Enlightenment Movement

The Enlightenment Movement, known in Dari as Junbesh-e Roshnayi, is a grassroots Afghan civil-disobedience movement formed in 2016 by Hazara students, academics, activists, and members of the Hazara diaspora. It emerged after the Afghan government approved a change to the proposed route of the TUTAP electricity transmission project. The original plan was expected to pass through Bamyan Province, a central area of Hazara population and one of Afghanistan's historically underserved regions. The revised route through Salang Pass was defended by officials on economic and technical grounds, but many Hazaras viewed the decision as another example of structural exclusion and unequal distribution of state resources. The movement developed through small coordinating groups in early 2016 and was formally associated with a People's High Council composed largely of younger activists and academics. Its emergence challenged the authority of established Hazara political figures, some of whom initially supported the campaign but later appeared closer to the government's position. This generational dimension made the movement both a protest against the TUTAP decision and a broader demand for political representation, equal citizenship, public investment, and an end to anti-Hazara discrimination. Its first major demand was that the government reverse the proposed route change. Organisers issued an ultimatum and threatened civil disobedience if the route was not restored. On 16 May 2016, the movement coordinated a large demonstration in Kabul, with parallel actions in other Afghan cities. Authorities used shipping containers to block access to the presidential palace, and demonstrators remained for several hours at Dehmazang Square before organisers called for a peaceful dispersal. Support actions were also held abroad, including during the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw. A second major Kabul demonstration took place on 23 July 2016. The march began in Dashte Barchi, a predominantly Hazara area, and featured substantial participation by women, including women positioned at the front of the procession with flowers. Suicide bombers attacked the gathering, killing and injuring large numbers of people. Afghan authorities and the Taliban attributed the attack to Islamic State, while Islamic State denied responsibility. The attack transformed the movement's campaign into an international demand for justice and protection of Hazara civilians. A subsequent social-media campaign using the hashtags #Enlightenment and #EnlightenmentMovement generated hundreds of thousands of posts supporting victims and opposing discrimination. The movement continued to organize or inspire international demonstrations in 2017. On 3 April, Afghans and supporters protested in Canberra during an official visit by President Ashraf Ghani. Their demands included opposition to anti-Hazara discrimination and criticism of the deportation of rejected Afghan asylum seekers. The Enlightenment Movement is therefore best understood not as a commercial brand but as a political and social movement whose public identity was built through nonviolent protest, community mobilization, diaspora solidarity, and advocacy for equal access to state services. Its later organizational status and current activity are not established by the supplied reference material.

The Enlightenment Movement arose from longstanding concerns among Hazaras about political marginalization, insecurity, and unequal access to public services in Afghanistan. Its immediate trigger was the proposed route of the TUTAP electricity transmission project, an international regional power initiative intended to improve electricity connectivity across several Central and South Asian countries. The original route was expected to pass through Bamyan Province. Because Bamyan has a large Hazara population and has historically experienced limited infrastructure investment, many Hazaras regarded the route as an opportunity for greater inclusion and development. Reports that the government intended to move the route away from Bamyan circulated in January 2016. A first protest took place in Bamyan on 9 January. The government later endorsed a route through Salang Pass during a non-public session on 30 April, describing the decision as economically justified. Hazara activists rejected that reasoning and argued that the change reflected a broader pattern in which state planning disadvantaged their community. Protests expanded in early May across Bamyan and other Afghan cities. Approximately two thousand Hazaras met in western Kabul at the Mosala of Shahid Mazari and agreed to coordinate their activities under the name Enlightenment Movement. The movement's organizational center was the People's High Council, which was described as being made up largely of students, academics, and young Hazara activists. This leadership profile distinguished it from traditional Hazara political elites, some of whom were associated by younger activists with established power networks or quasi-warlord backgrounds. Several traditional leaders initially supported the movement's demands but later moved closer to the government's position, creating a generational and representational conflict within Hazara politics. The initial strategy combined a clear policy demand with a threat of peaceful civil disobedience. Organizers gave the government two weeks to restore the Bamyan route. On 16 May 2016, the movement held a major demonstration in Kabul and coordinated parallel protests elsewhere. Security authorities placed shipping containers in the streets to prevent the crowd from reaching the presidential palace. Demonstrators remained at Dehmazang Square for several hours, after which the People's High Council called for a peaceful end to the action because of concerns about possible repression. International supporters subsequently organized solidarity protests, including a demonstration in Warsaw during the 2016 NATO summit. The movement's most consequential action occurred on 23 July 2016, when a large march began in Dashte Barchi, a predominantly Hazara district of Kabul. Women played a prominent role, with women carrying flowers at the front of the march. Two suicide bombers attacked the gathering, causing extensive loss of life and many injuries. Afghan security authorities and the Taliban attributed the bombing to Islamic State, while Islamic State denied involvement. The authorities' rapid cleaning of the site was criticized by movement supporters who believed it hindered forensic investigation. After the bombing, the movement's advocacy broadened beyond the TUTAP route. On 28 July, an international Twitter campaign used the hashtags #Enlightenment and #EnlightenmentMovement to demand justice for victims and to draw attention to anti-Hazara discrimination. The campaign generated hundreds of thousands of posts. The movement also remained active in international advocacy. On 3 April 2017, a demonstration in Canberra coincided with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's official state visit to Australia. Participants linked their opposition to discrimination with objections to returning Afghans whose asylum claims had been rejected. The supplied material does not establish a formal commercial structure, continuing leadership after the 2016–2017 mobilizations, or the movement's current operational status. Its historical significance lies in combining infrastructure justice with a wider claim for equal citizenship, while giving younger Hazara activists and diaspora networks a highly visible role in Afghan public life.

• 2017

  Canberra protest

  [1]Enlightenment Movement (Afghanistan)en.wikipedia.org

  Afghan demonstrators and supporters protested during President Ghani's state visit to Australia.

• 2016

  First Bamyan protest

  [1]Enlightenment Movement (Afghanistan)en.wikipedia.org

  A protest in Bamyan opposed reports that the planned TUTAP electricity route would be moved away from the province.

• 2016

  Movement formed

  [1]Enlightenment Movement (Afghanistan)en.wikipedia.org

  Hazara activists coordinated in Kabul under the name Enlightenment Movement after the government selected the Salang route for TUTAP.

• 2016

  16 May Kabul protest

  [1]Enlightenment Movement (Afghanistan)en.wikipedia.org

  The movement organized a major Kabul demonstration and parallel actions in other Afghan cities.

• 2016

  23 July Kabul bombing

  [1]Enlightenment Movement (Afghanistan)en.wikipedia.org

  A suicide bombing struck a major Enlightenment Movement march in Dashte Barchi.

A grassroots, youth-led Hazara rights and equal-citizenship movement using nonviolent protest to challenge perceived ethnic discrimination in Afghanistan.

• 2017Canberra solidarity protest

  Australia

  A protest during President Ghani's Australian visit connected Hazara rights concerns with opposition to deporting rejected Afghan asylum seekers.

  Outcome. The demonstration publicized the movement's demands among Afghan diaspora communities and Australian audiences.

  Source
• 2016TUTAP route campaign

  Afghanistan · Hazara diaspora communities

  The movement demanded that the government restore the planned electricity route through Bamyan Province and treated the route change as evidence of unequal treatment of Hazaras.

  Outcome. The supplied material does not establish that the route was restored. The campaign produced large protests and international attention.

  Source
• 2016Justice and anti-discrimination social-media campaign

  Global

  Supporters used #Enlightenment and #EnlightenmentMovement to demand accountability for the July bombing and oppose anti-Hazara discrimination.

  Outcome. The campaign generated approximately 400,000 tweets according to the reference material and extended the movement's message internationally.

  Source

• 2016

  Ultimatum and threatened civil disobedienceStrategy

  Background

  The Afghan government had selected a TUTAP route through Salang rather than the proposed Bamyan route.

  Action taken

  The movement gave the government two weeks to reverse the route decision and announced that it would begin civil disobedience otherwise.

  Aftermath

  Large protests followed, including the 16 May Kabul demonstration.

  Source

• 2016

  Peaceful dispersal after the 16 May protestStrategy

  Background

  Security authorities used containers to block the route toward the presidential palace in Kabul.

  Action taken

  The People's High Council called on demonstrators to leave peacefully because of concerns about violent repression.

  Aftermath

  International solidarity actions continued in the following weeks.

  Source

1. 1Enlightenment Movement (Afghanistan)en.wikipedia.org