Girls Living as Boys Essays

Today in the post –Taliban era, women still struggle with their rights. Resolutions were produced and rights for women have advanced since September 11th but in order to move forward, much work needs to be done. Hundreds of years of repression for Afghan women will take a lot longer than a few years to actually revolutionize. There is violence towards women that are not practicing traditions customs and fear retaliations from the Taliban. Customs are difficult to change as well as government policies. (Bora Laskin Law). In Afghanistan, religious and cultural values, politics, and an uncertain acting government have played a major part in the struggle for women’s rights.

The article “How Boys Become Men” written by Jon Katz, gives a positive statement on how boys still haven’t change and are still growing up the same. Jon Katz, shares with us while walking his dog one day, he saw a boy get beaten by a group of older boys. While walking towards him, Katz asked if he was okay; the boy said yes and begun to swing like nothing happened. I believe that what Jon Katz states is true, because the fact is; boys are always going to think they’re the Alpha Male in every situation. For example: who can climb the highest Rock, who can make a bigger splash in the pool or who can maybe get a girlfriend first.

Growing up and living in Afghanistan as a woman has its challenges. Parents choose who can marry you and they choose everything for you. In this book, Laila and Mariam both show the struggles it is to be a girl, and how much disrespect they get in Afghanistan. Both Mariam and Laila are married to the same man, and he is abusive to both of them. They also live under Taliban rule, and the rules that they set are very unfair for women. In Khaled Hosseni’s novel, he has many different themes but the most prevalent one is of woman inequality, and that is shown through multiple accounts of abuse, disrespect, and unfairness.

Since the beginning of time, gender roles have existed in society.  Women were assigned the tasks of child-care and food preparation.  Men performed most activities that required physical strength.  As society progressed, the role of women did not.  Although less emphasis is placed on gender roles today, gender roles still exist. In 1968, Alice Munro wrote, "Boys and Girls" to address the confusion that gender roles may cause in a modern society.

Those families allow them to roam freely as boys, with the tacit acceptance of others in their communities which I think is not right to do. I feel that they have to stick with their sex gender and not because of pride which in this case is the main reason why those families do that. At adolescence, most designate young boys are switched back to young women, a transformation that can be traumatic for those accustomed to their assumed male identities in my opinion. I slowly came to the conclusion that the birth of a son is cause for celebration and the arrival of a daughter is often mourned as misfortune.“The Underground Girls of Kabul” does not seek out the stereotypically oppressed, but rather shows Afghan women as active agents navigating a culture that often disadvantages them and making the most of their limited options for freedom and

Boys & Girls Clubs of America is a program that was introduced in the 1860’s in Hartford Connecticut. “Believing that boys who roamed the streets should have a positive alternative, they organized the first Club. A cause was born.” Now made up of more than 4,300 clubs and in their 103rd year, the goal of these clubs is “to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.”

With this in mind one can see how maintaining family connection in Afghanistan is the best way to reach success. Men and women have different roles within these households as well. Ultimately their actions bring honor or shame onto their family based off of these roles, for instance while men work to provide income, women receive great honor through being a good wife and mother (Fluri, 2011). These methods gaining honor or shame often stem from their Muslim religion which carries over into their social lives. Afghan women typically wore long baggy clothing such as burqas as they are modest and provided them with a sense of spatial privacy (Fluri, 2011). They also wore their clothing such as a hijab is seen necessary as a sign of respect to their god as the people around them (Fluri, 2011). They also also hold power within the household through social networking for her family, giving her the responsibility to extend the family contacts through this manner and control who the family is associated with (Fluri, 2011). Women would traditionally gather in places void of men forming their own social sphere to better themselves and their families(Schütte,2014). Women even sometimes marry for the sake of creating a permanent connection to another family. All of these concepts are completely foreign to westerners as we don’t socialize in this manner, but even if we don’t except their social norms, that doesn’t give us a right to critique it.

In this paper I will be exploring the reasons why “young females in Afghanistan pretend to be males” (Norbderg). The article“Afghan Boys Are Prized, So Girls Live the Part”, by Jenny Nordberg, explores how bacha posh are present in Afghanistan and why families are doing this is discussed. The author’s point is that in Afghanistan, male children are valued much more then female children. The boys have many more privileges then the girls do is a large part of the article. Looking at the marked. The privileges that the males have span Afghan culture.

However, Afghanistan, now corrupted and destroyed by the ideals of the Taliban, is no longer the safe or beautiful country that is used to be. The idea of becoming a boy and hiding the fact that she is female to simply obtain the nessicities that she needs is desasterous and dangerous in itself. What would be the consequences is the Taliban found out her real identity? The punishment would surely be unbelievalbly cruel. Living in a country where being a girl practically guaruntees a life of inequality, it is no wonder that becoming a boy would be safer. Surely, she would have enough food, water, opportunities, access to education, reliable healthcare and freedom. Parvana’s family is undoubtedly not the only family that aspires for their children to be healthy, safe, happy and able to have a bright future. But in several countries, that is not posible for the women; where they live, being born a girl is a curse. Places like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, India, Yemen, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya for example. All these countries have one characteristic in common, the fact that they all judge women to be the same: foolish, weak, unresponsible, fragile, powerless, defenseless and impotent. Without a doubt, these countries think that we, as women, are less important than the males because they are seen as more stong and

Afghan women were isolated from men who were not a relative. Women could not venture off outdoors without being accompanied by a male family member. Working

Khaled Hosseini presents the struggle Afghan women go through every day by discussing honour, marriage and the place of women in society in Afghanistan.

   Recent history boldly notes the protests and political unrest surrounding the Vietnam Conflict during the 1960s and 70s. However, equally important in this era are the women who pushed for gender role reevaluation and publicly rebelled against the established social norm of a woman's "place." Although Alice Munro may not have been burning her bra on the courthouse steps, threads of a feminist influence can be found in "Boys and Girls." Munro's main character, a girl probably modeled after Munro's own childhood experiences on an Ontario farm, faces her awakening body and the challenge of developing her social identity in a man's world. "The girl," an unnamed character, acts as

Women's rights, although they may vary depending on the culture, have been a pressing topic in widespread recent news. Each community has its own culture, which consist of their individual beliefs and traditions that impact the everyday lives of the individuals. More specifically, parents believe marriage, careers, and education are extremely important parts of their culture. In Afghanistan, all of these areas have been oppressive to women in some way or another. This type of oppression of women is evident in Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner.

There have been many theories and studies in support of the development of gender identity and gender roles. One major theory was the one put forward by Bandura and his social learning theory.

boys as slaves sometimes them dress up in female clothing. Sometimes they’re forced to wear fake breasts. Prepubescent teens and even young children, specifically the boys, are seen as a socially acceptable substitute for girls in this society. Afghanistan