Knowledge Production in the Australian Afghan Diaspora – The Role of Women in Sustaining Afghan Identity

Abstract

This paper documents the experiences of women from Afghanistan and the ways they cultivate identity and knowledge in a diasporic context. Sensemaking practices occur within a dismantled Afghan society ruptured by war, displacement and a Western environment marked by racialised multicultural dynamics. Women’s roles have been affected in acute ways, with cascading effects on the collective sense of Afghan nationhood, identity and belonging among Afghanistan’s diaspora. The women in this study hold diverse family histories and have lived through different but overlapping political periods, offering a continuum of memories that connect Afghanistan’s history to Australia’s contemporary social and political milieu. The narratives included here highlight the significant role women play as guardians of culture and heritage and show how, despite the many threats to the endurance of Afghan identity, this identity persists – retained and reinterpreted in diverse ways. Everyday cultural practices by women in the diasporic home act as an often overlooked form of knowledge production, informing and transforming memory, language and identity from Afghanistan.