Osama Essay

Women are discriminated against because since religion is connected deeply to culture, it is only “normal” for them to be circumscribed for their own good. Rasheed finds modern Afghanistan women and their behaviors such as not wearing

In the exposition we meet our protagonist who is a young women of Islam who wears the traditional veil that muslim women are advised to wear under the law of the Quran were it says, “And tell the believing women to reduce some of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which necessarily

In most societies, men feel the need to reinforce the idea of their superiority upon women, so thus they use religion to prove their dominance. A Talib told Mariam of how ‘God made us differently’(Hosseini 324). These “differences” that the Talib speaks of is one of main ways patriarchy is defended, since God made man and woman differently, the Afghan community assumes that they must be treated differently as well. Also, there must be one sex that is superior to the other then, many communities along with the Afghan community chose to place men above women due to sexist beliefs of the

As I started to think about what aspect of terrorism I wanted to write a paper on, it occurred to me that I didn't really know much about the Taliban group. Which is one of the major terrorist groups in today's society. So I am going to try and explain this group the best that I can. In couple different aspects, one is what their rules are, two how they treat women, and three what types of terrorist acts they have committed. The Taliban group is a group of men who formed in 1994 in the country of Kandahar by Islamic students who took a radical approach to interpreting Islam. The Group also believes in strict Islamic rules. According to them the men must have beards four fingers in length, there shall be no music, Nintendo, and women should

The film Osama directed by Siddiq Barmak is a very beautiful and poignant film, but very heartbreaking and emotional. Before watching the movie, I knew very little about the Taliban’s and the film director, this film push me to research the Taliban and Siddiq Barmak. I want to know why and how this film came to be. The film gave me a meticulous insight into the lives of girls and women in Afghanistan; living under the ruling of the Taliban. I was unaware of the extent of gender discrimination occurring in Afghanistan during this time. The Taliban’s were the main force of power for many years, destroying and installing fear and pain to many.

Fourteen years ago, on September 11th 2001, the future for the entire country was impacted and changed. The United States wasn’t engaged in any wars, few of us had ever heard of Osama bin Laden, and we deported half the number of people we do today. But maybe hardest to believe, you didn’t have to take your shoes off at the airport.

In Afghanistan, there is a divide between the Pashtuns and the Hazaras; the Pashtuns are upper class citizens who are treated with respect while the Hazaras are lower class, minority citizens who are treated poorly. Because of the contrasting history of the two groups, their responses to the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul were complete opposites. The Pashtuns “danced on [the] street,” (Hosseini 200) while the Hazaras cried “God help the Hazaras now” (Hosseini 213). The conflict between the Pashtuns and Hazaras in “The Kite Runner” directly reflects the real life issues in Afghanistan starting in the late 70’s and continuing on past 2001.

(Staples 21). The required burqa hides Nusrat’s true identity as an American, with her “un-Muslim” appearance. (CS) Certain aspects of Najmah and Nusrat are revealed by the literary conflicts Staples creates using these accurate details about the Taliban’s mistreatment of

One scene in the movie that touched on this hardship was when Osama’s mother broke down into tears over the death of her husband and her brother (Barmak, 2003). Her mother said that if her husband or her brother were alive they could help provide for the family or is she had a son instead of a daughter (Barmak, 2003). This scene really illustrates the distance between how men and women are treated. The family comes up with the idea for Osama to pose as a boy in order to work and provide for the family. They cut her hair and dress her in her father’s clothes in order to conceal her (Barmak, 2003). Osama gets a job at a shop where the owner is made aware of the situation and with some hesitation eventually agrees. Each day Osama goes to work she is terrified of being found out because of the watchful eye of the Taliban. One day while working Osama and the other “boys” are taken from their homes and places of work to be trained as soldiers for the Taliban (Osama, 2003). During her time under watchful eye Osama’s true gender is found out and she is imprisoned. At the end of her term of imprisonment Osama was brought before a judge and the people of the town for her punishment. The judge forgave Osama but part of her punishment was for her to be married off to a man significantly older than her (Osama,

Social conditions are what shape a country. Over the years, people, not only in Afghanistan, but around the world create norms that define people’s roles in life, their future, and how they should be treated based on their gender and beliefs. Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, comments on the social conditions of Afghanistan through telling a story about the lives of two Muslim boys; a privileged Sunni Pashtun, Amir, and his long-time friend and servant, Hassan, a loyal but disadvantaged Shia Hazara. Hosseini expresses Amir’s uncertain feelings toward Hassan which form the decisions he makes throughout the book. These choices result in Amir destroying his relationship with Hassan. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini is a commentary on the social conditions in Afghanistan as shown through the roles of women and men in society and the ideals of Afghan culture. Unfortunately, these problems are still active in most of Afghanistan.

Religion goes hand in hand with culture, and in the Muslim countries this is very apparent. The cultural importance of men over women may have stemmed from religion, however it was further recognized when imperialist countries introduced capitalism and class divides. “Islam must combat the wrenching impact of alien forces whose influence in economic, political, and cultural permutations continues to prevail” (Stowasser 1994, 5). Now, instead of an agrarian state where both men and women had their place, difficulties have formed due to the rise in education and awareness that women can and do have a place in society beyond domestic living Though women are not equal to men anywhere around the

The incident in the stadium also reveals to Parvana and Shauzia the complete horror of living under such a regime and haunts Parvana for the next few days. As a Muslim, the writer believes that the actions of the Taliban like the one’s depicted in this novel disgrace Muslims in the present times. Islam is a peaceful religion that promotes morality and generosity among all people, not the twisted version portrayed by the Taliban.

History has shown many times that a single human being is capable of vast influence among people and/or a society, especially for religious purposes. Generally, when people think about influential leaders tied to a religion, they think of the great leaders that strived for peace and equality for all, such as Mahatma Gandhi. Justly, the big religious figures who were not so great for the world are often not given any credit for being the influential, strong leaders that they were, such as Osama Bin Laden. Obviously no one wants to give props to someone who negatively impacted the world but many times these evil leaders are very similar to their opposites. Morals must be disregarded to make this comparison but it is worth making. As previously mentioned, the comparison going to be made is of polar opposites; Mahatma Gandhi and Osama Bin Laden. They both greatly influenced and affected the world based on actions they took because of their religious beliefs. One practiced Ahimsa, who preached non-violence, and the other one Jihad, who fought a war with non-believers. But which of their two messages was more successful; non-violence or violence? Not successful in regards to humanity or morals, but in influence, leadership, and how long their message resonated. Both religious figures will be evaluated from their beginnings in order to see all their influences and intentions, as well as the situations they were put in that pushed them to make the moves the did.

The 2003 film “Osama” begins with a quote from Nelson Mandela, "I cannot forget, but I can forgive”. Set in in Afghanistan shortly before the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the film chronicles a young girl’s journey to find work in a time where women were not allowed outside the house without a male escort. This single line sets the tone for the rest of the film. But, in today’s unarguably interconnected international system, do more developed and “progressive” countries have the duty or even the right to establish international norms when it comes to the law and culture of other foreign states? Through the film’s ability to showcase the irrationality and inefficiency of laws that violate human rights, the lengths that Osama’s family was willing

The characters portrayed by Leila Aboulela to a great degree vary vastly in their levels of religiosity. This novel showcases a wide spectrum of Muslim identities. Most of the devout believers follow Islam, as they are constantly expressing their faith, thru means of prayer, recitation or other adorations. These religious members are accepting of veil culture, because they have more to value than materialistic objects and western culture. For instance, the young school girls that wore tobes, while Najwa skirts to university. Also, the servants she had back home, as she would be coming home from a party at dawn, they would be make their absolution, “A light bulb came on. They were getting ready to pray. They had dragged themselves from sleep in order to pray. I was wide awake and I didn’t,” this quote from the novel, illustrates a young Najwa understanding the basis of Islam and the importance of prayer (Aboulela, 32) However, this is an evident class divide, illustrating that those with wealth are more secular and those with less are humbled towards their faith. In her time in London, Najwa befriends woman at the local mosque and develops an interest her recitation. Her realization and locality to religiousness triggers her spirituality.