Gender Inequality In The Kite Runner

In The Kite Runner, gender definitely plays an immense role within the society of Afghanistan. There are clearly stereotypes set for the men and as well as the women. The women are expected to have the children and take care of them while the man works. It is seen as a problem largely across the book. Women are being taken advantage of by the men. The women have standards to fulfill and if they go in a different direction then they are intended to, they are surely the topic of discussion. Khaled Hosseini characterizes men as restrictively dominant while also highlighting the inequality of the genders in Afghanistan.

It is first noticed when Baba sees Amir crying while they are in the car.. Amir says, “I cried all the way home. I remembered how

Baba’s hands clenched the steering wheel.

I will never forget Baba’s valiant efforts to conceal the disgusted look as he drove in silence” (Hossoni 21). Baba believes that men, specifically his son, are not suppose to cry. Men are looked at as dominant and superior to women throughout Afghanistan. So when men cry, it makes them appear weak and inadequate. This affects the way people look at them in a negative manner and causes their respect to decrease. Amir looks up to Baba and feels disappointed in himself since he can’t seem to make his father happy. Baba is frustrated because Amir is nothing like what Baba use to be like. This affects the way people look at them in a negative manner. An additional time in the story when they mention gender inequality is when Amir says, “I cringed a little at the position of power I’d been granted and all because I had won the lottery that determined

my sex” (Hossoni 149). This is definitely a part in the book where it makes it clear that if a baby is born and it is a boy, it is a good thing. Amir explains how he “cringed” at the position of power he was granted. He does this because he realizes that he is only granted this power because he was born a boy. If he had been born a girl, we would have not been granted the power he did. His life would've been completely different, since the women are only good for birthing the children and caring for them. It also intents that the power is granted right when they are born, meaning that they don’t need to earn the power themselves.
There are many places in the world that have specific rules and ways of behavior for a specific gender. In Afghanistan, this applies to the society of the people living within it. In most or all places, the male is the dominant gender. They are expected to take care of their family by making the money in order to provide for them. The The topic of standards is definitely represented within the book and is continuing to be represented throughout societies around the world.