Dashti Qala District (دشت قلعه) is a district of
Takhar Province
Takhar (Dari , Farsi/Pashto: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeast of the country next to Tajikistan. It is surrounded by Badakhshan in the east, Panjshir in the south, and Baghlan and Kunduz in the w ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. It split from
Khwaja Ghar District in June 2005. This district borders
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
.
Ai-Khanoum
Ai-Khanoum (, meaning ''Lady Moon''; uz, Oyxonim) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was probably founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and se ...
, probably founded by the
Seleucid Empire, is located in this district. In 2018, this district was considered contested between the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
and the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
.
Geography
Dashti Qala District has an area of 270 square kilometers,
comparatively equivalent to
Niue
Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...
. The
Panj River
The Panj (russian: Пяндж; fa, رودخانه پنج) (; tg, Панҷ, پنج), traditionally known as the Ochus River and also known as ''Pyandzh'' (derived from its Russian name "Пяндж"), is a tributary of the Amu Darya. The river ...
borders the district, and the
Kokcha River
The Kokcha River ( fa, رودخانه کوکچه) is located in northeastern Afghanistan. A tributary of the Panj river, it flows through Badakhshan Province in the Hindu Kush. It is named after the Koksha Valley. The city of Feyzabad lies alo ...
crosses Dashti Qala.
The climate of the district is classified as
cold, semi-arid steppe on the
Köppen–Geiger climate classification system.
Location
The district is surrounded by
Darqad
Darqad ( tg, Дарқад, fa, درغد) is a village and jamoat in Tajikistan. It is located in Farkhor District in Khatlon Region
Khatlon Region ( tg, Вилояти Хатлон, ''Viloyati Xatlon''), one of the four provinces of Tajikist ...
to the northwest,
Khwaja Bahauddin to the north,
Rustaq
Rustaq ( ar, ٱلرُّسْتَاق, Ar-Rustāq) is a town and ''Wilayah'' (District) in Al Batinah Region of northern Oman. The wilayah is in the Western Hajar Mountains, in the south of the Batinah. Rustaq was once the capital of Oman, during ...
to the east,
Khwaja Ghar to the south, and
Khatlon province
Khatlon Region ( tg, Вилояти Хатлон, ''Viloyati Xatlon''), one of the four provinces of Tajikistan ( tg, вилоят, ''Viloyat''), is the most populous of the four first level administrative regions. It is situated in the southwes ...
(
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
) to the west.
The Panj River forms the border between Khatlon Province and Dashti Qala.
Demographics
Dashti Qala has a gender ratio of 103 males for every 100 females, matching the province. Dashti Qala has a young population, with an average age of 15.8 years.
84.3% of the population have never completed a class (which is 74.2% of males and 95% of females). 44.7% of Dashti Qala's population did not work prior to the
United Nations Population Fund
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies a ...
survey in 2015. Of that, 44.7%, 90% were unable to work. Dashti Qala has 31.5% of children under age 5. The average household size is 6.9 people.
Economy
Wood is the main source of energy for heating and cooking. Most inhabitants use the sun for light.
Dashti Qala receives 95.2% of its water from
dug wells. 99.3% of houses are made of wood and dirt. Meanwhile, 24.6% of the households have an improved sanitation facility. About half of the houses have two rooms.
See also
*
Districts of Afghanistan
The districts of Afghanistan, known as ''wuleswali'' ( ps, ولسوالۍ, ''wuləswāləi''; fa, شهرستان, ''shahrestān'') are secondary-level administrative units, one level below provinces. The Afghan government issued its first d ...
*
Takhar Province
Takhar (Dari , Farsi/Pashto: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeast of the country next to Tajikistan. It is surrounded by Badakhshan in the east, Panjshir in the south, and Baghlan and Kunduz in the w ...
References
{{Authority control
Districts of Takhar Province