User:OsFish/Golden Age of Afghanistan

The Golden Age of Afghanistan is a period in the History of Afghanistan romanticised as a time of liberalism and democratic enthusiasm. It is usually framed as occurring from either the 1930s or the 1950s, and ending in the early 1970s. Its end is typically marked by either the 1973 Afghan coup d'état which installed one party rule, or the 1978 Saur Revolution which brought in a Soviet-backed communist government. The country then fell into a decades long period of conflict.

Period
Some date the Golden Age from near the beginning of the Kingdom of Afghanistan (1926-1973).

Cosmopolitanism
- "The Paris of Central Asia" - religious diversity -

Women's Rights
- parliamentary representation - employment

Extent of the Golden Age
Much of the Golden Age mythologising concerns urban life in Afghanistan at the time. The country was still poor, and largely agrarian. As such, the extent to which the Golden Age was experienced by the whole of Afghan society has been questioned.

The end of the Golden Age
Tensions - pace of modernisation - increase in educated Afghans - political tensions - outside influence