Badghis Province

Bādghīs (Pashto^[a], Dari^[b]: بادغیس), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northwestern part of the country, and shares an international border with Turkmenistan. It is considered to be one of the country's most underdeveloped provinces, with the highest poverty rate.^[5] The capital is Qala e Naw, while the most populous city and the district are Bala Murghab. The ruins of the medieval city of Marw al-Rudh, the historical capital of the medieval region of Gharjistan, are located in the province near the modern city of Bala Murghab.

Badghis بادغیس
Province
From the top, Bala Murghab, Shah-e Mashhad, Sabzak Pass
Map of Afghanistan with Badghis highlighted
Coordinates (Capital): 35°0′N 63°45′E
Country	Afghanistan
Capital	Qala e Naw
Largest city	Bala Murghab
Government
• Governor	Maulvi Abdul Sattar[1]
• Deputy Governor	Molwi Mohibullah Asad[2]
Area
• Total	23,000 km2 (9,000 sq mi)
• Water	0 km2 (0 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Total	559,297
• Density	24/km2 (63/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+4:30 (Afghanistan Time)
Postal Code	33XX
ISO 3166 code	AF-BDG
Main languages	Persian, Pashto[4]

Geography

Badghis Province is located in the isolated hills of northwestern Afghanistan and shares its borders with Herat, Ghor, and Faryab provinces as well as Turkmenistan. The province has a total area of 20,591 km².^[6] Hydrologically, the province is dominated by the Murghab River which is used for irrigation.^[7] It contains some mountains but is predominantly characterized by rolling hills divided by ravines.^[8]

The province is very windy; the name "Badghis" is a corruption of the Persian compound "bâd-khiz", meaning "wind source", referring to the steppe winds that blow into the province from the north and northwest. Its northern border extends to the edge of the part of the Karakum Desert known as the Sarakhs desert. Northern Badghis includes the loess and other aeolian formations, known locally as the "chul",^[9] through which the Turkmen-Afghan boundary runs.^[10] Across the border in Turkmenistan is the Badhyz State Nature Reserve in the Badkhiz-Karabil semi-desert.^[11]

History

Before the Arab conquest, the province was the center of the Kingdom of Badghis, whose king Tarkhan Tirek resisted an Umayyad invasion in 709 AD. After the Arab conquest, the province was rebellious and it served as a haven for religious dissenters until about 1000 AD.^[8] The poet Hanzala Badghisi flourished there in the mid-9th century. Badghis' excellent grasslands were used as summer pastures by the Timurid dynasty in the fifteenth century. By the late 19th century, the province was devastated by Turkmen raids.^[8] In 1964, the province was carved out of portions of Herat Province and Meymaneh Province.

The province was one of the last captured by the Taliban in their military offensive before the American invasion in 2001. The province was quickly retaken by Northern Alliance forces as the United States initiated hostilities.^{[citation needed]} Badghis Province came under complete control of the Taliban in 2021.

In January 2022, the province was struck by a 5.3 earthquake, killing dozens.^[12]

Demographics

Like in the rest of Afghanistan, no exact population numbers are available. The Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation & Development (MRRD) along with UNHCR and the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) of Afghanistan estimated the population of the province to be around 559,297 in 2021.^[3][13] In 2013 – the single year for which the data is available at the moment – Badghis male population was 241,200, and the female was 230,700.^[14] Tajiks make up the majority of the province's population with smaller numbers of Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Pashtuns, and Balochs.^[4]

Politics

Further information: List of governors of Badghis

The major political parties are:^[15]

• Jamiat-e Islami (Islamic Society of Afghanistan)
• Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin
• Islamic Council of Herat

At the province was a Provincial Reconstruction Team, which was led by Spain.^[15] In January 2019 a US service member from Texas, serving with the 75th Ranger Regiment, was fatally wounded during a combat operation in the province.^[16]

Economy

Badghis is counted as one of the most underdeveloped of the country's thirty-four provinces.^[17] Not only does it have the little infrastructure, and poor roads, it has a chronic shortage of water.^[17][18] Agriculture is the main source of people's income and the existence of the Murghab River makes the available land suitable for cultivation. The province has suffered from severe drought beginning in the late 1990s and continuing. It has caused tens of thousands of residents to flee to refugee camps outside Herat.^[19] The drought has been exacerbated by the excessive cutting of forests since 2001.^[18] Badghis is the leading province in Afghanistan in pistachio production. It is also one of the carpet-making areas of the country. The province produced Karakul sheep until the late 1970s.^[8]

Transportation

Badghis Province suffers from a lack of adequate transportation. A single airport exists at the provincial seat--Qala i Naw Airport (OAQN), which is capable of handling light aircraft.^[20] Work on a 233 km section of the Afghan ring road started up again in 2012.^[21] This section would connect Bala Murghab with Herat in the southwest, and Maymana and Mazar-i Sharif in the northeast.

Healthcare

The percentage of households with clean drinking water fell from 11.6% in 2005 to 1% in 2011.^[22] The percentage of births attended to by a skilled birth attendant increased from 15% in 2005 to 17% in 2011.^[22] Official government figures for 2007 indicated that 17% of the Badghis population had access to safe drinking water, while only 1% of births were attended by a skilled person.^[23]

Education

According to information from the education department, there are 457 schools with 75 high and the rests are primary and secondary schools. There are as many as 120,000 students, with 35% of them being female students. There is one vocational high school of agriculture and one midwife training Institute in the province as well. However, as of 2007, the overall literacy rate was only 9.5%.^[23]

Districts

Districts of Badghis

Badghis province is divided into seven districts.^[24]

Districts of Badghis Province

District	Capital	Population[25]	Area[26]	Pop. density	Ethnic groups
Ab Kamari		83,169	2,311	36	Predominantly Tajiks.[27]
Ghormach		62,311	1,782	35	97% Pashtuns, 2% Aimaqs, 1% Baloch.[28]
Jawand		89,148	6,105	15	Mixed Pashtuns and Tajiks.[29]
Muqur		26,838	620	43	Mixed Pashtuns and Tajiks.[30]
Bala Murghab		109,874	4,237	26	85.6% Pashtuns, 7% Tajiks, 7% Turkmens, 0.3% Uzbeks.[31]
Qadis		102,833	3,391	30	Mixed Pashtuns and Tajiks.[32]
Qala i Naw		75,410	841	90	Predominantly Tajiks[33]
Badghis		549,583	20,794	26	Ethnic Groups: 62% Tajik, 28% Pashtun, 5% Uzbek, 3% Turkmen, 2% Baluch; Religious Groups: 90% Sunni, 10% Shi'a[34]

See also

• Provinces of Afghanistan

Notes

1. Pashto pronunciation: [bɑd̪.ɣis]
2. Dari pronunciation: [bɑːd̪.ˈɣiːs]