Muhammad Zahir Shah's Role In The Kite Runner

The complicated nation of Afghanistan has seen a history rife with conflict. Different ethnic groups, a lack of unity, and invading conquerors caused the nation to constantly change and evolve over the last 500 years. In modern day Afghanistan, these evolutions have been more controversial and more apparent as time has passed, forcing Afghans to look to their 1964 constitution. Muhammad Zahir Shah proved to be a reliable and credible leader who implemented a significant constitution which provided new laws for Afghan society, including those that would further advance women’s rights.
The implementation of a new constitution, and the growing support of women’s rights pushed Afghan society away from their traditional political beliefs that the
nation held pre-decolonization in the 1930’s ("Afghanistan"). Rulers who attempted to modernize Afghanistan were assassinated because of opposing views from tribal leaders (Cronin). Amanullah Khan, for example, was a ruler who attempted to westernize Afghanistan through the promotion of rights for women, but unfortunately followed the previous trend of assassinations like those before him (“Amunallah Khan”). When Mohammad Zahir Shah came into rule in 1933, he did not make very many changes in the first part of his reign to keep the tribal leaders appeased. Zahir Shah, however, maintained neutrality and protected Afghan borders during World War Two ("Afghanistan during World War II."). This accomplishment gained him respect and opened his eyes to the need for the modernization of his country. Over the next 20 years Mohammad Zahir Shah made tremendous changes that modernized and improved Afghanistan.
People in Afghanistan did not view Mohammad Zahir Shah as another king, but more like a man who wanted to serve and help improve Afghanistan.
Zahir Shah was different from many rulers who tried to support women’s rights in Afghanistan. Many failed such attempts due to tribal leaders and other opposed views. Zahir Shah took the challenge to hand and successfully implemented the support of women’s rights, and stated in 1964 constitution that he wanted everyone to be equal ("Afghanistan Under Zahir Shah.") Mohammad Zahir Shah’s personality allowed many people to view him as more than just a ruler. With this confidence he implemented a new constitution. Because of Zahir Shah’s success on the support of women’s rights, many became more open to the changes he wanted to make in the government and Afghanistan in general as they trusted Zahir and knew he was capable of making a change. Mohammad Zahir Shah’s constitution formed a new and less corrupt government that banned relatives of the monarch from many government positions. “In 1933, when Zahir Shah first entered into his reign, he refused to sign the new party legislation into law when he realized a party system would prove a threat to the monarchy, therefore, political parties were closed down, and so were newspapers” (Fisk). After this event Zahir Shah made a law in his constitution that banned any relatives of the monarch from many government positions. Zahir Shah banned any relatives because he knew that if any relatives of the monarch decided to create a political party, it wouldn’t only create competition, but that party would have a chance at overthrowing Zahir Shah, which he did not want to happen. Mohammad Zahir Shah’s persona and determination helped him to earn the respect from his people and create a new government that would be hard to be overthrown by
threats. Mohammad Zahir Shah’s 1964 constitution proved to stimulate support for the advancement of women’s rights, which not only surprised people, but formed a more equal society. Past leaders in Afghanistan acknowledged the need to improve treatment of women, who were considered subordinate to men. These leaders tried to make education available to all and incorporate more women in the job industry. There were those, however, who were not able to carry out their ideas due to clashing views from the tribal leaders. Tribal leaders were known to assassinate those who attempted to increase women’s rights (Cronin). This caused fear in leaders, so they were weary to go against the views of tribal leaders and never again advocated for women’s rights. Amunallah Khan, for example, tried to make organizations to show his support for women’s rights, but many people, like the tribal leaders, disagreed ("Amanullah Khan."). This was a main factor as to why women’s rights were not fully supported until Mohammad took reign. Through his 1964 constitution, Mohammad Zahir Shah created a more equal environment that gave women the same rights and freedoms as men. Zahir stated several times in his constitution that “the people in Afghanistan, without any discrimination of preference, have equal rights and obligations before the law” (“Constitution of 1964, Article 25”), showing that men were not superior to women anymore. Women were finally allowed to receive an education and vote in elections (constitution, article 64), and Zahir also did not require women to wear the hniBurqa ("Mohammad Zahir Shah."). The growth of women’s rights, though they helped during Zahir’s rule, did not last forever. Many of the achievements made by Zahir were eroded in 1980-2000s by the Mujaheddin and the Taliban (BBC). It was not until the last 10 years that women were able to regain some of the rights granted to them by the 1964 constitution.
Mohammad Zahir Shah created a noteworthy constitution that impacted Afghan society. Zahir Shah implemented a new constitution which stated that all women should have equal rights as men. Zahir made an impact on Afghanistan during his reign, but many of the laws in his constitution were repealed by the Mujahideen. After Zahir Shah’s reign ended, “he moved into a villa outside of Rome, because he was forced into a soviet-backed coup in 1973” (Fisk). After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York city, which placed the blame on Osama Bin Ladin and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Afghan citizens saw the need for their exiled leader to return. This showed that Zahir Shah made a big enough impact during his reign and it was necessary for him to return to his home to improve the predicament Afghanistan faced (Henneberger).