The Swallows of Kabul is Inequality by Yasmina Khadra

918 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Challenges of gender inequality

Behind the Burqa
A social issue that is raised in the book, The Swallows of Kabul is inequality. It is defined as the condition of being unequal; lack of equality; or disparity. In the book, gender inequality is well demonstrated as a social issue as there are many restrictions towards women. The book is set in Kabul, Afghanistan under the Taliban rule during 1996 to 2001 and follows the lives of two very different couples. Gender Inequality is defined as the unequal treatment or perception of individuals based on their gender. It is a worldwide issue that continues to occur resulting in the mistreatment of others, discrimination, lack of respect, and so on. Gender inequality exists due to the male dominance, biological hormones, and a lack of education.
First of all, an effect of gender inequality is male dominance. Male dominance is very evident in the novel. One example is where males do whatever they please.
"In that case, what are you waiting for? Kick her out. Divorce her and get yourself a strong, healthy virgin who knows how to shut up and serve her master without making any noise. I don't want to see you talking to yourself like a mental patient again, not in the street, and especially not on account of a woman. That would be an offense against God and his prophet." (Khadra, 28)
This shows how men are regarded as the superior being. The Taliban follow the belief of the Koran which states that God sees man as the head of the house and primary figure, having rule over wife and child. This leads to men living up to this philosophy as in the book. Another example in the book showing male dominance is very early in the novel when there is a detailed description of the public stoning of a woman.
"In an indescriba...

... middle of paper ...

...tant to be educated in a sense that you treat people the properly with respect, with equality and fairness.
In conclusion, by showing evidence for the effects of gender inequality of male dominance, biological hormones, and lack of education we can identify the social injustice issue evident in the novel. These points are all key factors that support the topic of gender inequality. Despite living in such a great country like Canada, there are still issues to this day that we deal with in society relating to gender inequality. This is a global problem that happens to this day, and is of greater concern in different parts of the world. It is a social issue that must be brought to an end before it gets worse causing harm to others. Some attempts that can be made to help deal with this is through education, public awareness and people speaking out for one another.

Show More
Related

  • What Are The Stereotypes Of Women In Dracula

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even though women such as Lucy demonstrate stereotypical female weakness, characters such as Mina defy the conventional submissive female, as an independent woman, a role uncommon of novels in this era. In addition, Mina, in comparison to men, possesses substantially stronger emotional fortitude and controls her emotions, while the men who are supposed to be strong expose emotional weakness and frailty. Ultimately, however, no matter Mina’s intelligence or strengths, the men continually suppress Mina’s vast amount of wisdom in order to maintain their perceived dominance. Nonetheless, Stoker’s messages throughout the novel regarding women silently protest the sexist expectations of the overly limiting Victorian era. Should today’s modern feminists take Stoker’s peaceful approach and protest subtly hoping for long-term change? Or should feminists act with violent protests in hope for prompt change? Gender equality will not happen overnight, however, instead of rushing minuscule modifications with violent protest, society must patiently wait for productive and peaceful change, in order to prevent an even larger

    Read More

  • Brenda J. Allen's Article On Gender Matters

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book Difference Matters, Brenda J Allen, begins writing about how gender matters in society. One of the main topics that she talks about is how in today’s society the male gender is the more predominate gender. As the reader, she has brought to mind many new ways to view how males earn more money then females, how we classify jobs as masculine or feminine, and also how society excepts males’ vs females to act and preform in the work force.

    Read More

  • A Look at the Status of Health Care in Afghanistan In relation to The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

    1320 Words  | 3 Pages

    Brown, A. Widney., and LaShawn R. Jefferson. "VI. ILLUSTRATIVE CASES." Afghanistan, Humanity Denied: Systematic Denial of Women's Rights in Afghanistan. New York, NY.: Human Rights Watch, 2001. 16+. Print

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The Awakening, By Edna And Leonce

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender roles are a staple construct of human civilization, designating the behaviors and lifestyles that society expects out of its participants, with gender as the defining characteristic. Historically, females have been at the forefront of the conversation, with feminism regarded as the principal solution to the well-established issue of gender inequality. However, this is foolish. To truly mend the gender inequalities forged by thousands of years of human interaction, both genders have to be acknowledged. Both males and females are equally constrained by gender roles, however the effects of this constraint are in differing fields. There are studies showing that females are at a disadvantage economically, in the workplace, while other studies

    Read More

  • Women’s Rights within A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...a visit with Aziza, Laila saw a middle-aged woman, with her burqa pushed back…Laila recognized the sharp face… Laila remembered this woman once forbidding the female students from covering, saying women and men were equal, that there was no reason for women should cover if men didn’t” (322). To see a woman who was as close to a feminist as a woman in Afghanistan could get, to see her fall to level that the government wanted her at was crucial point in the novel that allowed us to really see the affect that the government had on the women in controlling every aspect of their lives.

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality In Michael Kimmel's Gendered Society

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender inequality is prevalent in all major societies. The way that I would describe gender inequality is the unequal and unfair treatment between the two sexes. Sex makes up the biological differences of male or female. While gender is learned through social interactions and behaviors applied to the sexes. As a result, from a very early age, we are taught to follow certain gender expectations. For this reason, I agree with the statement that inequality is the result of gendered systems in which we live. I will evaluate certain chapters by Michael Kimmel in his book Gendered Society, to help show how we use certain concepts learned from society to run our lives. In today’s society children are raised to be a certain gender and they are expected to perform certain gender roles.

    Read More

  • Islamic Fundamentalism and the Subjugation of Women

    2065 Words  | 5 Pages

    On September 27th, 1996, the extremist militia, the Taliban, seized control of the capital city of Afghanistan, Kabul. Up until that day, women and girls in Afghanistan could go to school, work, and walk freely. Then the Taliban issued decrees banning woman and girls from receiving education, entering the workforce or leaving their homes without a close male relative as an escort, wearing a burqa. The Taliban violently plunged the occupied territories of Afghanistan into a brutal state of gender apartheid in which women and girls have been stripped of their basic human rights. The Taliban claims religious reasoning behind this gender apartheid, using the Muslim faith as their backing, though many critics denounce this logic, saying that The Qur'an condones no such thing. Woman in Afghanistan have become but a shadow of real people. Not only can they no longer enter the workforce or attend school, they cannot choose what they wish to wear, or call to friends in public for fear of being beaten, stoned or killed. The female sex has truly been enslaved by the Taliban, however what rarely comes to light, is that males in Afghanistan have also had strictures of dress and conduct imposed on them. These conditions have roused quite a varied response from the Western World. Western-born Muslims who practice Islam identify with some of the Taliban's strictures, even wearing the burqa or hajib in Canada. Others who do not know the Muslim faith, are outraged that woman can be subjugated so completely and that the rest of the world can sit back and watch it happen complacently. Human rights atrocities are committed towards women everyday by the Taliban in the name of their religio...

    Read More

  • Sexism In The Women's Swimming Pool By Nawal El Saadawi

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both el Saadawi and Al-Shaykh both show how perception and expression are both affected within the confines of politics, social opportunities, and male privilege depicted in their stories. Whether the reader is a follower of the feminist movement or not, it is very clear and easy to see that these women are not being treated with the respect that any human being deserves. The misogynistic stranglehold on society, especially in this part of the world, is excessive and avoidable in today’s world but it is very likely that the traditional, conservative ways of the past will continue to control and inhibit women from being able to be fully treated as equals for many years to come, perhaps even after this generation has

    Read More

  • Treatment of Women in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road

    2339 Words  | 5 Pages

    Women play a key role in this novel in many ways. In the case of...

    Read More

  • The Female Role in A Rose for Emily, Miss Brill, and The Storm

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Reading literature, at first, might seem like simple stories. However, in works like William Faulkner's “A Rose for Emily,” Katherine Mansfield's “Miss Brill,” and Kate Chopin's “The Storm,” the female protagonists are examples of how society has oppressive expectations of women simply because of their gender.

    Read More

  • Culture In A Thousand Splendid Suns

    1459 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, Khaled Hosseini skillfully illustrates many aspects of Afghan culture to the reader. The novel explores the struggles that have plagued Afghanistan, and how they have affected the lives of its people. Through the story’s two narrators, Mariam and Laila, the reader is presented with examples of how the nation’s culture has changed over time. Through “A Thousand Splendid Suns” Khaled Hosseini emphasizes the struggle in the area between traditional beliefs and progressive changes, specifically as they relate to women’s rights. Throughout history it has been shown these that progressive reforms are unable to coincide with strict Islamic beliefs.

    Read More

  • The Living Dead of Afghanistan

    1904 Words  | 4 Pages

    Travesties are committed against women every day, in every country, in every city, town and home. In Afghanistan women are not only discriminated against, they are publicly reduced to animals. Women are deprived of basic human rights: they are not allowed to travel outside their homes without being completely covered by the traditional shroud-like burqa; they are not allowed to speak or walk loudly in public; they are not allowed to laugh or speak with other women; they are not allowed to attend school nor work; they are expected to be invisible; they are the ghosts of what were once educated, notable, and successful women. With their ruthless and extreme laws, the Taliban have effectively removed the physical presence of women in Afghanistan. The Taliban have stolen the very souls of these women and have turned them into the “living dead” of Afghanistan. The Taliban’s harsh restrictions and extreme religious laws have tainted the freedoms and basic human rights of the once valued and prominent women of Afghanistan.

    Read More

  • Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Critics

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).

    Read More

  • Gender Roles: Then and Now

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    Indisputably, roles and characteristics of opposite genders have been ubiquitous, since historical evidence proves so – dating back to when the practice of oral tradition was favored over written language. This historical evidence is especially apparent in literature from previous time periods. In these works of literature, men and women often have very different social and economic positions within society. Particular duties, or tasks, are practiced depending on the gender of these individuals. However, in the advancing world we are currently living in, these duties are beginning to intertwine in an effort to allow equal rights amongst opposite genders. This effort to break the sexist barrier, which encompasses our world, has already begun rattling the chains of politicians and the like. However, with the progressions made thus far in retaliation to sexism and unequal gender privileges, the United States of America is heading in a positive direction towards gender equality. Nonetheless, the female gender is perceived as a lesser entity in society while the male gender is dominant and controlling. The masculine individuals in literary works usually govern, or direct the feminine individuals. These characteristics are often evident in various literary works – including “Hills Like White Elephants,” and “A&P” written by Ernest Hemingway and John Updike, respectively. The slow and steady transformation from a sexist society to one that allows inferior genders to perform similar tasks, if not the same as their superior counterparts, may disturb the ideological mindset of figures with authority; however, it provides inferior genders with the opportunity to branch out socially, economically, and politically.

    Read More

  • Gender Inequlity Essay

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gender/Power is another contribution to gender inequality. Gender is a form of social control. The sociological significance of gender is that it is a device by which society controls its members. Gender/Power opens and closes access to power property and even prestige. Gender is inseparable from power and is defined by access to power. The statements "be a lady," or "be a man" are all based on culturally conceived ideas about gender. The images attached to labels such as feminine and masculine, not only guide our behavior, but they also serve the basis of power

    Read More

More about The Swallows of Kabul is Inequality by Yasmina Khadra

Open Document