Resource information
ABSTRACED FROM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Kuchis, as nomads are now usually referred to in Afghanistan, occupy a peculiar place among Afghan communities. They constitute, like many nomadic communities in other countries, a particularly disadvantaged group with respect to many social indicators such as access to education, health or livelihood standards. Although many Kuchis are settling down, a growing and unregulated phenomenon taking place at the outskirts of the major Afghan cities, these indicators are still not improving.
This paper explores changes in the identity of the Afghan nomads as they develop a Kuchi identity that rests more on political networks than on shared nomadic livelihoods; how the state’s political recognition of a separate Kuchi constituency has influenced this process; and finally the directions in which the Kuchis have been politically mobilised and how far the Kuchis have travelled to develop cohesive tools for action and policy-making.