Gender Discrimination In A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns explores the untold story of gender discrimination against the oppressed women of Afghanistan.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khaled Hosseini, explores the lives of two different Afghani women who suffer under the fundamentalist Islamic group known as the Taliban. Through the perspectives of both women, the reader experiences the extreme violence and sexism Laila and Mariam endure under the control of their violent and abusive husband. In addition to this, Hosseini highlights how the abusive discrimination under the totalitarian Taliban rule denies Afghanistan of development into a progressive nation.

The women explored throughout the novel are portrayed as being under the total control of men, in particular their husbands. These traditional views of marriage, such as those Rasheed lives by, leaves the women with the distressing knowledge that they are the

The future of Afghanistan depends on its future generations, and Laila’s gift of education is the greatest one she could ever give. Hosseini includes this scene in the novel to bring attention to how women contribute positively to the community, and exhibits the benefits which gender equality in a country like Afghanistan could provide, emphasizing its importance.

A Thousand Splendid Suns brings awareness to gender discrimination in Afghanistan, and what life is like to be a woman under Taliban rule. By examining the two perspectives of Mariam and Laila in the novel, Hosseini brings attention to the horrific cruelty some women experience under the oppressive Taliban regime. Khaled Hosseini provides an insight as to how gender inequality and cultural attitude needs to change for Afghanistan to become a peaceful, productive and successful