The Afghan flag

Throughout history there have been many different flags in Afghanistan. It is probably the first country to have so many different flags since its establishment. One of the reasons that there have been so many different flags used by the government of Afghanistan throughout the history of Afghanistan is that almost every regime changed the national flag and shows the diverse ideologies of the people or the political groups. For example Habibullah Kalakani, also known as Bacha-e-Saqaw (son of a water carrier) who was the emir of Afghanistan in the year 1929, changed the flag during his rule which was less than a year. Looking back at the recent history of Afghanistan you can see a competation of flag changing.

For this post, we will introduce you to the current official flag of Afghanistan. Based on the article nineteen of the constitution of Afghanistan, the current flag of Afghanistan is comprised of three equal strips of black, red, and green. This current flag was adopted in 2004 and is still in use. In the center of the flag is the national emblem of Afghanistan. At the top of the emblem is the Shahada or declaration of faith which is translated as “There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is his messenger.” In the center of the emblem is a mosque with two flags of Afghanistan. Below the mosque is the date in solar Islamic colander showing the year 1298 which is the year Afghanistan got its independence.

The color of the tree strips are interpreted as follow: The black strip means the ages of darkness when Afghanistan was not independent. The red stripe means fighting for independence and bloodshed that accord during all the years before achieving the independence. The last green strip means prosperity, and independence.