The Effects of Afghanistan War on Women

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

In Afghanistan, Women’s rights were very denied and completely dismissed. Women were treated horribly. They were beaten, abused verbally, and even killed. Under the rule of the Taliban, women were better off staying in the safety of their own homes.

Laila also has to endure many hardships in life, like her family’s death, Tariq leaving, and living with Rasheed. All these factors start to break her and she becomes more depressed and starts making bad decisions. First, Laila survived injuries from a nuclear rocket explosion after being saved by Mariam and Rasheed (Hosseini 193-200). This explosion killed both of her parents forcing Laila to alter her plans for the future. After Laila moves in with Rasheed and Mariam, Rasheed tells Mariam about how he wants to propose to Laila and “Later, in the dark, Mariam told the girl. For a long time, the girl said

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.

“I am woman hear me roar”! A song written by Helen Reddy in 1972 is not often a phrase chanted by Afghan women. The plight of the women of Afghanistan to obtain rights began early in history and continues today. Religion and culture have affected Afghanistan throughout time. Today in Afghanistan, ninety-nine percent are Muslims ("Religion in Afghanistan - Islam”). Muslim is the term used to define a person that participates in the act of obedience, acceptance, or surrender. Therefore a “Muslim is a person who submits to the will of God, or a follower of Islam” (Manisha) and can be seen in their lifestyle and choice of dress, the burqa which is outerwear that covers the entire body, except the eyes and hands, in addition to their religious

The first forms of adversity an individual may face are those of the burdens that are placed by family members and their expectations. This can be seen through Mariam’s progression of her ability to endure and suffer through

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a beautiful tale of two women in Afghanistan during the Taliban uprising. They grow up on complete opposite sides of Afghan culture. The main character, Mariam, grows up in a more traditional way caused by her forced marriage to Rasheed. Laila on the other hand, grows up with a supportive father who encourages gender equality and education. There are many cultural differences such as, women’s rights, public executions, and the Taliban. The two main characters, Mariam and Laila, develop greatly throughout the novel. They push each other to be better and to stand up for equality. This plays into the themes of the novel. Women’s strength and loyalty are the two most important themes. They

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.

Equality and fairness is something that people have always been striving for and hoping to receive. The novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, by author Khaled Hosseini displays the journey of two Afghan women during rough times due to the religious extremists known as the Taliban. These two women, Mariam and Laila, faced cruelty throughout their lives even at the hands of relatives and their so called loved ones.

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.

Zunaira actually attains her goal of becoming a magistrate, and thus, she experiences a greater sensation of loss. Mariam and Zunaira combat the oppression in different ways but they suffer the same pain and isolation. Oppression induces a negative change in both characters. In addition, the women have coping mechanisms to deal with the sorrow in their lives. Their ability to cope is affected by family members. Mariam remembers her mother's story, "where each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the World. That all the sighs drifted up in the sky, gathered in the clouds, and then broke into tiny pieces…" (Hosseini, 91). Mariam is submissive in her abusive relationship because her mother has taught her by example, that Afghani women solely have to endure the pain and suffering in their lives. She makes no attempts to change her situation in her marriage because she lives by her mother's teachings. Perhaps, if Mariam were to stand up for herself or stir up chaos during one of Rasheed's beatings, Rasheed would not turn to violence against her so easily. Also, Mariam could have searched for alternatives to escape Rasheed before the Taliban implemented the harsh laws. Over the years, Mariam becomes increasingly helpless and miserable under Rasheed's rule, as she follows the model of her mother's teachings. Also, she deflects her anger and sorrow 2

The relationship between Mariam and Laila grows overtime into an unbreakable love. Mariam is a vulnerable character that experienced hardships and negativity throughout her life. Her reliance on faith and religion gave her hope. Laila however, has had a positive upbringing from modern parents. Her education is what made her a strong and intelligent girl. Their personalities contrast to bring the best out of each other. However at first, in fear of being overshadowed by Laila, Mariam says “If [Laila] thinks [she] can use [her] looks to get rid of me, [she is] wrong. [Mariam] was here first. [She] won't be thrown out” (225). As Mariam has never been a priority to anyone in her life she was very defensive over her role in the house. As jealousy embarked upon Mariam,

The fourth and final part of A Thousand Splendid Suns brings a catharsis to the events the women previously confronted. This end represents the regrowth of Afghanistan after catastrophe. Laila moves back to Kabul with her children and husband after it becomes safer ().

The Taliban became responsible for punishing those who committed crimes by killing the criminals. These acts started a small fear in the Afghanistan people. Soon, the Taliban group became a well armed and well funded militia with the support of a province in Pakistan. As soon as fear stirred among the Afghani people, the president of Afghanistan, Burhanuddin Rabbani, tried to create an alliance against the Taliban in Kabul, the capitol. This alliance fell through, and the president eventually fled Afghanistan. In December of 1995, the Taliban took hold of Afghanistan as a result.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is such a beautiful book because of the copious ways a reader can intrepid the novels meaning. There are three that stand out above the others. That is to say, the connection with theses perspectives occurred without the need to intensely analyze the text. Historical, Marxist and feminist lenses did just that. From a historical perspective, the text is a factual telling of Afghanistan from the nineteen sixty’s to the early two thousands. Specifically, the reader quickly understands the social, political, economic, cultural and intellectual turmoil of the time. On the other hand, if viewed from a Marxist lens, the text becomes a reflection on class struggle and materialism. Why else would Hosseini choose to imply, even straight up tell which class each of the character belonged to? Finally, there is the feminist perspective. The story in this novel deals in copious amounts with feminism and gender. Gender in equality is rampant from the start almost through to the very end, with forced marriages, rape and misogyny.