Muhammad Zahir Shah's Role In The Kite Runner

The complicated nation of Afghanistan has seen a history rife with conflict. Different ethnic groups, a lack of unity, and invading conquerors caused the nation to constantly change and evolve over the last 500 years. In modern day Afghanistan, these evolutions have been more controversial and more apparent as time has passed, forcing Afghans to look to their 1964 constitution. Muhammad Zahir Shah proved to be a reliable and credible leader who implemented a significant constitution which provided new laws for Afghan society, including those that would further advance women’s rights.
The implementation of a new constitution, and the growing support of women’s rights pushed Afghan society away from their traditional political beliefs that the
Zahir Shah was different from many rulers who tried to support women’s rights in Afghanistan. Many failed such attempts due to tribal leaders and other opposed views. Zahir Shah took the challenge to hand and successfully implemented the support of women’s rights, and stated in 1964 constitution that he wanted everyone to be equal ("Afghanistan Under Zahir Shah.") Mohammad Zahir Shah’s personality allowed many people to view him as more than just a ruler. With this confidence he implemented a new constitution. Because of Zahir Shah’s success on the support of women’s rights, many became more open to the changes he wanted to make in the government and Afghanistan in general as they trusted Zahir and knew he was capable of making a change. Mohammad Zahir Shah’s constitution formed a new and less corrupt government that banned relatives of the monarch from many government positions. “In 1933, when Zahir Shah first entered into his reign, he refused to sign the new party legislation into law when he realized a party system would prove a threat to the monarchy, therefore, political parties were closed down, and so were newspapers” (Fisk). After this event Zahir Shah made a law in his constitution that banned any relatives of the monarch from many government positions. Zahir Shah banned any relatives because he knew that if any relatives of the monarch decided to create a political party, it wouldn’t only create competition, but that party would have a chance at overthrowing Zahir Shah, which he did not want to happen. Mohammad Zahir Shah’s persona and determination helped him to earn the respect from his people and create a new government that would be hard to be overthrown by