Amanda M.

Labrado

Prof. K. Bliss

7/18/10

What struggles do women endure as a result of the Taliban’s take-over?

In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, the horrifying truth that

Afghani women are controlled by men and subject to undeserved punishment and inequality is

revealed. The experiences of Mariam and Laila and the new laws they must abide by, after the

Taliban take over Afghanistan from the Mujahideen, expose the harsh realities women face as a

result of a male-dominated society and a government run according to religious ideologies:

“Attention women:

You will stay inside your homes at all times. It is not proper for women to wander

aimlessly about the streets. If you go outside, you must be accompanied by a mahram, a

male relative. If you are caught alone on the street, you will be beaten and sent home.

You will cover with burqa when outside. If you do not, you will be severely

beaten.

Cosmetics are forbidden.

Jewelry is forbidden.

You will not wear charming clothes.

You will not speak unless spoken to.

You will not make eye contact with men.

You will not laugh in public. If you do, you will be beaten.

You will not paint your nails. If you do, you will lose a finger.

Girls are forbidden from attending school. All schools for girls will be closed

immediately.
 Women are forbidden from working.

If you are found guilty of adultery, you will be stoned to death”. (248-9)

Even though these laws are enacted nothing changes for Mariam or Laila. Nothing

becomes better and nothing grows worse. The Taliban’s laws are almost the exact same rules

Rasheed imposes on Laila and Mariam, the only difference is that the Taliban’s rules forbid

everything Mariam and Laila have left to do that Rasheed disapproves of. As a result of the

Taliban conquest, women face neglect, discrimination, unreliable dependence on men, starvation

because they are not allowed to get jobs, unjustifiable and irrational beatings and punishments,

and condescending treatment.

Women face neglect in a couple different ways. One, the only hospital that they can be

served in is underfunded, causing them to be treated in an untimely manner and without

anesthetics. For example, when Laila’s water breaks and she is ready to have her baby, Mariam

and Rasheed take her to the nearest hospital, Malalai, but they are told to “Go to Rabia Balkhi.

[… where there is] no clean water …no oxygen, no medications, [and] no electricity” (255). The

conditions described at the Balkhi hospital illustrate the extent to which men care about how

women are treated. The conditions at the hospital show how much respect women are shown,

and that their worth is less than that of a dog. The reason the Balkhi hospital lacks necessities

such as x-rays, suction, oxygen, or simple antibiotics, is because “When NGO’s offer money, the

Taliban turn them away. Or they funnel the money to the places that cater to men” (258) which

reveals that men are far more superior to and worthier than women in Afghanistan, and that the

Taliban thinks it is self-sufficient since it sometimes rejects monetary offers. The second way

women may be neglected is because they are not allowed to work, meaning they can no longer

rely on themselves for money to buy necessities such as food, and clothing. Because they cannot
rely on themselves anymore for income, they can easily be neglected by their husbands, and left

to starve, or die on their own. For instance, when Rasheed is fired from a Kebab house and the

“restaurant in Taimani”, his family no longer has any source of income, “The money[simply

runs] out” (272). Besides Rasheed, Aziza and Zalmai, are unfit for work. Mainly because of their

youth; however, the possibility and acts of starvation would not have occurred had women been

allowed to work. Laila and Mariam are both fully capable of working, but what holds them back

is the Taliban laws that declare women must “stay inside [their] homes at all times” and “are

forbidden from working” (248). The Taliban incorrectly thinks that the man of the house is

sufficient to bring in an income, but Rasheed proves them wrong, for his family has to starve

since women are not allowed to work; therefore, because of the laws and discrimination by the

Taliban, women faced starvation due to laws forbidding them to support themselves or their

families.

Despite the fact that Mariam and Laila have endured numerous beatings by Rasheed,

after the Taliban takes over, Mariam and Laila have reason to fear Rasheed’s wrath because no

law protects them from his accusations or beatings, only men are protected. A good example of

the supremacy given to males by the government is when Laila and Mariam are arrested for

running away,

“’If you send us back, “she said instead, slowly, ‘there is no saying what he will do to us.’

She could see the effort it took him to keep his eyes from shifting.

‘What a man does in his home is his business.’

‘What about the law, then, Officer Rahman?’ Tears of rage stung her eyes. ‘Will you be

there to maintain order?’

‘As a matter of policy, we do not interfere with private family matters, hamshira.’
 ‘Of course you don’t. When it benefits the man. And isn’t this a ‘private family matter,’

as you say? Isn’t it?” (238).

Laila’s point here illustrates how the government refuses to protect women and leaves family

affairs alone so that they will not trample upon a man’s privacy. Officer Rahman tries to avoid

having to deal with Laila’s plead by simply stating that it is not the government’s business to

intervene in “private family matters” which is contradictory because the reason they arrested

Laila is because she was “running away” which is a crime, and a private family matter. Being

arrested for such a crime is irrational and the punishment Laila and Mariam earn for it from

Rasheed is undeserved; if he treated them better, they would not try to run away.

Probably the hardest thing for women to endure after the Taliban gain control of

Afghanistan is being condescendingly treated. Their husbands have the power to give away their

children, and can indisputably accuse their wives of adultery to be able to do so. When Rasheed

notices Aziza’s hazel eye color, he tells Laila what he can be do about it,

“If the fancy should strike me – and I’m not saying it will, but it could – I would be

within my rights to give Aziza away. How would you like that? Or I could go to the

Taliban one day, just walk in and say that I have my suspicions about you. That’s all it

would take. Whose word do you think they would believe? What do you think they’d do

to you?” (252).

Rasheed has every right and no right at all to treat Laila this way, or worry her mind with

thoughts of losing Aziza. He is right though. If a woman is accused of adultery, she will be

stoned to death, and although Laila did not commit adultery, she can still be accused of it

because of the superiority men have over women under the Taliban government. In addition,

Women are also degraded by being told they cannot be trusted, simply because they are women,
“You are not able to think like we can. Western doctors and their science have proven this. This

is why we require only one male witness but two female ones” (324). To this Mariam attempts to

shame men by saying, “I admit to what I did brother […] but if I hadn’t, he would have killed

her. He was strangling her” (324). The judge does not believe her though, and disregards the

comment by again stating that women swear to all sorts of things. This kind of disgrace is not

fought against, so women are unable to change their situation.