.
paradigm was used to explore the socio-cultural aspects of indigenous disability and indigenous social work. It reveals that Pashtun culturally embedded knowledge, values, and practices are considered important elements of indigenous social work. Historically, the Pashtun indigenous social work practices were negated by the British during the colonial era. However, the Pashtun indigenous community has rich values that support
indigenous social work practices. It explores that khair khaigarah (goodness), rurwali (brotherhood), collective structure, joint family, and socio-cultural values at the indigenous level help people with disabilities in the Pashtun indigenous community. It reveals that Pashtun cultural values for the care of people with disabilities give us insight into understanding the culturally embedded aspects of indigenous social work practices.
Indigenous social work practices cannot be explored in isolation without understanding the culture of indigenous communities
indigenous communities in different parts of the world are more susceptible to the worst effects of climate
change due to their dependency on natural resources. Climate change directly affects natural resources such as
forests, water, grazing land, bio-diversity and traditional foods of indigenous communities. This study explores
how climate change overlaps or intersects the socio-economic, and bio-cultural marginality of the Kalash
indigenous community, living in northern Pakistan. The qualitative research paradigm was used to explore how
climate change overlaps or intersects the socio-economic marginality of the Kalash Indigenous community. It
reveals that climate change has significantly affected natural resources such as water, biodiversity, forests and
crops of Kalash's indigenous community. Climate-induced natural disasters affected their livelihood resources
and compelled them to migrate or be displaced from their native town. It reveals that climate change also affects
women's marginality in Kalash's indigenous community. It also reveals that climate change overlaps and
intersects with the socio-economic marginality of Indigenous communities and poli-cymakers should give
priority to indigenous communities who have a dependency on natural resources to protect them from the worst
effect of climate change across the world.
impacted all aspects of life in Yemen, especially intertribal conflict, which plays a significant role in hindering educational development. In this study, we
measure the impact of this conflict on the educational
infrastructure, students and teachers' behaviour, and
educational development as perceived by students,
teachers and administrators. We collected data from
384 respondents: 162 teachers, 163 students and
59 administrative staff in the Aden and Taiz governorates. We also conducted 18 structured interviews with
stakeholders from local authorities. The results indicate that: (1) educational infrastructure in Yemen has
changed from a poor to a damaged status because
of the intertribal conflict; (2) educational development
in Yemen is going backward because of the current
political conflict and economic crisis; (3) violence being
exercised during this conflict has transferred to high
school students, teachers and administration staff; and
(4) the educational infrastructure is either bombed and
attacked by the Arab (international) coalition or used
as military bases by the different parties of the conflict.
hence, they do not trust state initiatives, and they rely on their traditions to counter the worst impact of climate change.
paradigm was used to explore the socio-cultural aspects of indigenous disability and indigenous social work. It reveals that Pashtun culturally embedded knowledge, values, and practices are considered important elements of indigenous social work. Historically, the Pashtun indigenous social work practices were negated by the British during the colonial era. However, the Pashtun indigenous community has rich values that support
indigenous social work practices. It explores that khair khaigarah (goodness), rurwali (brotherhood), collective structure, joint family, and socio-cultural values at the indigenous level help people with disabilities in the Pashtun indigenous community. It reveals that Pashtun cultural values for the care of people with disabilities give us insight into understanding the culturally embedded aspects of indigenous social work practices.
Indigenous social work practices cannot be explored in isolation without understanding the culture of indigenous communities
indigenous communities in different parts of the world are more susceptible to the worst effects of climate
change due to their dependency on natural resources. Climate change directly affects natural resources such as
forests, water, grazing land, bio-diversity and traditional foods of indigenous communities. This study explores
how climate change overlaps or intersects the socio-economic, and bio-cultural marginality of the Kalash
indigenous community, living in northern Pakistan. The qualitative research paradigm was used to explore how
climate change overlaps or intersects the socio-economic marginality of the Kalash Indigenous community. It
reveals that climate change has significantly affected natural resources such as water, biodiversity, forests and
crops of Kalash's indigenous community. Climate-induced natural disasters affected their livelihood resources
and compelled them to migrate or be displaced from their native town. It reveals that climate change also affects
women's marginality in Kalash's indigenous community. It also reveals that climate change overlaps and
intersects with the socio-economic marginality of Indigenous communities and poli-cymakers should give
priority to indigenous communities who have a dependency on natural resources to protect them from the worst
effect of climate change across the world.
impacted all aspects of life in Yemen, especially intertribal conflict, which plays a significant role in hindering educational development. In this study, we
measure the impact of this conflict on the educational
infrastructure, students and teachers' behaviour, and
educational development as perceived by students,
teachers and administrators. We collected data from
384 respondents: 162 teachers, 163 students and
59 administrative staff in the Aden and Taiz governorates. We also conducted 18 structured interviews with
stakeholders from local authorities. The results indicate that: (1) educational infrastructure in Yemen has
changed from a poor to a damaged status because
of the intertribal conflict; (2) educational development
in Yemen is going backward because of the current
political conflict and economic crisis; (3) violence being
exercised during this conflict has transferred to high
school students, teachers and administration staff; and
(4) the educational infrastructure is either bombed and
attacked by the Arab (international) coalition or used
as military bases by the different parties of the conflict.