Muslim Sub-Cultures

Since the days of Taliban rule, the situation for Afghanistan’s women has improved, although women in rural areas are not guaranteed the freedoms they are supposed to have. In 2009, Afghanistan’s president approved several laws that were not women friendly, such as women not being allowed to “ leave her home, work, go to school or inherit land” (Lopez 1). Despite some Muslim sub-cultures respecting a woman’s place in society, some more austere or strict sub-cultures do not value women or think of them the same way as they do men. In A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, examples of this include women not being educated, being controlled by their abusive husbands, and giving men superiority over women in everyday life. These Muslim subcultures are represented by two women from different backgrounds, who marry the same man. These women, Mariam and Laila react in two very different ways to being mistreated and oppressed. Laila’s more lax background and access to education never prepared her for the realities of many types of domestic abuse. This caused her to stand up for herself and fight back against Rasheed. Mariam was raised by Nana, a previous housemaid of Jalil, Mariam’s father. Because Mariam was not a child resulting from a marriage, she had a tougher childhood that gave her a glimpse into verbal abuse from Nana. …show more content…
“Facts About Afghanistan Women.” Facts about Afghanistan Women, classroom.synonym.com/facts-about-afghanistan-women-12078929.html.

In conclusion, different Muslim sub-cultures have different ways of treating women. Additionally, women from these sub-cultures react differently to abuse, as Mariam and Laila coped with Rasheed’s demanding ways completely opposite from one another. This behavior was a result of their childhood backgrounds, Mariam not being as privileged as Laila leading to her enduring all struggles in life. Latsly, Laila attempted to take charge of her life because her family taught her that women are equal to