Political Instability In A Thousand Splendid Suns

The political instability in Afghanistan originating from the 1970s has caused changes in its zeitgeist, as seen through the change in the culture and lifestyle available to the Afghan people. Over the next three decades, there is a significant transition of civil liberties, education, culture, and a change from a path to liberalism to a traditional conservative nature in the eyes of outsiders. The novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini demonstrates the change by telling a fictional story based on the true events which took place in Afghanistan.

The deterioration of the Afghan lifestyle began shortly after the fall of its forty-year reign under Muhammad Zahir Shah. Afghanistan had a stable government

After Shah was ousted by his cousin, years of short-term rulers controlled Afghanistan. Shah’s cousin General Mohammad Daoud Khan, the leftist Nur Mohammad Taraki, and Taraki’s prime minister Hafizullah Amin all ruled over Afghanistan instilling a change from slow democratic progression to rapid communistic ideas that were too much for the conservative Afghanistan. Communistic ideas entered the country, when the leftist coup d’etat took place under Taraki, this eased the transition to Soviet rule in 1979. The Soviets didn’t care or consider the culture, history or religion of the Afghani people during their invasion, the country became a tool for the Soviets during the Cold War, and brought changes as they saw fit. The Soviets pushed western ideas and education onto the country, to fit their political agenda of creating a viable communist party. Education and the growth of western ideas was not new, in “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini, Laila’s father was a teacher and held onto the importance of education, even for women which was later banned under the Taliban regime. Although the Soviets pushed for education, it was a political scheme. At school, Laila’s teacher “Khala Rangmaal” praised the

There is a major shift in Afghanistan, as it becomes less and less stable starting from the 1973 coup d’etat of King Muhammad Zahir Shah. The changes in politics, culture, education, and civil rights are apparent in the novel and therefore help develop its zeitgeist. The leaders of Afghanistan would influence the zeitgeist of the country, whether it was making it more liberal, more leftist, or more conservative. As a result, the culture in Afghanistan changes with its instability. Whether it was owning a cinema, which was made illegal by the Taliban, or not being able to leave your own house by yourself, the liberties and civil rights which women had achieved, were decaying. From short skirts to burqas, the changes which enveloped Afghanistan, displayed its zeitgeist over multiple