What is a Hazara in Afghanistan?

The Hazaras (Persian: هزاره‎, romanized: Hazāra; Hazaragi: آزره‎, romanized: Āzra) are a Persian-speaking ethnic group native to, and primarily residing in the Hazarajat region in central Afghanistan and generally scattered throughout Afghanistan.

What does Hazara mean in Afghanistan?

Who are Hazaras in Afghanistan?

The Hazaras are the third largest ethnic group of Afghanistan and a religious minority. They are mostly based in the mountainous area of central Afghanistan known as ‘Hazaristan’, or the land of the Hazaras. Hazaras speak a dialect of Dari called Hazaragi, which is a Persian dialect.

How did Hazaras come to Afghanistan?

The Hazaras are said to be of Mongolian and Central Asian descent, and the descendants of Mongolian leader Genghis Khan, who invaded Afghanistan in the 13th Century.

What does it mean to be a Hazara in Afghanistan?

What is the status of the Hazaras in Afghanistan?

There was a significant improvement in the status and treatment of Hazaras in Afghanistan after the Karzai administration came to power. The new 2004 Afghan constitution now recognizes them as one of the country’s ethnic minorities, and they now have the full right to Afghan citizenship.

Why does Iran use Hazara Shias in its war in Syria?

Today, Iran uses Hazara Shias as cannon fodder to fight its war in Syria. Poor Afghan Hazaras residing in Iran are offered Iranian citizenship to fight in Syria. While some Afghans are offered carrots, others are offered sticks. There are indications others—including poor, illegal workers in Iran—are compelled to go fight in Syria.

Are Hazara Shias being targeted by Lashkar-e Jhangvi?

But, beginning in the late 1990s, Hazara Shias were viciously targeted by the Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ), a Pakistani Sunni sectarian group allied with al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban. A brief LeJ campaign against Hazara Shias in Balochistan faded in the early 2000s, but renewed in 2007 until recently.

What was the result of the first revolt of the Hazaras?

The defeat of the Hazaras in their first revolt allowed Shah Adbur to impose taxes on Hazarajat for the first time, and they severely impeded the autonomy of Hazarajat, because numerous Pashtun soldiers and government officials were garrisoned in Hazarajat in order to ensure its compliance with the Pashtun-run state.