The Enlightenment Movement Electricity and Citizenship in Afghanistan

Abstract

Initially proposed as a tool to unify different groups, electricity was used to silence and further marginalize the Hazara, a Shia minority in Afghanistan. This piece tracks and analyzes this ongoing problem, centering on the "Enlightenment Movement," Hazara protestation of the state in response to rerouting electricity. Discussing the governmental, ethnic, and geographic features at play in the issue of electricity, this paper argues that the Enlightenment Movement is not just fueled by a desire for electricity, but a demand for a wider discussion of Hazara civil rights.