While the security and geopolitical issues of Central Asia have become the primary focus of this blog (with the much welcomed breath of fresh air in the form of Michael’s book reviews), that does not represent the entirety of my interest in the region—and I would wager the same is true of all of our authors here. I love this region not simply because it is important strategically, but for its own sake: the social complexity, history, artwork, and traditions are all deeply fascinating. Finding sources on these topics, however, is more difficult than sources on security, which has undoubtedly skewed our reporting.
So what of these other topics? I for one am fascinated by how these societies view sexuality. It can sometimes be a taboo topic, but it is fundamental to their social fabric. Even a country like Afghanistan is not as simple as the Taliban being brutal toward women. There are issues of non-Taliban women’s rights (purdah under Rabanni’s government comes immediately to mind, but so does the current scourge of female self-immolation), children’s rights, and even Afghanistan’s apparently complex view of homosexuality that all make up the country’s overall view toward sexuality (and obviously this varies by region within the country). This has been briefly discussed in this space, but I think this is worth exploring more.
So, here is a call: I am at a loss as to where to begin reading about this stuff. I don’t just mean Afghanistan/Pakistan, though for obvious reasons I am deeply interested in them. I know some of the post-Soviet countries further north have struggled with issues like bride-napping, as well as other socio-sexual issues. Where can I go read about it? What is a good jumping off point? I think this can serve as the basis for some really amazing discussions here.
This post was written by...
Joshua Foust – author of 1771 posts on Registan.net.
Joshua Foust is a Fellow at the American Security Project and the author of Afghanistan Journal: Selections from Registan.net. His research focuses primarily on Central and South Asia. Joshua is a correspondent for The Atlantic and a columnist for PBS Need to Know. Joshua appears regularly on the BBC World News, Aljazeera, and international public radio. Joshua is also a regular contributor to Foreign Policy’s AfPak Channel, and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Reuters, and the Christian Science Monitor.
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I would suggest reading Chokan Wallihanov if there is any of his works in English. Although it would be kind of nonsence if there was not, because he was the first Russian officer and scientist, not to metion any European, who ever visited Kashgar. Being a Kazakh aristocrat he knew Central Asia very well and he left very detailed geographic and ethnographic descriptions of the region in 19th century. He also described customs, ways of living, history and religions of the societies of Central Asia.
Sorry, I think he would be known as Chokan Valikhanov