Overlooking Abuse in A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossein

Mariam’s alienation prompted by her mother, father, and husband, in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, reveals the oppression and shame around being a woman in the society of her native Afghanistan. Mariam’s countless, inescapable struggles throughout her life were all regulated by the systematic dehumanization of women in a patriarchal society, which resulted in her living in constant shame and fear. Starting from her birth, she was seen as a bastard because she was conceived out of wedlock, from both her parents, Jalil and Nana, and her society. In her childhood, Mariam is marginalized, by living in a cottage far off from the public eye, because of her father’s fear of humiliation and her mother’s fear of Mariam experiencing the

According to the United Nations, approximately 87% of Afghan women suffer from abuse. An example of this mistreatment of women is depicted in Khaled Hosseini's novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. The novel is centered on the lives of two women living in Afghanistan under the oppression of their husband, Rasheed, and the Taliban. The women face physical and mental abuse from different family members and the law throughout the novel. The novel tells about the lives of the two women before and after their lives come together; they play a large part in each other’s life once they meet by attempting to focus on the happy moments rather than dwell on the hardships they must face. Hosseini’s novel teaches that in times of hardship, the mistreated form an unbreakable relationship which helps them to endure life.

The fight for justice is not always unequivocal or favorable, sometimes justice is given by means that do not seem fair at all. William Styron says in a novel that life “is a search for justice.” It is blatant that throughout Khaled Hosseini's novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, female characters are continuously battered with injustices. Hosseini hones into the oppression of women and the fight for women empowerment through the life of one of his main characters, Mariam. Her journey is shown throughout the novel where she struggles to search for and understand justice.

Another example of the unfairness to women is that fact, that men are also abusive to them. Being a man, means they have all the power. They make all the decisions and what they want to happen happens. Early in the book, Jalil, Mariam’s father, chooses a random suitor for her to marry. He forces it on her just to get her as far away from his family as possible. Her suitor ended up to be an abusive husband. Just in a matter of seconds, Rasheed, their husband would flip and turn abusive. As depicted early in their marriage, Khaled Hosseini wrote, “He was like this, sneering, tightening the belt around his fist, the creaking of the leather, the glint in his bloodshot eyes. It was the fear of the goat, released in the tiger’s cage, when the tiger first looks up from its paws, begins to growl” (216). Another time when Laila and Mariam try to escape Rasheed’s grasps, they both get caught and get sent back to him. Mariam took most of the punishment for leaving. “There was a sound now like a wooden club repeatedly slapping a side of beef.” His abusiveness led them to leave but only brought them back to it. As women they have no power in the relationship. Eventually Rasheed’s abuse came back to bite him, and it led to his death. Mariam had enough of his abuse. “Mariam brought down the shovel. This time, she gave it everything she had” (310 Hosseini). Rasheed tried everything in his power

Women often undergo oppression and subjugation by the male dominated society. Women were merely slaves to the men as they would clean, sweep, work, while they have to maintain their obedience and sanity. Women were targets of oppression outside their work where men abused their wives as they were an entity for their sexual desires when they felt the need to. This exact relationship of “owner - possession” can be seen through the relationships between Rasheed and Mariam, also with Janie and her husbands. Both novels, A Thousand Splendid Suns and Their Eyes were Watching God, show that women have a lower social status, power, and legal rights when women had become property to eyes of men.

In some cases of domestic violence it may be difficult for others to get involved, especially if the victim is not ready or willing to admit there is a problem. In cases where the victim will not come forward sometimes all that can be done is talking to the person involved and letting them know that someone is willing to listen when they want to talk. In some cases the victim of domestic violence just needs to know that someone else knows what is going on before they can accept it themselves. If society would be more willing to stand up for the victims and offer assistance, however simple, maybe one person could be helped out of a possibly life-threatening situation. Because it is thought that domestic violence is a problem found in homes most people don’t want to get involved in something that used to be considered a private matter between husbands and wives. It is not an easy choice to make to get involved when it comes to domestic violence and many people choose not to get involved for various reasons. Those who do chose to get involved may have to face the abuser in courts of law if and when it goes that far. This can be frightening for some. Others may consider getting involved an inconvenience if they have to take time out of their lives. For others, they may be friends or acquaintances with the abuser and may

How would you feel being born into a life where you were treated differently because of a crime your parents committed? A Thousand Splendid Suns is a novel written by Khaled Hosseini in 2007. The novel, set in Kabul, Afghanistan follows the life of Mariam, an illegitimate child born out of wedlock. And Laila, a young girl who becomes an orphan after her parents are tragically killed. Throughout the novel, it talks about the teaching of the Koran by Mullah Faizullah and others. Even though the Koran is taught in A Thousand Splendid Suns, the Koran’s passages on the treatment of illegitimate children are not practiced through the novel.

There are many different themes in A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, the most prevalent theme is the strength of women when faced with adversity. This is shown throughout the book whether it's Mariam or laila.

Khaled Hosseini illustrates the abuse in A Thousand Splendid Suns with vivid detail. Rasheed, Laila’s husband, is the perpetrator of this abuse and cruelty. From the beginning, Rasheed is directly characterized as “a tall man, thick-bellied and broad-shouldered” (Hosseini 52) with a “big, square, ruddy face; the hooked nose; the flushed cheeks that gave the impression of sly cheerfulness; the watery, bloodshot eyes; the crowded teeth…” (53) This menacing image of a man gives some hint at Rasheed’s future wickedness. His cruelty is revealed when he is upset with his first wife Mariam’s cooking, and he exerts his power over her: “his powerful hands clasped her jaw. He shoved two fingers into her mouth and pried it open, then forced the cold, hard pebbles into it… ‘CHEW!’ he bellowed… Then he was gone, leaving Mariam

The story also acts as an example for every woman in the world who sacrifices everything she has, for her family and how in the end she needs to survive any tribulations. Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini shows the inner strength and resilience of women through the lives of Mariam and Laila, which ultimately becomes the key for their survival. It helps them face their fate and they are able to overcome many social restrictions such as lack of education, forced marriages, lack of basic facilities and male oppression due to their perseverance.

What I found most interesting about the importance of setting in A Thousand Splendid Suns is how fundamentally different the atmosphere was and is for women. Certainly, the Taliban’s extremely repressive politics and laws have been given significant airtime, however, it is hard to think of a more moving example of this hardship than a woman being repeatedly beaten for walking to an orphanage to visit her daughter. Additionally, the generational aspect was not one that I had given much thought, but the difference in attitudes between Mariam’s generation, Laila’s, and Aziza’s is startling. In

Women are still today ostracized in some countries and it is still deemed “alright” to put women down by verbal or physical violence. Still in a lot of countries in Africa and in the Middle East do not have laws against domestic violence and this leads to lots of unnecessary deaths toward women that go unpunished. Nearly 40% of deaths toward women is due to their intimate partner. (Huffington Post) It is viewed in most of these countries that it is alright to hit women to “put them in their place.” It has been a big problem not just in the United States, but in these foreign countries women are to believe that it is alright for their intimate partner to do this to them because they are deserving of it. This is so ethically wrong because no matter of what race, gender, religion, etc… nobody should ever be put through anything like that of the sorts. It is great to know that in some of these countries that women are striving to move forward and to have domestic violence laws put into place. Like in Saudi Arabia, this is a known country that has had issues on women rights finally passed a bill that outlaws domestic violence in 2013. The biggest problem with domestic violence in these countries is that the women are afraid to speak out to this issue due to the lack of laws in place for women. Women have also have had it instilled in their minds that they should be shamed by having their husband, boyfriend, or even their brothers beat them. Domestic violence is an epidemic that needs to be spoken about. 1 in 4 women have been a subject to some form of domestic violence. In the United States this is still an epidemic because statics show that a woman is beaten every 9 seconds in the United States. (Huffington Post) This is a horrifying statistic to know that a woman is that vulnerable to domestic violence. Domestic violence has

Throughout world history women have been treated abysmally. Societies with male-dominance have abused and used women and continue to do so today. Women have been made vulnerable to a man due to the spread of cultural values and beliefs in society that condemn them from power. In Khaled Hosseini's novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, the two main characters Mariam and Laila develop an unconditional bond in which they become each others protectors. The immense inner strength of women from adversity has been exemplified through the growth of Mariam and Laila's contrasting relationship, the pain they endure from Rasheed which strengthens their bond and the courage within them that ultimately resolves their conflict.

There are studies showing that 3-4 million children who are between the ages of 3 and 17 are at the risk of domestic violence every year. The children of the women who get abused, usually witness it. (2) This causes the children to have psychological problems, and trust issues. Children that grow up in a violent household, learn very easily that no one can be trusted. It ruins their thought of love and also ruins their courage. (8) No child should have to witness their mother or father get abused. These children show the same behavioral patterns as those who are neglected. They often look for attention, affection, and approval, since they aren't getting much in their home lives. (8) Children deserve to be loved and cared for. They shouldn't have to worry about the things they do, and they shouldn't have to worry about what might happen to them next. There are statistics that show that most of the children who witness domestic violence, will become a victim too. If they do not become a victim, they will have severe psychological trauma. (8) The children are likely to be abused, but they are just as likely to abuse. It's common for children who watch abuse to repeat that abuse to others, such as significant others, and possibly their children.

In Afghanistan, it is widely known that certain sub-cultures allow a man to violate his wife physically and sexually to gain dominance over her. This notion is typically created by the unequal treatment of women in their society. The low social statuses of women in society and the power imbalances between men and women created by this, result in discriminatory practices and physical and sexual abuse against the female population of all ages in Afghanistan. (Povey 268). Despite violence against women being part of their general society, during times of war or political conflict, similar to Afghanistan in the novel, this violence toward women increases. This idea is presented throughout A Thousand Splendid Suns in Rasheed’s relationships with