Cell Phones Bring Romance to the Small Screen in Afghanistan

Afghanistan may be known for its traditional values when it comes to romantic liaisons, but modern technology is providing today’s Afghanis with a unique way to express their feelings to each other. From Kabul to Kandahar, from Shindand to Shir Khan, the word is out.

Afghani society has a strict social code of conduct:  women generally dress traditionally, guys and girls rarely meet un-chaperoned, or exchange eye contact in public. The leafy gardens of Kabul University have long been known as an oasis where young couples and friends can meet and talk in private. Even those who are not actually studying on campus sometimes drop in to meet each other, shaded by the whispering green branches that line the earnest university buildings and promise to guard their secrets.

Communication is the essence of any blossoming romance, and in days gone by young Afghanis passed notes through emissaries or made friends with a family member. These days, cell phones have become the ideal way to make initial contact with a new friend or potentially even a soul mate.

Sending the Perfect SMS for love

According to Baha Udeen, a young medical student at Kabul University, says the art of charming through SMS is in keeping your messages short, sweet and mysterious. He claims that even something as simple as “Bye” will kick-start a potential friend or sweetheart’s imagination into overdrive.

You’ll always get a text message back “and that’s when the poetry can begin,“ he says.

When it comes to tricks of the trade, Baha Udeen and his friends, do however confess that they keep a “catalogue” of made-to measure messages stored in their phone, ready to be sent flying across the airwaves via satellite. (Clearly more lightweight, cost-effective and quicker to produce than Cupid’s arrow or a bouquet of roses!)

Nevertheless, true love remains a soul-searching and lasting matter for these Kabul students and countless other Afghanis today.  As Baha Udeen says, it goes a lot deeper than just amorous looks. “It’s step by step, the path to finding a life partner is a long process, and involves many different levels of communicating.”

I guess the first sign to knowing if its the real thing these days is when you’ve learned your crush’s  # by <3.

In 2008 there were over 1.4 Million cellular telephone lines in operation in Afghanistan, according to the Pajhwok Afghan News Network.

“Man eats with joy and finds the taste of water sweet;
Lovers embrace again…”

From “The coming of winter” by Kushal Khan Khattak (1613 – 1689), Afghan warrior, poet and philosopher.

What would you send? Got an idea for the perfect SMS to guarantee a response from a new friend/lover – or an SMS success story? Let us know!

* Name changed

Posted in Communications