Friendship in Afghanistan

In Dari, the terms are friendship (دوستی (dosti)) and friend (دوست (dost)); in Pashto, friendship (دوستي (dosti)) and companionship (رفاقت (refāqat)) are commonly used. A kinship or community tie does not automatically count as friendship when the voluntary, personal, and recurring mutual relationship is absent. Contacts often arise through relatives, neighborhood, education, work, business, and religious or community gatherings. Telephone, mobile messages, and social media supplement personal meetings when internet access, devices, money, and safe access are available. In 2025, about 16 percent of the population used the internet; network shutdowns, costs, and a lack of devices further limit contact. Women and girls have less access to many avenues of contact because of restrictions on further education, work, freedom of movement, and public participation. Household visits, contacts through women’s groups, and remote communication may still be possible, but depend on location, accompaniment, monitoring, and enforcement of mahram rules (Mahram-Regeln). Children and adolescents need age-appropriate contact, a trusted adult caregiver, and protection from exploitation; secret risky meetings should be avoided. Displacement, return, family separation, lack of documents, and poverty can disrupt existing friendships and support networks. Community-based protection, Communication with Communities, and humanitarian mediation may offer practical support, but are not a friendship institution and are not available in every province. De facto authorities, local security actors, households, and community leaders influence whether contacts are possible and safe; there is no dedicated authority for friendships. A friendship creates no special legal rights or duties. Consent, personal boundaries, confidentiality, and avoiding coercion or exploitation remain central rules. A same-sex friendship does not prove any particular sexual identity; LGBTQI+ people are nevertheless especially at risk and should not disclose their identity through public contacts or unsecured messages. For digital contacts, as few identifying details as possible should be shared, and devices and accounts should be protected. Identities should be verified, and images or locations should be shared only with consent because exposure, seizure, blackmail, and network shutdowns are possible. Afghanistan remains a high-risk environment with possible kidnappings, violence, checkpoints, unexploded ordnance, and local restrictions. Meeting place, accompaniment, route, and contact time should therefore be adapted to the current security situation in the relevant province. In cases of pressure, threats, blackmail, or stalking, safely limiting contact by blocking or restricting it may be appropriate. Evidence should be stored securely and, if needed, handed to trusted protection, legal, or humanitarian organizations. A friendship has no uniform costs or deadlines, but transport, telephone use, data allowances, devices, and protective measures can create practical burdens.