Women In The Kite Runner

“Sexual, racial, gender violence and other forms of discrimination and violence in a culture cannot be eliminated without changing culture.” This quote by Charlotte Bunch relates to the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, because the gender inequality that happened back then in Afghanistan as something within the culture. Men were all the same, thinking as superiors. Women were always inferior. Hosseini demonstrates how strict it was back in the day, Man had to dominate and do “manly” things and women were not free to do what they wanted.

The taliban law towards women in the novel are one way that Hosseni demonstrates how strict the rules apply to women in afghan society. For example, when Amir and Farid went to the orphanage Farid asked how many orphans lived there Zaman replied, “More than we have

Rape is a problem all over the globe. In the real world, and in the fictional world too. In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The most iconic example is when Hassan gets raped by Assef in Chapter 7.Amir, Hassan’s best and only friend, is responsible for the rape of Hassan and what happens after, because that he had the opportunities to prevent the rape but instead decided not to intervene and help his friend .In chapter 7, when Amir first comes across the scenario, he almost intervened. Amir says “I opened my mouth, almost said something.

Though they get married on short terms because of Baba’s sickness, she still plays a key role in the development of how Amir wants to live his life. (165) In the book Amir is asked over to Afghanistan by one of his fathers old friends to come and visit him, and his wife supports him and tells him to go. (203) This shows me that she is a very supportive person to Amir and that she has a large influence on the decisions she makes. When Amir found Sohrab and was told that there was no home for them to go to the woman graciously accepted a child into their home.

Their marriage signifies the parallels and lacks of certain characteristics in Afghanistan which left it in such a state. After the arrival of Baba and Amir, Amir was attracted by the American system due to its liberality about career and love. Similarly, Soraya became an educated woman who followed traditional customs as she saw fit, like taking care of Amir’s father. Her actions at a young age were not looked down upon in the all-inclusive society which gave her a second chance at marriage. As Amir and Soraya journey in their fifteen years of marriage, they struggled to juggle both traditions and make life changing decisions like adopting Sohrab. Nonetheless, they depended on honesty and sympathy to survive the conflicting morals of their adopted and native

An aspect that highlights the low statuses of women in Afghan culture, is portrayed in the soldiers rude description of Sanaubar, Hassan’s mother. The solider speaks with

While they were on their way out of Kabul, the truck that Amir was riding on had to stop at a checkpoint. There were two soldiers at this checkpoint, and they wanted to see what was in the truck. Amir watched the Russian soldier, as he stared each passenger and finally, his eyes landed on a woman in a black shawl. The soldier told Karim what he wanted and Karim said, “the soldier wanted a half hour with the lady in the back of the truck” (111). The soldier clearly wanted to rape the lady as a payment for letting them pass. This shows how women used their body as a payment. They let the men do as they please to their body, with no question. They don’t resist against them because they know that they are just tools for pleasure.

In The Kite Runner men and women have roles to play in Afghan society. Men are universally portrayed as physically and emotionally strong. Women as submissive, dependent,and pure. This fits with stereotypes in the world because stereotypically men are viewed superior sex. Examples of characters who are positively shown for there gender specific roles are Baba and Soraya's mother Khala Jamila. Baba obviously is physically strong and does show few emotions his interest and bravery make him the epitome of the Afghan male. Khala Jamila is very submissive to the general and has even given up singing to appease her husband. Characters who don’t fit the mold like Amir and Soraya are in a negative light. Soraya has a rebellious spirit and has to keep

The novel The Kite Runner is written by Khaled Hosseini, and was first published in 2003. This book tells the story about a wealthy family, their loyal servants and the experiences they go through during the Soviet occupation. The main characters are Baba, Amir, Hassan and later on, Soraya. The book, among many things, shows the differences between Afghan and American culture, also from a female perspective, which is shown through the character Soraya Taheri. She demonstrates the differences by her past and present experiences, for example her “indiscretions” when she lived in Virginia, or her wanting to be a teacher.

A handful of them, for example, is the role of women in both America and Afghanistan and the effects of church and state being merged together. In Afghanistan, although both American and Afghan women are seen as “inferior” to men and are expected to keep the house and tend to the children, in Afghanistan, women have little to no rights whatsoever. They are often forced to wear burqas or clothing that covers everything but mesh in front of the eyes -- “A woman’s face is her husband’s business only” -- and according to the book, they are prohibited from leaving their houses without a male relative (83, 330). Also, a large percentage of them are domestically and/or sexually abused by their frequently-arranged, older husbands. Fortunately, American women are granted legal security and protection, can go outside without being questioned, can join the workforce, and even vote.

Khaled Hosseini, the author of the novel “The Kite Runner,” illustrates a story of a young Afghan boy who struggles to win his father’s approval, but also struggles internally to do what is morally right and what the society around him has deemed right. This novel combines works of fiction and as well as historical events to tell the story of how a young boy matures into a man and his journey for forgiveness and redemption to clear his conscious of the mistakes he made long ago. The author also includes an abundance of accurate culture aspects that explain the reasoning the behind the characters actions as well as the themes of the novel to the audience for a more clear understanding. If the audience studies the aspects of Afghan culture mentioned

Afghanistan is taken over by the Taliban and as the Afghani culture deteriorates, Amir reminisces about his childhood progressively more. The guilt tortures him throughout the novel, but news of his true relationship with Hassan take his guilt to an entirely new level. “‘You see, my father slept with his servant’s wife. She bore him a son named Hassan’” (Hosseini 380).

Alissa Rubin wrote an article entitled, “For Afghanistan Women, Justice Runs Into Unforgiving Wall of Custom.” Rubin talks about a few different women's stories, such as a women, Gulnaz, who was in prison, gave birth to her rapists child, and was sentenced to more jail time unless she married her rapist. These women are abused and treated very poorly and because they were raped they are no longer wanted. Rubin wrote that Gulnaz claimed “ My rapist has destroyed my future, no one will marry me after what he has done to me, so I must marry my rapist for my child's sake” (Alissa Rubin, 2011). This article relates to the article, “Rape of Girl, 5, Draws Focus to Child Assault in India”, because both articles talk about rape and women being abused and mistreated. This article is deviant because women should be able to marry whoever they want and certainly should not be forced to marry their rapist. Sadly in this society these women are blamed for being raped, and because they are no longer desired they are forced to marry the person who caused the problem and pain. This article again demonstrates Gender Conflict Theory, because the women are seen as inferior two men and although they are the victims of rape they are “guilty” and

Things such as their housing, food, medical attention are all things that are taken into consideration. When society accepts that women are generally dying after their child-bearing years, women’s importance is reduced to nothing more than being a baby-maker. Their worth as human beings, capacities, potentials and other needs are dramatically destroyed. Ongoing violence has always been an issue in Afghanistan.

But who’s to blame the men or the government? The government is responsible for not doing anything to stop it, According to Lynnee O’Donnell “Attending a small rally in western Kabul to support Azam's call for justice, women's rights activist Veeda Saghari said violence against women is largely ignored by Afghanistan's judicial sector.” How is a society supposed to change and move past these societal misjudgments if they are being ignored by the structure that holds them together. This never ending cycle between men and the Afghanistan government is the problem and why these things keep happening. The government denies it and does nothing while, the men who were born into a society thinking that women are below them and do not deserve the same rights as them, are the same men who are doing this to these women now. The cycle will continue and continue, until someone has enough courage to fight for these women and be