EVERY-DAY LIFE IN AFGHANISTAN 



95 



AN AFGHAN POST-OFFlCF ALONG THE ROAD FROM 



Photograph by P. O. Crawford 

 TALALARAD TO KABUL 



If an American wishes to write to a friend in Afghanistan, he must address his letter 

 in care of the Afghan postmaster, Peshawar, India, who will forward it to its destination in 

 the Closed Kingdom. The amount of postage must either be deposited with the Afghan 

 postmaster at Peshawar or paid by the recipient. Letters are dispatched by runners twice a 

 week and require three days for delivery between Peshawar and Kabul. Newspapers, books, 

 and bulky packages are held in Peshawar until they can be dispatched conveniently in 

 batches on horseback. 



or perhaps to play practical jokes in cer- 

 tain cases, he distributes women among 

 them ; but these "gifts" often prove so 

 troublesome that no great degree of grati- 

 tude is apparent among the recipients. 



BOYS OF FOURTEEN MARRY GIRLS OF TEN 



Family life, however, seems to be 

 rather more intimate and private in Af- 



ghanistan than in Persia. Usually the 

 young Afghan does not see his bride be- 

 fore the day of the wedding. Female 

 relatives conduct the preliminary skir- 

 mishes, a sort of courtship by proxy 

 which is later followed by negotiations 

 between the bridegroom and his future 

 father-in-law. 



Marriage is celebrated at a very early 



