Subjugation of Women in Khaleed Hosseini's Thousand Splendid Suns

Abstract

Khaleed Hosseini is one of the most influential and prominent Afghan American writers to exist in present times. His writings have a strong flavour of Afghani culture and customs prevalent till day. One of the common themes that can be seen while reading his books are the stories, woven with the backdrop of Taliban invasion. Afghanistan during the times of Taliban and the ripple effect that it had on the lives of the people makes all his stories very real and poignant. Another common theme that we see in his books is the subjugation of women. Women have always been marginalized in Asian countries but the double marginalization of women due to war and Afghani culture is clearly seen in all his works. This paper aims to explore the theme of subjugation of women in one of his most celebrated books Thousand Splendid Suns. The novel came out in 2007 and was considered to be one of the most popular books. The book revolves around the plight of two women in the Taliban invaded Afghanistan. Mariam and Laila are the two women from two different generations but circumstances bring them together under the same roof. After the initial hostility between the two of them it soon turns into an unusual kinship. The relationship is of a daughter and mother where the mother would go to any length for the daughter. The aspect of forming a family in the uncertain times forms the heart touching event for the readers.

The present paper is an attempt to explore the condition of women in the times when Afghanistan was in a state of turmoil as portrayed by Khaleed Hosseini in his novel Thousand Splendid Suns.  The women were tortured and confined to their homes. They were both physically and emotionally exploited. The paper would further explore how the domination of men was a prevailing rule in the Afghani culture. The areas that the paper would cover is to explore the treatment meted out by the Afghani women before and after the Taliban invasion. It would further explore how the unrest and turmoil further added to their pitiable condition and the male perspective against the education of women, The paper is an attempt to depict the harsh realities faced by Afghani women, during and after war and their enduring spirit with which they face the adverse condition