LAND RELATIONS in FARYAB PROVINCE: Findings from a Field Study in 11 Villages
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Case Studies Series LAND RELATIONS IN FARYAB PROVINCE: Findings from a field study in 11 villages Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit By Liz Alden Wily June 2004 Funding for this study was provided by the European Commission, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, and the governments of Switzerland and Sweden. © 2004 The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU). All rights reserved. This issues paper was prepared by an independent consultant with no previous involvement in the activities evaluated. The views and opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of AREU. About the Author Liz Alden Wily is an independent political economist specialising in rural land tenure. She gained her PhD in political economy in 1988 from the University of East Anglia, England. Since the 1970s Ms. Alden Wily has provided project design and policy guidance on tenure and related natural resource management systems in mainly Africa. Since 2002 she has periodically undertaken tenure related investigations for the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. About the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) is an independent research organisation that conducts and facilitates action-oriented research and learning that informs and influences policy and practice. AREU also actively promotes a culture of research and learning by strengthening analytical capacity in Afghanistan and by creating opportunities for analysis and debate. Fundamental to AREU’s vision is that its work should improve Afghan lives. AREU was established by the assistance community working in Afghanistan and has a board of directors with representation from donors, UN and multilateral organisations agencies and non- governmental organisations (NGOs). Current funding for AREU has been provided by the European Commission (EC), the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the governments of Sweden and Switzerland. Acknowledgements The author is extremely grateful to Sakhi Mohammad, who at the time of the study was the acting head of the UNAMA office in Maimana, and who provided not only a great deal of information but also safe and pleasant accommodation and office space. Appreciation is also due to all his staff and especially Nasir Gord. Chris Green and Fernando Resta of the NGO InterSoS kindly provided some data on population and livestock. Thanks are also due to Kahin Ismail and Christine Goyer of UNHCR in Maimana. Jonathan Lee, a meticulous historian of northern Afghanistan, provided important comments on transliteration and history. Mervyn Patterson of UNAMA provided additional useful insights on recent political changes. The author is indebted to both. Warm thanks are also due to Brandy Bauer and Tom Muller of AREU for editorial inputs and to Royce Wiles of AREU who helped access literature. My deepest thanks, however, are due to the many villagers who made the author welcome in their communities and patiently answered questions. Their endurance and optimism in the face of past and periodically continuing conflict and uncertainty is humbling. Disclaimer Factional politics have been an important element in land relations, especially over the last decade. Inevitably, the names of commanders, past and present, arise in a survey which encountered a multitude of disputes over property. Ethnicity also comes into play. The author has attempted to represent the opinions offered by villagers and officials as accurately and impartially as possible, although no such guarantee may be offered for the fairness of those opinions. While making these available in order to illustrate and analyse the stress which land relations in the study area are under, neither the author nor AREU can be held accountable for those views. Additionally, the primary text for this report was drafted in January 2004. Events which may have affected land relations in the province after this date have not been mentioned in this paper. Table of Contents Map 1. Afghanistan and Its Provinces ................................................ i Map 2. Districts Studied in Faryab Province ....................................... ii Map 3. Location of Mantiqas Studied ............................................... ii Glossary..................................................................................iv Executive Summary .................................................................... 1 I. Introduction ....................................................................... 4 A. Purpose of the Study .......................................................... 4 B. A Snapshot of Land Relations ................................................ 4 II. Historical Background on Faryab Province................................. 7 A. The Study Area ................................................................. 7 B. Faryab in the Past ............................................................. 8 C. Faryab in the 1990s........................................................... 13 D. After the Taliban: 2001-2003 ............................................... 15 III. Findings from the Field ...................................................... 18 A. Khwaja Musa District ......................................................... 18 Mantiqa #1 Ortepa – An Arab Community.................................... 18 B. Khwaja Sabz Posh District ................................................... 23 Mantiqa #2 Qala-yi Shaikhi – A Mixed Community .......................... 26 Mantiqa #3 Kamozai – A Pushtun Community ............................... 33 C. Shirin Tagab District.......................................................... 35 Mantiqa #4 Islam Qala – An Uzbek Community.............................. 38 D. The Pushtun Village of Khoja Charkhi ..................................... 42 Mantiqa #5 Turkul Baluch – A Peri-Urban Uzbek Community ............. 44 Mantiqa #6 Gurzad – An Uzbek Community.................................. 47 IV. The Widows of Faryab........................................................ 51 IV. Conclusions and Recommendations ........................................ 55 A. Key Findings................................................................... 55 B. The Way Forward ............................................................. 63 Bibliography............................................................................ 67 Appendix A: Interviewees in Faryab Province Other than Villagers........... 70 Appendix B: The Governance of Faryab Province in November 2003......... 71 Appendix C: Property Status of 27 Widows in Maimana......................... 73 Abbreviations and Acronyms ........................................................ 76 Boxes and Tables Box 1: Rural Classes in Faryab ...................................................... 25 Box 2: The Koran & Women ......................................................... 52 Box 3: The Civil Code and Female Inheritance ................................... 52 Box 4: Land Relations and Ethnic Identity ........................................ 58 Box 5: Warlordism as a Prop to Land Tensions ................................... 62 Table 1: Population Data for Survey Districts ..................................... 5 Table 2: Dominant Ethnicity of Villages in the Three Survey Districts 2003.. 5 Table 3: Survey Sites 2003............................................................ 6 Table 4: Land Cover in Faryab Province, 1993 .................................... 8 Table 5: Villages of Ortepa Mantiqa in Khwaja Musa District.................. 19 Table 6: Land Ownership in Arlan Village, Ortepa= Mantiqa .................. 22 Table 7: Mantiqa of Khwaja Sabz Posh District................................... 24 Table 8: Villages of Qala-yi Shaikhi Mantiqa...................................... 26 Table 9: Landless of Cheshma Qeshlaq Village................................... 30 Table 10: Villages of Islam Qala Mantiqa ......................................... 38 Table 11: Livestock Past and Present in Islama Qala Mantiqa................. 40 Table 12: Current Occupants of Khoja Charkhi Village ......................... 44 Table 13: Livestock Ownership in Turkul Baluch Mantiqa ...................... 45 Table 14: Pastures of Turkul Baluch ............................................... 46 Table 15: Villages of Gurzad Mantiqa.............................................. 47 Land Relations in Faryab Province Map 1. Afghanistan and Its Provinces Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit i Land Relations in Faryab Province Map 2. Districts Studied in Faryab Province Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit ii Land Relations in Faryab Province Map 3. Location of Mantiqas Studied Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit iii Land Relations in Faryab Province Glossary ābī..................................irrigated farm land ādat/rawāj........................customary/common law alafcha ............................lit, “little, or small, grass” grazing land in village ailāq ...............................upland pasture amīr ................................king amlāk ..............................properties (plural of “mulk”) arbāb ..............................appointed village leader aryat/jaizī/gerau/rahn .........pledge or mortgage alāqadārī ..........................village/mantiqa administration sub-district, the lowest official administrative unit arzān...............................cheap alaqa...............................area, ward, mantiqa alāqadār...........................government