Gender Inequality In A Thousand Splendid Suns

When Farah and her mom traveled to Pakistan to get away from the Taliban, they attempted to rent a house, but were rejected. “But at first no one would rent to us. ‘You are two women alone,’ they said. ‘We can’t rent to you unless you have a man with you’” (120). The statement “you have to have a man with you” illustrates that women had no rights of their own. Without a man, women were limited in what they could do, which made life difficult for Farah and her mom. These restrictions needed to change in order to give women more personal freedoms, so they could become more independent. The Taliban policies were so restrictive, after their departure life became more tolerable for women. One of the freedoms they gained was the right to own land. “The 2004 Constitution provides that women cannot be precluded from owning or acquiring land or non-land assets” (Afghanistan). This law allowed women to provide shelter for themselves if there were no men in their lives. Right of land ownership increased their level of

Throughout history, there has always been a rivalry between the two sexes and in the end the women have always come in second place. Time over time it has been proven difficult for women to hold any type of power that they have wanted except for the tasks that they have been given due to their gender. In society and in their own homes, it has been difficult for women to grow and sustain their power beyond the limits that they have been given. Women have been differentiated from men and have been discriminated with regard to jobs and other types of privileges that they have wanted. Throughout the course of history, they have been denied many freedoms that every man has and they want to be equal to their counterparts. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in the United States of America and developed the women’s suffrage. Slowly, women are receiving the freedoms of being their own person rather than this stereotypical woman figure that has been long awaited for because they should already be treated equal among men. The key features that women have been viewed as stereotypical is femininity, care, nurture, maternity, and dependent upon men. Society expects women to have the ideal feminine characteristics; however, women do not always generally have those types of traits and can have some just like men.

The Taliban Laws was forced on women and men. Taliban women were forced to live under the Taliban’s laws and restrictions. Some of the laws are women can’t be treated by male doctors, can’t talk loudly and they can’t be seen outside their house. Men and women can’t listen to music, order people to change their names to Islamic ones, forced

Throughout the 16th century Reformation through the Enlightenment in the 18th century, was a period of time that saw both change and continuation in European society. One of the biggest examples of this was the role of women and how they should function in European society. Women in this era faced a large amount of hardships and obstacles from great leaders and philosophers such as Martin Luther and Immanuel Kant, who were both against the equality of women to men at this time. From the time period of the 16th century Reformation all the way up to the Enlightenment in the 18th century, the women of Europe were viewed as fragile and unworkable women whose main priority and purpose should only be being a housewife. As time progressed, women

Equality of genders is a basic human right that all should posses. However, in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, the reader explores Afghanistan’s true nature of extreme gender inequality towards women and how it affects all the characters within the novel. The novel explores how within a marriage, women have unequal rights, undergo major amounts of physical abuse, and are emotionally and mentally tormented by their very own supposedly beloved husbands.

In the progressive modern world, the ancient mindset of men’s superiority exists in many societies. Women who are opposed to such ideology are, in some cases, perceived as rebellious when words such as feminism has come to acknowledgement for over a century. Through the struggles that the characters of A Thousand Splendid Suns faced in the patriarchal Afghani culture, Khaled Hosseini delivers his feminist ideas. For her whole life, Nana endured the troubles given by men, and she is one of the “fallen female warrior” of the novel because she fought against the oppression and lost, due to the unfortunate circumstances of her life. Mariam also suffered the torments imposed on her by the men in her life, sharing a similar fate as her mother, Nana, in a way. Nevertheless, Mariam is not a fallen warrior but a victor. Contrasting from Nana, Mariam fought her battle with resistance rather than endurance. She broke free of the oppressive culture and realized her self-worth in the end. Fariba is one of first non-submissive females of the novel and was portrayed as the woman with a progressive mindset. However, after a long time of struggling against the society and the loss of her two sons in addition to that, her role as an ideal feminist challenger is no longer dominant. Much like Mariam, Laila is a victor. The difference between Mariam and Laila is Laila has been defying the norms of the culture throughout her life, unlike Mariam, who was submissive for the early years of her lifetime. Laila represents a hope for woman in the male dominated culture, as she goes on to escape from her abusive husband, finds happiness, pursues education, and contributes back to the society postwar. The male characters are also notable to observe from the novel because the patriarchal society, as well as for the comparison purpose. Hakim, Laila’s father, has an advanced

In regards to the historiography of gender politics in the Victorian era, the social position of women and femininity had become a problematic issue. Similarly, the gender apartheid instilled prior to the civil war in Afghanistan. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, initially published in 2007, is set in Afghanistan from the early 1960s to the early 2000s. In this, it explores the story of Mariam and Laila as the protagonists, who teach the reader the reality of life as a woman in a backward Islamic country. The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny seen from the perspectives of these two women and observes how they become to create a bond, despite having come from previously living in very different backgrounds. The dual narration of these characters demonstrate the juxtaposition of Mariam who is scorned and isolated by society and is aware of the social stigma for being an illegitimate child, or “harami”, (which is the Farsi term for ‘bastard’) and Laila, a well educated and strong-willed girl who rejects the social norms and values of a women in their society. However, their lives come to a halt, when forced to marry the abusive antagonist Rasheed whose violence is endorsed by societal customs and the law of the land. Conversely, The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a semi-autobiographical short story published in 1892. Exploring the idea of a women’s right to express themselves, that were hindered

They dictated the way that women should act and dress in public. For example, women weren’t allowed to laugh out loud. As Malala said, “He said that the Taliban had then banned women from laughing out loud...” (Yousafzai 67). This shows how women were banned “from laughing out loud”, even though it is a normal thing to do. They were also not allowed to sing or dance in public, even if it was her job. Malala shows this by giving an example of a young woman who was killed for singing and dancing, “I promise I’ll stop! I promise I won’t sing and dance again. Leave me, for God’s sake! I am a woman, a Muslim. Don’t kill me!” (Yousafzai 147). This demonstrates that even though she was “a woman, a Muslim” she was killed for singing and dancing. She even said, “I promise I won’t sing and dance again” but she was still killed for normal actions. Adding on, even though this girl died, people still sided with the Taliban, even her family members. In addition, not only did the Taliban tell women how to act, they also told women what to wear and what not to wear, “... wearing white shoes as white was a color that belonged to men! Women were being locked up and beaten just for wearing nail varnish.” (Yousafzai 67). In the U.S. girls as young as two wear nail polish. But in Pakistan women were “being locked up and beaten” just for wearing something that anyone could wear in the United States. Adding on, the quote also says

As Afghanistan has evolved over time, the rights of its citizens have altered accordingly. The women’s population experienced a great amount of change as this country has seen a range of leaders who have ultimately decided their fate. These women have grown to be accustomed to disparaging expectations and standards as they are treated inferior to men. Women’s rights in Afghanistan have been largely impacted by the country’s past and current political state, as well as the imbalanced standards women in the current society have been obliged to follow.

“This is what my soul is telling me: be peaceful and love everyone.” -Malala Yousafzai. You know what? Malala is doing exactly that. Malala Yousafzai is 19 years old, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, feminist, a supporter for girl’s education, and she has been through traumatizing activity in Pakistan. Women all around the world are treated in different ways, but have always been put below men. The United States is one of the best places for women, and Pakistan is one of the worst. They have shocking differences such as rights and the way they are treated.

The July 12th, 1997 there was a girl born in Mangora, named Malala. Her family had not money enough to pay for a midwife, so a neighbor helped at birth. Malala was one of two children who was not stillborn. She got her name form a woman called Malalai, who was the greatest heroine of Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, it is defeat to give birth to a girl. They think women only can cook food in the kitchen and give birth. And for the most Pashtuns it’s a tragedy when girls are born. When Malala was born, her father said that he could feel something spesial whit this girl. This girl would do something to change the world. She would stand up for her meanings. This is her story:

Brave, educational, and smart are three character traits that describe Malala Yousafzai. Many people know that Malala Yousafzai as a girl that was shot by terrorists, but she is so much more. As a well known activist for female education, Malala Yousafzai showed girls without an education that they should stand up for their own rights. Yousafzai inspired women and girls that no one should be able to silence them and their rights. She left a lasting legacy to all girls that you should not be silenced by anyone.

This article, “Gender Development Research in Sex Roles: Historical Trends and Future Directions” was written in a 2011 on NCBI, which points towards how the gender roles are different and how the society views them. This text includes the study of gender development, sex roles and trends over the past 35 years. Today gender roles, especially in the United States, are different from what they were in the past. But there are still many differences in roles of sex in many places around the world where women are considered less than men. They are not allowed to go out without a man going along. They are not allowed to continue their education because many still feel that women are meant to do the housework and take care of their children while

Article 14 of the Constitution of India stipulates that “the state not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. Protection prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion race, caste, sex or place of birth.” Therefore this law should imply that all Indian women have and can practice the same rights as men. However these laws, while legally set in stone, are not socially acknowledged much of the time.

Words are a powerful tool to accurately portray the instances of world history. Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan writer, used words to represent an authentic portrait of Afghanistan through his book, The Kite Runner. He depicted Afghanistan’s history using the life of Amir, a Pashtun boy from an upper class family in Kabul. Amir grew up as a son of a wealthy and well-respected businessman that is referred to as Baba. Both Amir and Baba had to flee their homeland on March of 1981 due to the Soviet arrival in Afghanistan. Afghanistan, contrary to popular belief was once a flourishing and beautiful sovereign state, which was eventually destroyed when the Soviet troops entered the country. The USSR entered Afghanistan to help the government fight the foreign mercenaries. The war with the USSR led to tremendous