Editing Pashtuns (section)

== Culture ==
{{main|Pashtun culture}}
{{Further|Culture of Afghanistan|Culture of Pakistan}}
{{see also|Pashtun cuisine|Pashtun clothing}}
[[File:Pashtuns.jpg|thumb|Local clothes used by Pashtun children]]
Pashtun culture is based on Pashtunwali, [[Islam]] and the understanding of Pashto language. The Kabul dialect is used to standardize the present [[Pashto alphabet]].<ref name="MacKenzie 1959 231–235" /> Poetry is also an important part of Pashtun culture and it has been for centuries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://celcar.indiana.edu/materials/language-portal/pashto/index.html|title=Pashto|website=Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region|access-date=14 December 2021}}</ref> Pre-Islamic traditions, dating back to [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]]'s defeat of the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]] in 330&nbsp;BC, possibly survived in the form of [[Attan|traditional dances]], while literary styles and music reflect influence from the [[Culture of Iran|Persian tradition]] and regional [[musical instrument]]s fused with localized variants and interpretation. Like other [[Muslims]], Pashtuns celebrate [[Islamic holidays]]. Contrary to the Pashtuns living in Pakistan, [[Nowruz in Afghanistan]] is celebrated as the Afghan New Year by all Afghan ethnicities.

===Jirga===
{{main|Jirga}}

Another prominent Pashtun institution is the [[loya jirga|''lóya jirgá'']] ({{langx|ps|لويه جرګه}}) or 'grand council' of elected [[elder (administrative title)|elders]].<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1782079.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Q&A: What is a loya jirga?|date=1 July 2002|access-date=11 May 2010}}</ref> Most decisions in tribal life are made by members of the [[jirga|''jirgá'']] ({{langx|ps|جرګه}}), which has been the main institution of authority that the largely egalitarian Pashtuns willingly acknowledge as a viable governing body.<ref name="HRW">{{cite web|url=http://hrw.org/press/2002/04/qna-loyagirga.htm|title=Q & A on Afghanistan's Loya Jirga Process|access-date=10 October 2006|publisher=Human Rights Watch}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{main|Religion in Afghanistan|Religion in Pakistan}}
[[File:Mosque in Kandahar-2011.jpg|thumb|The [[tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani]] in [[Kandahar|Kandahar City]], which also serves as the [[Congregational Mosque]] and contains the [[Shrine of the Cloak|sacred cloak]] that the [[Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] wore.]]

Before Islam there were various different beliefs which were practised by Pashtuns such as [[Zoroastrianism]],<ref>https://fieldsupport.dliflc.edu/products/pak_pashto/pw_co/pashto.pdf "it is believed that millennia ago they emerged from Kandahar in Afghanistan and the Sulaiman Mountains in Pakistan. They then began expanding into what is known as the NWFP today. They are believed to have mainly practiced the Buddhist and Zoroastrian religions."</ref> [[Buddhism]] and [[Hinduism]].<ref name="ArnoldNettl2000">{{cite book|last1=Arnold|first1=Alison|title=The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia|last2=Nettl|first2=Bruno|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2000|isbn=9780824049461|page=785|language=en|quote=Before the emergence of Islam, the Pakhtuns were followers of Hinduism and Buddhism and considered music sacred, employing it in many religious rituals.}}</ref>

The overwhelming majority of Pashtuns adhere to [[Sunni Islam]] and belong to the [[Hanafi]] school of thought. Small [[Shia Islam|Shia]] communities exist in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Paktia. The Shias belong to the [[Turi (tribe)|Turi]] tribe while the [[Bangash]] tribe is approximately 50% Shia and the rest Sunni, who are mainly found in and around [[Parachinar]], [[Kurram District|Kurram]], [[Hangu District, Pakistan|Hangu]], [[Kohat]] and [[Orakzai District|Orakzai]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Sunni Militants Claim Deadly Attack at Market in Pakistan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/world/asia/sunni-militants-claim-deadly-attack-at-market-in-pakistan.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 December 2015|access-date=14 December 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Afghan men praying in Kunar-2009.jpg|thumb|left|Men doing Islamic [[salat]] (praying) outside in the open in the [[Kunar Province]] of Afghanistan]]
A legacy of [[Sufism|Sufi]] activity may be found in some Pashtun regions, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as evident in songs and dances. Many Pashtuns are prominent [[Ulema]], Islamic scholars, such as Maulana Aazam an author of more than five hundred books including Tafasee of the Quran as Naqeeb Ut Tafaseer, Tafseer Ul Aazamain, Tafseer e Naqeebi and Noor Ut Tafaseer etc., as well as [[Muhammad Muhsin Khan]] who has helped translate the [[Noble Qur'an (Hilali-Khan)|Noble Quran]], [[Sahih Bukhari|Sahih Al-Bukhari]] and many other books to the English language.<ref name="Noble Quran">{{cite web|url=http://firstedition.com.my/the%20noble%20quran.htm|title=''The Noble Quran'' (in 9 VOLUMES), Arabic-English|work=firstedition.com.my|editor=Muhammad Muhsin Khan|access-date=18 January 2007|archive-date=28 June 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628232824/http://firstedition.com.my/the%20noble%20quran.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many Pashtuns want to reclaim their identity from being lumped in with the Taliban and international terrorism, which is not directly linked with Pashtun culture and history.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6198382.stm|title=Pashtuns want an image change|publisher=BBC News|first=Ahmed|last=Rashid|year=2006}}</ref>

Little information is available on non-Muslim as there is limited data regarding [[irreligion|irreligious]] groups and minorities, especially since many of the [[Hindu]] and [[Sikh]] Pashtuns migrated from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the [[partition of India]] and later, after the [[Battle of Kabul (1992–1996)|rise of the Taliban]].<ref name="Tariq Ali">{{cite book|title=The clash of fundamentalisms: crusades, jihads and modernity|url=https://archive.org/details/clashoffundament00alit|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/clashoffundament00alit/page/20 20]|quote=The friends from Peshawar would speak of Hindu and Sikh Pashtuns who had migrated to India. In the tribal areas – the no man's land between Afghanistan and Pakistan – quite a few Hindus stayed on and were protected by the tribal codes. The same was true in Afghanistan itself (till the mujahidin and the Taliban arrived).|publisher=Verso|access-date=20 April 2008|isbn=978-1-85984-457-1|author1=Ali, Tariq|year=2003}}</ref><ref name="John Trimbur">{{cite book|title=The call to write|url=https://archive.org/details/calltowrite0000trim|url-access=registration|quote=Sikh Pashtuns.|publisher=Pearson Longman|access-date=20 April 2008|isbn=978-0-321-20305-2|author1=Trimbur, John|date=10 August 2004}}</ref>

There are also Hindu Pashtuns, sometimes known as the Sheen Khalai, who have moved predominantly to India.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Haidar|first1=Suhasini|date=3 February 2018|title=Tattooed 'blue-skinned' Hindu Pushtuns look back at their roots|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tattooed-blue-skinned-hindu-pushtuns-look-back-at-their-roots/article22645932.ece}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ur8WAQAAMAAJ&q=hindu+pashtuns|title=Himāl: The South Asian Magazine|date=2002|publisher=Himal, Incorporated|pages=91|quote=Most Hindus and Sikhs left Afghanistan during the 1992–1996 fighting}}</ref> A small Pashtun Hindu community, known as the ''[[Sheen Khalai]]'' meaning 'blue skinned' (referring to the color of Pashtun women's facial [[tattoo]]s), migrated to Unniara, [[Rajasthan]], India after [[partition of India|partition]].<ref name="Haider2018">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tattooed-blue-skinned-hindu-pushtuns-look-back-at-their-roots/article22645932.ece|title=Tattooed 'blue-skinned' Hindu Pushtuns look back at their roots|last=Haider|first=Suhasini|date=3 February 2018|work=The Hindu|access-date=9 February 2020}}</ref> Prior to 1947, the community resided in the [[Quetta]], [[Loralai]] and Maikhter regions of the British Indian province of [[Baluchistan (Chief Commissioner's Province)|Baluchistan]].<ref name="thebetterindia">{{cite web|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/155394/hindu-pashtun-shilpi-batra-sheenkhalai-afghanistan/|title=India's Forgotten Links to Afghanistan|website=thebetterindia|date=8 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="Haider2018"/><ref name="hind">{{cite web|url=https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1697086/pakistan|title=70 years on, one Pashtun town still safeguards its old Hindu-Muslim brotherhood|date=30 June 2020|last=Khan|first=Naimat|work=Arab News|quote=The meat-eating Hindu Pashtuns are a little known tribe in India even today, with a distinct culture carried forward from Afghanistan and Balochistan which includes blue tattoos on the faces of the women, traditional Pashtun dancing and clothes heavily adorned with coins and embroidery.}}</ref> They are mainly members of the Pashtun [[Kakar]] tribe. Today, they continue to speak Pashto and celebrate Pashtun culture through the [[Attan]] dance.<ref name="thebetterindia"/><ref name="Haider2018"/>

There is also a minority of Pashtun Sikhs in [[Tirah]], [[Orakzai District|Orakzai]], [[Kurram District|Kurram]], [[Malakand District|Malakand]], and [[Swat District|Swat]]. Due to the ongoing [[insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], some Pashtun Sikhs were [[internally displaced person|internally displaced]] from their ancestral villages to settle in cities like [[Peshawar]] and [[Nankana Sahib]].<ref name="Eusufzye2018">{{cite web|last1=Eusufzye|first1=Khan Shehram|title=Two identities, twice the pride: The Pashtun Sikhs of Nankana Saheb|url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/03/11/two-identities-twice-the-pride-the-pashtun-sikhs-of-nankana-saheb/amp/|work=[[Pakistan Today]]|access-date=31 May 2020|year=2018|quote=One can sense a diminutive yet charming cultural amalgamation in certain localities within the town with the settling of around 250 Pashtun Sikh families in the city.}}<br />Ruchi Kumar, [https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/12/decline-afghanistan-hindu-sikh-communities-161225082540860.html The decline of Afghanistan's Hindu and Sikh communities], Al Jazeera, 2017-01-01, "the culture among Afghan Hindus is predominantly Pashtun"<br />Beena Sarwar, [https://www.himalmag.com/finding-lost-heritage/ Finding lost heritage], Himal, 2016-08-03, "Singh also came across many non turban-wearing followers of Guru Nanak in Pakistan, all of Pashtun origin and from the Khyber area."<br />Sonia Dhami, [https://indicanews.com/2020/01/05/sikh-religious-heritage-my-visit-to-lehenda-punjab-part-two-by-sonia-dhami/ Sikh Religious Heritage – My visit to Lehenda Punjab], Indica News, 2020-01-05, "Nankana Sahib is also home to the largest Sikh Pashtun community, many of whom have migrated from the North West Frontier Provinces, renamed Khyber-Pakhtunwa."<br />Neha, [https://www.siasat.com/pak-misusing-durand-line-facilitate-terrorists-says-pashtun-1626604/ Pak misusing Durand Line to facilitate terrorists, says Pashtun], Siasat Daily, 2019-09-20, "The members of the Pashtun and Afghan Sikh community living in Europe and UK have gathered in Geneva"<br />Sabrina Toppa, [https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/despite-border-tensions-indian-sikhs-celebrate-festival-in-pakistan-25905 Despite border tensions, Indian Sikhs celebrate festival in Pakistan], TRT World, 2019-04-16, "Hasanabdal is home to around 200 Sikh families that have primarily moved from Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including Pakistan's former tribal areas. The majority are Pashtun Sikhs who abandoned their homes and took refuge near Sikhism's historical sites."</ref><ref name="Sikhs">{{cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1193942|title=Tirah Sikhs glad at getting status of tribal elders|date=12 July 2015|work=Dawn|location=Pakistan}}</ref><ref name="Sikh Pashtuns">{{cite news|url=http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsOct2008/sprepoct.htm|date=October 2008|title=The Frontier Singhs|publisher=Newsline Publications (Pvt.) Ltd.|access-date=7 June 2009|quote=There is a small Sikh community in the largely ungoverned Orakzai tribal region, while a few live in Kurram's regional headquarters of Parachinar. They consider themselves "sons of the soil" – Pashtuns to be more specific – and are identified as such. "We are proud to be Pashtuns," says Sahib Singh. "Pashto is our tongue, our mother tongue – and we are proud of it."|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022122735/http://www.newsline.com.pk/NewsOct2008/sprepoct.htm|archive-date=22 October 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Pashto literature and poetry ===
{{Main|Pashto literature and poetry}}
[[File:Mahmud Tarzi in 1920-cropped.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mahmud Tarzi]], son of [[Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi]], became the pioneer of [[Media of Afghanistan|Afghan journalism]] for publishing the first newspaper [[Seraj al Akhbar]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bl.uk/collections/afghan/chronology1881to1919.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715124008/http://www.bl.uk/collections/afghan/chronology1881to1919.html|url-status=dead|title=Chronology: the reigns of Abdur Rahman Khan and Habibullah, 1881–1919|archive-date=15 July 2007|access-date=14 December 2021}}</ref>]]
The majority of Pashtuns use [[Pashto]] as their [[first language|native tongue]], belonging to the [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] [[language family]],<ref name="Iranica">[[Nicholas Sims-Williams]], {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110719014711/http://iranica.com/articles/eastern-iranian-languages Eastern Iranian languages]}}, in Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition, 2010. ''"The Modern Eastern Iranian languages are even more numerous and varied. Most of them are classified as North-Eastern: Ossetic; Yaghnobi (which derives from a dialect closely related to Sogdian); the Shughni group (Shughni, Roshani, Khufi, Bartangi, Roshorvi, Sarikoli), with which Yaz-1ghulami (Sokolova 1967) and the now extinct Wanji (J. Payne in Schmitt, p. 420) are closely linked; Ishkashmi, Sanglichi, and Zebaki; Wakhi; Munji and Yidgha; and Pashto."''</ref> and spoken by up to 60&nbsp;million people.<ref name="Penzl">{{Cite book|title=A Grammar of Pashto a Descriptive Study of the Dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan|last1=Penzl|first1=Herbert|first2=Ismail|last2=Sloan|year=2009|publisher=Ishi Press International|isbn=978-0-923891-72-5|page=210|quote=''Estimates of the number of Pashto speakers range from 40&nbsp;million to 60&nbsp;million&nbsp;...''|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zvRePgAACAAJ}}</ref><ref name="Omniglot">{{cite web|url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/pashto.htm|title=Pashto language, alphabet and pronunciation|publisher=Omniglot|access-date=18 January 2007}}</ref> It is written in the [[Pashto alphabet|Pashto-Arabic script]] and is divided into two main dialects, the southern "Pashto" and the northern "Pukhto". The language has ancient origins and bears similarities to [[extinct language]]s such as [[Avestan language|Avestan]] and [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]].<ref name="Britannica Avestan">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9356220|title=Avestan language|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=18 February 2007}}</ref> Its closest modern relatives may include [[Pamir languages]], such as [[Shughni language|Shughni]] and [[Wakhi language|Wakhi]], and [[Ossetic language|Ossetic]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia : An Encyclopedia|author=Minahan, James|location=Santa Barbara, California|isbn=978-1-61069-018-8|oclc=879947835|chapter=Pamiri|date=10 February 2014}}</ref> Pashto may have ancient legacy of borrowing vocabulary from neighbouring languages including such as [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Vedic Sanskrit]]. Modern borrowings come primarily from the English language.<ref name="Pashto Dictionary">Awde, Nicholas and Asmatullah Sarwan. 2002. ''Pashto: Dictionary & Phrasebook'', New York: Hippocrene Books Inc. {{ISBN|0-7818-0972-X}}. Retrieved 18 February 2007.</ref>

The earliest describes Sheikh Mali's conquest of [[Swat (princely state)|Swat]].<ref name="UCLA">{{cite web|url=http://www.afghan-network.net/Ethnic-Groups/pashtu-history.html|title=History of Pushto language|publisher=UCLA Language Materials Project|access-date=18 January 2007}}</ref> [[Pir Roshan]] is believed to have written a number of Pashto books while fighting with the Mughals. Pashtun scholars such as [[Abdul Hai Habibi]] and others believe that the earliest Pashto work dates back to [[Amir Kror Suri]], and they use the writings found in [[Pata Khazana]] as proof. Amir Kror Suri, son of ''Amir Polad Suri'', was an 8th-century [[folk hero]] and king from the [[Ghor Province|Ghor]] region in Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Afghan Monarchs: Sher Shah Suri, Amanullah Khan, Habibullah Khan, Amir Kror Suri|year=2010|publisher=General Books|location=London|isbn=978-1-156-38425-1|page=26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Afghanistan|volume=20–22|year=1967|publisher=Historical Society of Afghanistan|page=47|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zhrjAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> However, this is disputed by several European experts due to lack of strong evidence.

The advent of poetry helped transition Pashto to the modern period. Pashto literature gained significant prominence in the 20th century, with poetry by [[Ameer Hamza Shinwari]] who developed ''Pashto Ghazals''.<ref name="Shinwari Baba">{{cite web|url=http://www.khyber.org/people/literary/AmirHamzaShinwariBaba.shtml|title=Amir Hamza Shinwari Baba|work=Khyber.org|access-date=18 January 2007|archive-date=27 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927155949/http://www.khyber.org/people/literary/AmirHamzaShinwariBaba.shtml|url-status=usurped}}</ref> In 1919, during the expanding of mass media, [[Mahmud Tarzi]] published Seraj-al-Akhbar, which became the first Pashto newspaper in Afghanistan. In 1977, [[Khan Roshan Khan]] wrote ''Tawarikh-e-Hafiz Rehmatkhani'' which contains the family trees and Pashtun tribal names. Some notable poets include [[Malak Ahmad Khan Yusufzai]] [[Abdul Ghani Khan]], [[Afzal Khan Khattak]], [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]], [[Gaju Khan]] [[Kalu Khan Yousafzai]] [[Ajmal Khattak]], [[Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi]], [[Hamza Shinwari]], [[Hanif Baktash]], [[Khushal Khan Khattak]], [[Nazo Tokhi]], [[Pareshan Khattak]], [[Rahman Baba]], [[Shuja Shah Durrani]], and [[Timur Shah Durrani]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afghan-web.com/culture/poetry/cpoets.html|title=Classical Dari and Pashto Poets|publisher=Afghanistan Online|access-date=20 April 2011|archive-date=12 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412113451/http://www.afghan-web.com/culture/poetry/cpoets.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Rahman Baba">{{cite web|url=http://www.pashto.org/content/view/12/26/|title=Rahman Baba: Poet of the Pashtuns|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070417172354/http://www.pashto.org/content/view/12/26/|archive-date=17 April 2007|publisher=Pashto.org|access-date=18 January 2007}}</ref>

=== Media and arts ===
{{Further|Pashto media|Pashto music|Pashto cinema}}
[[Pashto media]] has expanded in the last decade, with a number of [[List of Pashto-language television channels|Pashto TV channels]] becoming available. Two of the popular ones are the Pakistan-based [[AVT Khyber]] and Pashto One. Pashtuns around the world, particularly those in Arab countries, watch these for entertainment purposes and to get latest news about their native areas.<ref name="ATVKhyber">{{cite web|url=http://www.avtkhyber.tv/website/about.htm|title=Link|work=avtkhyber.tv|publisher=[[AVT Khyber]]|access-date=15 January 2008|archive-date=5 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105030355/http://www.avtkhyber.tv/website/about.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Others are Afghanistan-based [[Shamshad TV]], [[Radio Television Afghanistan]], [[TOLOnews]] and [[Lemar TV]], which has a special children's show called ''[[Baghch-e-Simsim]]''. International news sources that provide Pashto programs include [[BBC Pashto]] and [[Voice of America#Languages|Voice of America]].

Producers based in [[Peshawar]] have created [[List of Pashto-language films|Pashto-language films]] since the 1970s.

Pashtun performers remain avid participants in various physical forms of expression including dance, sword fighting, and other physical feats. Perhaps the most common form of artistic expression can be seen in the various forms of Pashtun dances. One of the most prominent dances is ''[[Attan]]'', which has ancient roots. A rigorous exercise, Attan is performed as musicians play various native instruments including the ''[[dhol]]'' (drums), ''[[tabla]]s'' (percussions), ''[[Rubab (instrument)|rubab]]'' (a [[bow (music)|bowed]] [[string instrument]]), and ''toola'' (wooden flute). With a rapid circular motion, dancers perform until no one is left dancing, similar to [[Sufism|Sufi]] [[Mevlevi|whirling dervishes]]. Numerous other dances are affiliated with various tribes notably from Pakistan including the ''Khattak Wal Atanrh'' (eponymously named after the [[Khattak]] tribe), ''Mahsood Wal Atanrh'' (which, in modern times, involves the juggling of loaded rifles), and ''Waziro Atanrh'' among others. A sub-type of the ''Khattak Wal Atanrh'' known as the ''Braghoni'' involves the use of up to three swords and requires great skill. Young women and girls often entertain at weddings with the ''Tumbal'' ([[Dayereh]]) which is an instrument.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter=Ghaval|title=New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments|edition=2nd|last=McCollum|first=Jonathan|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-974339-1}}</ref>

=== Sports ===
{{Further|Sport in Pakistan|Sport in Afghanistan}}
[[File:Shahid Afridi 2010-cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Shahid Afridi]], former captain of the [[Pakistan national cricket team]]]]
Both the [[Pakistan national cricket team]] and the [[Afghanistan national cricket team]] have Pashtun players.<ref name="EWC">{{Cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of World Cricket|first=Roy|last=Morgan|location=Cheltenham|publisher=SportsBooks|year=2007|page=15|isbn=978-1-89980-751-2}}</ref> One of the most popular sports among Pashtuns is [[cricket]], which was introduced to South Asia during the early 18th century with the arrival of the British. Many Pashtuns have become prominent international [[cricket]]ers, including [[Imran Khan]], [[Shahid Afridi]], [[Majid Khan (cricketer, born 1946)|Majid Khan]], [[Misbah-ul-Haq]], [[Younis Khan]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Younis Khan Profile|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/43652.html|publisher=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref> [[Umar Gul]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Umar Gul Profile|url=https://www.cricbuzz.com/profiles/504/umar-gul#!#profile|website=CricBuzz}}</ref> [[Junaid Khan (cricketer)|Junaid Khan]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Fakhar Zaman, Junaid Khan reveal their Pathan aggression|url=https://www.brecorder.com/2017/12/02/384328/fakhar-zaman-junaid-khan-reveal-their-pathan-aggression/|website=Business Recorder|date=2 December 2017}}</ref> [[Fakhar Zaman (cricketer)|Fakhar Zaman]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman aims to win World Cup and break into Test team|url=https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12343/11479807/pakistans-fakhar-zaman-aims-to-win-world-cup-and-break-into-test-team|publisher=Sky Sports}}</ref> [[Mohammad Rizwan (cricketer)|Mohammad Rizwan]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Mohammad Rizwan profile|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/323389.html|publisher=ESPNcricinfo}}</ref> [[Usman Shinwari]], [[Naseem Shah (cricketer)|Naseem Shah]], [[Shaheen Afridi]], [[Iftikhar Ahmed (cricketer)|Iftikhar Ahmed]], [[Mohammad Wasim (cricketer, born 2001)|Mohammad Wasim]] and [[Yasir Shah]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Yasir Shah ready to be the difference for Pakistan over England as world's best wrist-spinner prepares for his first Test outside Asia|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2016/07/11/yasir-shah-ready-to-be-the-difference-for-pakistan-over-england/|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2016/07/11/yasir-shah-ready-to-be-the-difference-for-pakistan-over-england/|archive-date=11 January 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|website=The Telegraph|date=11 July 2016|last1=Berry|first1=Scyld}}{{cbignore}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Australian cricketer [[Fawad Ahmed]] is of Pakistani Pashtun origin who has played for the Australian national team.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/578939/hottie-of-the-week-fawad-ahmed/|title=Hottie of the week: Fawad Ahmed|work=The Express Tribune|date=23 July 2013|access-date=1 September 2013}}</ref>

[[Makha]] is a traditional archery sport in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, played with a long arrow (''gheshai'') having a saucer shaped metallic plate at its distal end, and a long bow.<ref>{{cite web|title='Mukha' lovers throng Topi contest|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/729598/mukha-lovers-throng-topi-contest|website=Dawn|date=26 June 2012}}</ref> In Afghanistan, some Pashtuns still participate in the ancient sport of [[buzkashi]] in which horse riders attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal circle.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sports and Games of Pashtoons|url=http://www.khyber.org/culture/a/Sports_and_Games_of_Pashtoons.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419174423/http://www.khyber.org/culture/a/Sports_and_Games_of_Pashtoons.shtml|url-status=usurped|archive-date=19 April 2017|website=Khyber.org}}</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/columnists/dom-joly/dom-joly-know-your-kokpar-from-your-kyz-kuu-1917860.html "Dom Joly: Know your Kokpar from your Kyz-Kuu"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828033105/http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/columnists/dom-joly/dom-joly-know-your-kokpar-from-your-kyz-kuu-1917860.html |date=28 August 2017}}, The Independent: Columnists</ref><ref>Dean, Ruth and Melissa Thomson, ''Making the Good Earth Better: The Heritage of Kurtz Bros., Inc.'' pp. 17–18</ref>

=== Women ===
Pashtun women are known to be modest and honourable because of their modest dressing.<ref>Ahmed, A. (2010). Women's Agency in Muslim Society. The SAGE Handbook of Islamic Studies, 22, 213</ref><ref>Agarwal, B. (1998). A field of one's own: Gender and land rights in South Asia. New York: Cambridge University Press.</ref> The lives of Pashtun women vary from those who reside in the ultra-conservative rural areas to those found in urban centres.<ref name="Women's Rights">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/ihavearightto/four_b/report-azami.shtml|title=I have a right to|publisher=BBC World Service|date=16 January 2006|access-date=10 October 2006}}</ref> At the village level, the female village leader is called "qaryadar". Her duties may include witnessing women's ceremonies, mobilizing women to practice religious festivals, preparing the female dead for burial, and performing services for deceased women. She also arranges marriages for her own family and arbitrates conflicts for men and women.<ref name="Harvard">{{cite web|url=http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/ilsp/research/kakar.pdf|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/ilsp/research/kakar.pdf|archive-date=9 October 2022|url-status=live|title=Tribal Law of Pashtunwali and Women's Legislative Authority|work=law.harvard.edu|publisher=[[Harvard University]]}}</ref> Though many Pashtun women remain tribal and illiterate, some have completed universities and joined the regular employment world.<ref name="Women's Rights" />

[[File:Shinzō Abe and Malala Yousafzai (1) Cropped.jpg|175px|thumb|[[Malala Yousafzai]], Pakistani activist for female education and the 2014 [[Nobel Peace Prize]] laureate]]
The decades of war and the rise of the Taliban [[Taliban treatment of women|caused considerable hardship]] among Pashtun women, as many of their rights have been curtailed by a rigid interpretation of [[Sharia|Islamic law]]. The difficult lives of Afghan female refugees gained considerable notoriety with the iconic image ''[[Afghan Girl]]'' (Sharbat Gula) depicted on the June 1985 cover of ''[[National Geographic Magazine|National Geographic]]'' magazine.<ref name="Sharbat Gula">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/100best/storyA_story.html|title=Along Afghanistan's War-torn Frontier|work=National Geographic|date=June 1985|access-date=10 October 2006|archive-date=9 November 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109082729/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/100best/storyA_story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Modern social reform for Pashtun women began in the early 20th century, when Queen [[Soraya Tarzi]] of Afghanistan made rapid reforms to improve women's lives and their position in the family. She was the only woman to appear on the list of rulers in Afghanistan. Credited with having been one of the first and most powerful Afghan and Muslim female activists. Her advocacy of social reforms for women led to a protest and contributed to the ultimate demise of [[Amanullah Khan|King Amanullah]]'s reign in 1929.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iiav.nl/ezines/web/JournalofInternationalWomensStudies/2003/Vol4Nr3May/Afghanistan.pdf|title=A History of Women in Afghanistan: Lessons Learnt for the Future|work=Huma Ahmed-Ghosh|publisher=Aletta, Institute for Women's History|date=May 2003|access-date=2 December 2010|archive-date=18 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518125237/http://www.iiav.nl/ezines/web/JournalofInternationalWomensStudies/2003/Vol4Nr3May/Afghanistan.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Civil rights]] remained an important issue during the 1970s, as feminist leader [[Meena Keshwar Kamal]] campaigned for [[women's rights in Afghanistan|women's rights]] and founded the [[Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan]] (RAWA) in the 1977.<ref name="RAWA">{{cite web|url=http://www.rawa.org/waves.htm|title=Making Waves: Interview with RAWA|work=RAWA.org|date=16 January 2006|access-date=10 October 2006}}</ref>

Pashtun women these days vary from the traditional housewives who live in seclusion to urban workers, some of whom seek or have attained parity with men.<ref name="Women's Rights" /> But due to numerous social hurdles, the literacy rate remains considerably lower for them than for males.<ref name="Afghan women literacy">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/laura-bush-meets-afghan-women/|title=Laura Bush Meets Afghan Women|publisher=CBS News|date=16 January 2006|access-date=10 October 2006|archive-date=28 April 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428010424/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/29/world/main683742.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Abuse against women is present and increasingly being challenged by women's rights organizations which find themselves struggling with conservative religious groups as well as government officials in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to a 1992 book, "a powerful ethic of forbearance severely limits the ability of traditional Pashtun women to mitigate the suffering they acknowledge in their lives."<ref name="Paxtun Women">{{cite book|last=Grima|first=Benedicte|year=1992|title=Performance of Emotion Among Paxtun Women|publisher=[[University of Texas Press]]|isbn=0-292-72756-9}}</ref>

Further challenging the status quo, [[Vida Samadzai]] was selected as Miss Afghanistan in 2003, a feat that was received with a mixture of support from those who back the individual rights of women and those who view such displays as anti-traditionalist and un-Islamic. Some have attained political office in Afghanistan and Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4434782.stm|title=Warlords and women in uneasy mix|first=Andrew|last=North|publisher=BBC News|date=14 November 2005|access-date=10 October 2006}}</ref> A number of Pashtun women are found as TV hosts, journalists and actors.<ref name=Khyber /> In 1942, [[Madhubala]] (Mumtaz Jehan), the [[Marilyn Monroe]] of India, entered the [[Bollywood]] film industry.<ref name="Devasher2022">{{cite book|last1=Devasher|first1=Tilak|title=The Pashtuns: A Contested History|date=15 September 2022|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=978-93-94407-64-0|language=en|quote=The Pashtuns have made a vital contribution in diverse spheres of life: all rulers of Afghanistan since 1747, except for a nine-month interlude in 1929 and between 1992 and 1996, have been Pashtuns. In Pakistan, Ayub Khan, a Tarin Pashtun, as also Gen. Yahya Khan and Ghulam Ishaq Khan, became presidents; in India, Zakir Hussain, an Afridi Pashtun, became president. Muhammed Yusuf Khan (Dilip Kumar) and Mumtaz Jahan (Madhubala) were great Bollywood actors; Mansoor Ali Khan (Tiger Pataudi) led the Indian cricket team;}}</ref> Bollywood blockbusters of the 1970s and 1980s starred [[Parveen Babi]], who hailed from the lineage of Gujarat's historical Pathan community: the royal [[Babi Dynasty]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Khanna|first1=Anshu|title=Remembering the Brightest of the Babis|url=https://thedailyguardian.com/remembering-the-brightest-of-the-babis/|publisher=Daily Guardian|date=22 January 2021}}</ref> Other Indian actresses and models, such as [[Zarine Khan]], continue to work in the industry.<ref name="pathan">{{cite news|last=Dalal|first=Mangal|title=When men were men|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/when-men-were-men/564691/0|newspaper=The Indian Express|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211074052/https://indianexpress.com/news/when-men-were-men/564691/0|archive-date=11 February 2010|access-date=23 August 2013|quote="She's a Pathan girl who speaks Hindi and Urdu well and was spectacular in the screen test. It was pure luck."|date=8 January 2010}}</ref> During the 1980s many Pashtun women served in the ranks of the [[Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghan communist regime's Military]]. [[Khatol Mohammadzai]] served paratrooper during the [[Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)|Afghan Civil War]] and was later promoted to [[brigadier general]] in the [[Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghan Army]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Yousafzai|first=Sami|date=28 November 2011|title=Afghanistan: The Trials of Woman Paratrooper Khatool Mohammadzai|url=http://www.newsweek.com/afghanistan-trials-woman-paratrooper-khatool-mohammadzai-66285|magazine=Newsweek|access-date=22 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122045549/http://www.newsweek.com/afghanistan-trials-woman-paratrooper-khatool-mohammadzai-66285|archive-date=22 November 2013}}</ref> [[Nigar Johar]] is a [[three-star rank|three-star general]] in the Pakistan Army, another Pashtun female became a fighter [[Aviator|pilot]] in the [[Pakistan Air Force]].<ref name="Female Pilots">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4533367.stm|title=Pakistan's first women fighter pilots|first=Zaffar|last=Abbas|publisher=BBC News|date=11 May 2005|access-date=10 October 2006}}</ref> 
Pashtun women often have their legal rights curtailed in favour of their husbands or male relatives. For example, though women are officially [[women's suffrage|allowed to vote]] in Pakistan, some have been kept away from [[ballot box]]es by males.<ref name="BBC Women">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/ihavearightto/four_b/report-azami.shtml|title=I have a right to – Muhammad Dawood Azami: Pashto|publisher=BBC World Service|access-date=10 October 2006}}</ref>