Mirab - Water Master

میراب

Afghanistan is an agricultural society and so water for irrigation is a precious resource. Historically – and in the present – villagers have not trusted each other to take only their share (and not just in Afghanistan; our word “rival” comes from the Latin “rivalis”: two people sharing the same stream). The job of the mirab is to equitably distribute irrigation water to each household, usually based on the size of their landholdings. For example, in some agricultural regions, each household is allotted a half-hour of water per jerib (جريب - Afghan measure of land area, equal to approximately half an acre), overseen by the mirab, who is paid collectively by the community. Because of the importance of their job, the mirab is often a very influential figure in the community.