SC+2015+P5+King+Zahir+Shah

__King Zahir Shah __ Aim: King Zahir Shah withheld a 40 year reign over Afghanistan, in which he maintained political stability throughout the country. King Shah was remembered as, “... earned the title ‘father of the nation’...he introduced a constitutional monarchy and advocated greater political tolerance” (Mohammed Zahir Shah). In 1933, at the age of 19, Shah was given the throne after the assassination of his father. Because of the initiations of factionalism and political infighting, Shah became motivated to administrate advances and reforms, beginning with the creation of their new Constitution. His most popular reforms are his impact on the Afghan women. During his ruling, he provided women with education, voting rights and employment. Alongside these benefits for women, by 1964 Afghanistan had transformed into a more democratic country that provided the people with a stable parliament, civil rights and free elections. He was capable of maintaining his goal to provide peace throughout his land. As a result, his reign is a time that many will remember and appreciate.

Published by: Tianna Pinkney n.p. “Mohammed Zahir Shah.” //Infoplease//. Sandbox Network, Inc, n.d. Web. 13 October 2015.

Audience: The intended audience of King Zahir Shah were the people of Afghanistan that supported him and his actions. King Zahir Shah’s plan was to bring peace to the country of Afghanistan. In the article New York Times it was stated, “But his years were characterized by a rare long period of peace” (Bearak). King Shah supported the women of his audience by including new rights in voting, education and the work force. Supplying the women of Afghanistan with the opportunity to be more involved in the country made respected more by his audience. Even though Shah was seen as a peaceful ruler, some of his audience did not agree with women having more opportunity to be active in the government. King Zahir Shah affected the people of Afghanistan positively by trying to avoid conflict and keeping peace in the country, but negatively by not focusing on developing the country as a whole. King Zahir Shah was overthrown later in 1973 and was blamed for failing the economy.

Published by: Ajia Barnes Bearak, Barry. “Mohammad Zahir Shah, Last Afghan King, Dies at 92.” //New York Times// 24 July 2007: Print.

Historical: King Zahir Shah’s historical impact was mostly on the Afghanistan nation in which he accomplished receiving foreign aid in order to advance his country. In Jalalzai’s //Globalizing Afghanistan: Terrorism, War, and the Rhetoric of Nation Building//, he claims that “The United States did offer foreign aid and assistance to to Afghanistan, especially with state-building projects like the Helmand Valley Project” (Zubeda 65). The foreign aid given by the United States allowed Zahir to put it to good use. He provided the country with improved soldiers that were trained with modern training tactics. This improved the country’s defense; resulting in protection for the citizens of Afghanistan. Zahir also used the foreign aid to alleviate the economic stagnation during World War II. In order to improve the economy he created jobs by building facilities for the military, and civilians and he also improved the education system. This impacted Afghanistan because women were given the rights to go to school which wasn’t very popular during his time. Also the foreign aid allowed the terrorist group, Al Qaeda, to grow and become powerful. Majority of the soldiers in the terrorist group required training from the foreign aid given by the United States which resulted in a negative impact. Zahir’s wish for foreign aid did improve the country’s well being, but also created a terrorist group that is evolving and becoming more difficult to control.

Published by: Devin Shim Jalalzai, Zubeda, and David Jefferess. //Globalizing Afghanistan: Terrorism, War, and the Rhetoric of Nation Building//. Duke University Press, 2011.

Cultural: King Zahir Shah had a large impact on the culture of Afghanistan. He ruled Afghanistan for four decades, and made large efforts to provide more rights to women, and sway the traditional policies that had affected thousands of Afghans. With the Washington Post saying, “ Nevertheless, King Zahir used his stature as royalty to win development aid from both the United States and the Soviet Union -- a remarkable achievement during the Cold War struggle for influence at the strategic Asian crossroads” (Bernstein 1). Shah affected Afghan culture by trying to change what had been in place for centuries. A culture so tied on the denial of rights to women, and the mistreatment of its citizens is what King Shah changed culturally during his time as King. Shah actively sought out aid from the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as making a successful effort in keeping Afghanistan in neutral political power. Tribal communities and citizens were treated with much more respect and the nation, economy, and politics functioned properly with Shah in power.

Published by: Trevor Crain Bernstein, Adam. “Former Afghan King Mohammad Zahir Shah.” //The Washington Post// 24 July 2007: Print.