Oppression In A Thousand Splendid Suns

Women have fought for many years to achieve equality and freedom for many things. Even though there has been some progress, in some parts of the world, many women face oppression and significant challenges in their lives. Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns can realistically capture the oppression and struggle women face under the Taliban. He shows this through cultural aspects, abuse, and gender inequality. Using these three points and Joan Michelson's thoughts on this piece, I hope to show the struggles women had gone through during the time of war. A Thousand Splendid Suns is shown in two different perspectives: Mariam and Laila. Mariam was a teenager from Herat who was forced to marry Rasheed, who was an older man because she disobeyed

Rasheed had been responsible for doing this. Women did not have anyone to go to if they got abused. Michelson explains that “Lauren Bohn reported in Time Magazine in December 2018 in, “Why Afghanistan is still the worst place to be a woman,” domestic abuse is still rampant there and women are still told they have no value” (Forbes Magazine 2020). The abuse that women suffered through was normal and shows that they could not control it. The Taliban had also been a main cause of the abuse that women faced. Mariam mentions that “ Mostly, the Taliban confiscated stuff, gave a kick to someone’s rear, whacked the back of a head or two. But sometimes there were public beatings, lashings, of soles and palms” (Hosseini 57). The Taliban had played a huge role in abuse becoming ordinary. Overall it is shown that women are considered an easier target in getting abused. Michelson states that “The 2008 Global Rights survey found that nearly 90 percent of Afghan women have experienced domestic abuse” (Forbes Magazine 2020). This is an insane number of women that have gone through struggles and hardships that were caused by men of the same

Mariam and Laila had both faced struggles being women in a country that did not value women highly. Rasheed was able to overpower them easily because of this. Mariam’s mother says to her “Learn this now and learn this well, my daughter: Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman” (Hosseini 26). It shows how women always get blamed for everything even when they are not responsible. Women in Afghanistan grew up thinking about how life is like this for everyone. Michelson puts it perfectly when she says “American women have rights and freedoms that women in Afghanistan do not have” (Forbes Magazine 2020). This comes together with the feminist theory because its main focus is on gender inequality and how women are being oppressed daily. It argues that women should have the same rights and freedom as men. This is sadly a state that many women still go through in different parts of the world. Women still tend to be less valued and looked down