Afghans Nail #GrowingUpAfghan on Twitter · Global Voices
Samea Shanori

Mother's Day in Afghanistan 2010. Photo by the U.S. Agency for International Development. CC 2.0 Generic.
For Afghans at home and abroad, national traditions — from tea with cardamom to habitual tardiness — are thoroughly ingrained elements of identity.
On Twitter in recent weeks, they have been sharing thoughts on family, pilau, oversized weddings and other things using the #GrowingUpAfghan hashtag.
The result is a catalogue of nostalgia, humour and an abundance of affection for their homeland.
Parents never stop!
Afghan children usually live with their parents up until marriage, and their elders’ authority over the household is never in doubt. Afghan parents have the highest expectations of their children and never miss a chance to remind them that someone somewhere else is doing better. This is a way to encourage their children to work harder:
#GrowingUpAfghan When your family is all like “Why can't you be like so and so?” That happened tonight w @HabibKhanT …
— Ali M Latifi (@alibomaye) July 18, 2015
They really never stop!
#GrowingUpAfghan defined in a single term: “Mardom chi migoya?”
— Ali M Latifi (@alibomaye) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpAfghan defined in a single term: “What would people say?”
Indeed, Afghans are the most persistent up-bringers in the world. I still remember when my own mother would force me to talk to relatives on the phone,  reminding me to ask them about their children and everyone else in their home. She wasn't the only one!
When your parents force you to speak to your relatives on the phone #GrowingUpAfghan
— •Haleywiz• (@HaleyShaubzada) July 20, 2015
If Afghans visit their relatives and/or have lunch or dinner there, their mothers make sure all the dishes at the relatives’ house are left spotlessly clean. It shows that Afghan parents have raised their children correctly:
#GrowingUpAfghan when your mom made you wash the dishes every time you went to your relatives’ houses.
— Spogmay Waziri Kakar (@Spogmayy) July 15, 2015
Lie-ins are for the weak, whether it's a week day or not:
#GrowingUpAfghan your dad wakes you up at 6 am for no reason on a weekend because you can't be tambal in life
— Zachary Hashemi (@Sheikh_Brotein) July 20, 2015
#GrowingUpAfghan your dad wakes you up at 6 am for no reason on a weekend because you can't be lazy in life.
Punishments are always collective:
#GrowingUpAfghan when one of your siblings did something wrong but your mom punished everyone for it.
— Spogmay Waziri Kakar (@Spogmayy) July 15, 2015
And storage space is always used creatively:
#GrowingUpAfghan this didn't really have cookies inside. It had sewing material pic.twitter.com/uq0KRA9iEi — Wurishmeen (@Afgeezy97) July 15, 2015
Photo from afghan aid.org.uk. Licensed to reuse.
Tea is at the core of Afghan daily life, with few drinking less than a teapot in a given day.
My dad just asked me to make him tea when it's 84 degrees outside #GrowingUpAfghan
— morrasa (@merrrrber) July 19, 2015
Food and guests are the best part of an Afghan childhood. Especially the food:
Great #Eid party, the host couldn't resist not to have any of these as #Afghan #growingupafghan pic.twitter.com/nIIOtdfGQo — Zheela Nasari (@ZheelaJ) July 20, 2015
Highlights of the Afghan culinary repertoire include Bolani (a flat-bread filled with vegetables baked or fried), pilau (rice cooked with meat, raisins, carrots, pistachios and almonds) and mantu (dumplings filled with meat):
Best part of #GrowingUpAfghan pic.twitter.com/L9zE8M0XPE
— R (@razmeezy) July 15, 2015
But if you have to choose between food and guest, always choose the guest, because parents never stop:
#GrowingUpAfghan where you can't eat the dried fruit/nuts that was set up for the maimanah or your mom would murder you when everyone left.
— ɱąཞყąɱ ɧąıɖąཞ (@_baery) July 22, 2015
Even if that guest is your least generous relative:
When you ask that Afghan uncle for ur Eidi….? nah why is kaka jan so stingy tho #GrowingupAfghan #Eid2015 pic.twitter.com/Nzmdh8ixlU
— Afghan Girl Problems (@AfghanGirlProbz) July 18, 2015
Journalist Frud Bezhan recalls huge weddings, with thousands of guests. These were not just a way for relatives to meet up, but a means for parents to find wives for their sons:
#GrowingUpAfghan When you go to a wedding and your mum and aunties try to pick out a wife for you
— Frud Bezhan (@FrudBezhan) July 15, 2015
And every guest must be greeted without exception:
#growingupafghan having to say hi to over 1 million people when a party shows up
— abe nevin (@ABENEVIN) July 22, 2015
Despite other great qualities, or perhaps because of them, Afghans are never on time. If they say that they are 5-10 minutes away, that means they are either still trying to find an outfit to wear, or that they have just got out of the house, which means they will be between half an hour to an hour late.
#GrownUpAfghan when 10 minutes means anything between half an hour and a whole day.
— nushin arbabzadah (@NNushin) July 16, 2015
#GrowingUpAfghan u tell someone on the phone you are 5 minutes away when u know u've just left home & won't get there anytime soon ?
— Marzia Faraz (@Marzofaraz) July 19, 2015
Last but not least, Afghans take a “no pain no gain” approach to fashion.
#GrowingUpAfghan the heaviest dress you'll ever try on, lost of bangari and a KUCHI headpiece pic.twitter.com/aG4TxQqTgP
— diana (@taoszain) July 15, 2015
The hashtag is still trending and Afghans are still sharing their memories.