Swallows Of Kabul Sparknotes

The novel Swallows of Kabul by Yasmine Khadar shows how Kabul is under the control of the Taliban’s and how they treat the people of Kabul. This novel illustrates the Islamic culture, and how Kabul has been affected by the invasion of Taliban’s. This book shows the different perspective from different characters; it shows both female and male versions of what it was like to live in Kabul at that time. This book also goes into depth about how women had no voice, and were treated unfairly with little or barely any respect. This novel is very meaningful and it basically paints you a picture of life in Kabul while the Taliban’s are in charge.

Chapter 4 starts off by describing how Kabul looks after being attacked by the Taliban’s. The author, khandra

explains how it looks like a “window to hell has opened into the sky”. Khadra describes how the Taliban’s are roaming the streets while Atiq is going to the mosque to pray Maghreb. When Atiq is starting to pray a man tries to get him to pray in line with everyone else, but he refuses. After he was done his prayers, he didn’t feel like going home and confronting his wife so he just sat there listening to stories about being attacked during the war by a group of disabled veterans. When Atiq decides to go home to his wife he notices how his wife, who is sick, has done all the chores and everything is clean. Atiq and his wife, Musarrat then get into a fight about her working and how it’s going to affect her health because she just got some of her strength back. Mussarrat like a normal wife feels that it’s her right to do her duties until the day she dies. Atiq then leaves the house and goes outside, Mohsen and Zunaira were still in a fight too and Mohsen was outside as well has getting some fresh air. Mohsen sees Atiq walk past him quickly but he can’t tell if he’s angry or not.
Atiq goes to the mosque again to pray Isha; Isha is the last prayer of the day.

When he finishes his prayer he wanders around the city passing through neighborhoods. Atiq ends up at a jailhouse and decides to spend the night there than going home to his wife which he had a fight with about her illness. Atiq lays there in the cell when a man named Nazeesh comes in asking if he can stay the night, Atiq agrees and Nazeesh offers him dried meat and some crab apples. Nazeesh starts talking about his hundred year old father and how he has lost most of his eye sight and use of his legs, but he is always complaining about something. He also mentioned how he thought he died and told all his family members about his death and when he woke up the next day he sees him alive complaining to everyone. At times Nazeesh can’t control his anger so he starts yelling back at his father but he knows that he doesn’t want to upset the god so he spends most of his time outside avoiding his father, he even brings his food outside on the streets with him. Nazeesh then tells Atiq about how he is going to go away and he has all his stuff ready to go, but he’s just waiting on his foot to heal. Atiq then says that he won’t go because he has been saying he is going to leave for the past months. They start arguing until Nazeesh gets fed up and decides to leave. After Nazeesh leaves Atiq then goes home to his wife after he realizes that he is not going to treat her

gently.
In the morning everything goes back to normal with Mohsen and Zunaira, it’s like nothing even happened. They start talking about how they met at collage. Mohsen was studying political science and Zunaira was studying to become a lawyer. After they were done talking about the past, Mohsen wanted to go outside for a walk with Zunaira but she refuses because she doesn’t want to wear a burqa because she doesn’t feel like herself. Zunaira feels like the burqa hides her identity and she wants people to see her without one, without staring at her in public. Zunaira thinks that if woman are covered why aren’t men, why are they showing their faces, arms and necks while the woman’s need to wear nakabs, hijab and a burqa. She feels like if one should cover up so should the other person, it’s only fair that way. No one should be treated differently because of their sex. Mohsen agrees with Zunaira, he knows how hateful the streets of Kabul are like and how you never know what might happen. At the end of this conversation Zunaira decides to go on the walk like how they did like the old times.
This chapter starts off with Atiq Shaukat walking in the hot summer day. He watches the cars and vans move down the road looking at cars with people piled on top each other. Atiq watches the children running around in disgust he thinks their invading the city like a pack of dogs, there are so many of them. Atiq wanted children in the beginning but now he’s thankful that he is sterile. He sees them has snot-green nostrils, piercing eyes, disturbing, sticky and some are not even old enough to walk. The madresa’s are all full, every day he thinks to himself, the numbers keep increasing. As Atiq walks down the road he sees Nazeesh dozing in the shade of his umbrella Atiq notices when Nazeesh sees him he pretends to be asleep. Atiq passes Nazeesh he gets 30 steps away when he back up and walks over to Nazeesh , He says he’s sorry about what he did last night , Atiq takes responsibility about what had happened but then Nazeesh states that it was his fault that he had disturbed Atiq when Atiq wanted to be alone and he starts asking for forgiveness. They both forgive each other and Nazeesh asks Atiq weather or not they will hear music in Kabul ever again, Atiq walks away after telling Nazeesh he has a lot of things on his mind. Atiq is his own world when a heavy voice calls after him, He turns and sees Mirza sitting at a table, and Mirza tells Atiq that he’s not normal he should never see him talking to himself ever again or else people will talk. Atiq in anger turns away from Mirza running away as he bumps into Mohsen he pushes Mohsen and walks away without apologizing. Just at the end the when Atiq walks away, Zunaira starts laughing at her husband’s expression and Mohsen joins in chuckling just then a Taliban police agent walks by telling them not laugh, Mohsen trying tries protest when the man strikes Mohsen in the face. As Zunaira speaks up to defend her husband the Taliban whips her, tell her to shut up and that she shouldn't speak in the presence of a stranger. Another Taliban member comes asking where Atiq is going , Atiq lies telling them that he is taking his wife to her parents’ house. The Taliban tells him to go to the mosque, listen to the speech while Zunaira has to wait for him outside, by a wall out of the way.