Conformity In The Kite Runner

Conformity is described as the compliance with standards, rules, or laws. While to an American, complying with laws and standards may seem like common sense, since most laws exist for a reason. This is usually to protect the safety of citizens. However, in Afghan culture, conformity means something entirely different. It means that people must conform to the laws of society, no matter how sexist or unfair they may seem to be. This means that males must accept their position of power over women, while the women must live to serve the men. In the novel “The Kite Runner”, by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist Amir is troubled by the frequent and sometimes extreme mistreatment of women that his culture allows. He also struggles to live his life according

This causes them to be mistreated and controlled by the opposite sex. Hosseini writes, “I learned that Khanum Taheri - whom I called Khala Jamila now - had once been famous in Kabul for her enchanting singing voice…[General Taheri] believed the performing of it best left to those with lesser reputations. That she never sings in public had been one of the general’s conditions when they married” (Hosseini 186). This shows that women don’t even have a choice over some of their own actions in Afghan culture. The general imposes laws when he and Khanum marry; however, the laws only benefit him while they harm Khanum. She could have become rich and famous if she was allowed to sing in public, but her husband didn’t allow her to do what she wanted to, thus preventing her from reaching her full potential. Another example of how women are mistreated in Afghan culture is when Hosseini writes, “Their sons go out to nightclubs looking for meat and get their girlfriends pregnant, they have kids out of wedlock and no one says a goddamn thing...I make one mistake and suddenly everyone is talking...I have to have it rubbed in my face for the rest of my life” (Hosseini 179). This quote is being said by Soraya, Amir’s wife. Soraya had gotten in trouble for trying to live with the privileges of a male; she had run away from home and