Abuse In A Thousand Splendid Suns

According to Danielle Moylan, “...around 87% of Afghan women are believed to have experienced domestic violence at least once” (Moylan). In Khaled Hosseini’s novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam and Laila, two Afghan women, are both victims of spousal abuse. They are brought together by their marriages to Rasheed and bonded by the abuse they endure. Together they fight to overcome the power of their abusive husband. Spousal abuse is damaging physically, sexually, and emotionally. Physical abuse is the type of spousal abuse that first comes to mind when people hear the word abuse. For example, when Rasheed is mad at Mariam for the way she cooks rice the author writes, “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.... Mariam spit out pebbles, blood, and the fragments of two broken molars” (104). This shows that out of anger, Rasheed uses his dominance to forcefully make Mariam chew on rocks to show her that her rice is too crunchy and hard. This also reveals how damaging the physical abuse is that Rasheed inflicts on Mariam, she is bleeding and her teeth are

For instance, when Rasheed forces himself, sexually, upon Mariam for the first time and Mariam says, “‘I can’t,’” (76). Rasheed insists, “‘There is no shame in this, Mariam,’ (77). He said, slurring a little. ‘It’s what married people do. It’s what the Prophet himself and his wives did. There is no shame’” (77). This supports that Rasheed sexually abuses Mariam when he makes her have sex with him even though she says no. This also demonstrates that he tries to make his wrongdoing okay by telling her that it is what normal husbands and wives do. This act upon Mariam is still abuse, even if sex is something married people do, she was forced against her will. Sexual abuse by a spouse is destructive and can cause great psychological