Discrimination In A Thousand Splendid Suns

Afghanistan is a leading country for male dominance and injustice on behalf of females due to cultural beliefs, actions taken place against women in the Afghan society are pronounced acceptable by law. Laila, being the strong female character and Mariam, the leading character, both endure the same repercussion of the Taliban’s rules. The Taliban greatly limit females boundaries and women are not able to express themselves in any manner. In the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam and Laila are forced to endure the many damaging effects of a patriarchal society run by the Taliban forcing the women of Afghanistan to abide their strict laws and receiving harsh consequences if their rules are not followed. In the novel, Laila and Mariam appear as possessions of their husband, Rasheed in which has the ability to control their …show more content…
At a young age, just as Mariam, Laila marries Rasheed for the sake of safety for herself and her child of Tariq. She now becomes another possession of Rasheed. After a disagreement between Laila and Rasheed, the narrator states, “Rasheed didn’t say anything. And, really, what needed saying when you’d shoved the barrel of your gun into your wife’s mouth”. The quote powerfully concludes the amount of power Rasheed has over Laila. Laila disagreed with the idea of her daughter, Aziza becoming a street beggar therefore, she voiced her opinion to Rasheed and suffered the consequences of near death because her response was not to his liking. Rasheed’s easily triggered anger is easily unleashed consequently leading Laila to tolerate his choices discarding her own thoughts and opinions to satisfy Rasheed. Laila and Mariam being under the household of Rasheed, both suffer damaging consequences due to Rasheed 's strong belief in the Religious views of the