Afgha Dogs

Why Dogs Miss the Taliban...

KABUL (Afghanistan) — Say what you will about the freshly-ousted Taliban regime in Afghanistan; we've all heard how their strict, totalitarian form of government forbade kite-flying, beard-cutting and Arnold Schwarzenegger films. But one restriction will be sorely missed by many four-footed Afghans: the prohibition of dog-fighting.


Mama Kharay is the ringmaster for the games.
He had been imprisoned by the Taliban for violating
the dog fight ban, but now he's back in business.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)

As soon as the Taliban leadership was quashed, Afghan men wasted no time in reinstating the old tradition of Friday morning dogfights (I say "Afghan men", based on the observation that at the last spectacle there was not a single woman present amid some 500 spectators).

However, one important note must be made regarding dog fights in Afghanistan. Unlike the Western tradition of illegal dog-fighting, Afghan dogs do not fight to the death, and often there is no bloodshed at all. These dog fights have been described more like wrestling matches, where one dog is victorious after pinning its opponent to the ground or frightening it out of the ring. In addition, there is not (yet) any profitable motive, as the winner receives nothing more than applause, and betting, while present, is not widespread.


Two dogs, "Palang" (left) and "Shair" draw an enormous
crowd in the Kabul neighborhood of Chamane Babrak.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)


Here is one reluctant contestant, just before entering the ring.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)


...and after.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)

Under the Taliban government, sports such as football, cricket and martial arts were encouraged in lieu of dog fights and bird fights, but this crowd seems to have a less-refined taste in sports. Of course, as with any other major sporting events, vendors circulate through the audience selling peanuts, raisins, cigarettes and chewing gum.

Most spectators say that they are only casual observers who do not wager but merely stop by to see the excitement. A Radio Free Europe correspondent who was present at last week's fight quoted one Russian-speaking man: "We come by here every Friday. There are people here who [gamble] also. But we don't do that. We see the dog fights here so we stop and watch them." (Click here for the full report from RFE/RL.)


They're all waiting. The show must go on.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)

The dog fights, which begin at 10:00 each Friday morning, generally consist of only about three or four matches and last only an hour or so. Friday is a Muslim holy day, and spectators must leave to attend noontime prayers.