Physical Abuse In A Thousand Suns

According to Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) about 293,000 people are raped in America each year and 98% of rapists will never spend a day in jail (RAINN). This was very surprising to me. The reason that 98% of rapists will never go to jail is because society will blame the woman for something that was not her fault. Laila and Mariam, two Afghan women who are the main characters in Hosseini’s A Thousand Suns, are victims are both sexual and physical abuse. They are brought together by traumatic events in their lives. They bond over their hatred for Rasheed, their husband. Mariam treats Laila like a daughter because of their significant age difference and the fact that Mariam could never have children. Rasheed also blames Mariam …show more content…
When Rasheed thinks that Mariam’s rice is undercooked, he makes her eat rocks as a punishment: “His powerful hands clasped her jaw. He shoved two fingers into her mouth and pried it open, then forced the cold, hard pebbles into it. Mariam struggled against him, mumbling, but he kept kept pushing the pebbles in” (104). Physical abuse is something that nobody should have to go through. Nobody should be frightened by their spouse or parent constantly. This constant fear is so psychologically damaging, but unfortunately, so many women are subject to this like Mariam. When Laila started to deny Rasheed sex because he was ignoring Aziza, Rasheed blames Mariam and beats her even though she had nothing to do with it: “‘I should have known you’d corrupt her’ Rasheed spat at Mariam. He swung the belt, testing it against his own thigh… Rasheed raised the belt again and this time came at Mariam” (240-41). Everything is Mariam’s fault because she is a woman. People should not be beaten for anything especially something that they did not even do. Abusive spouses or parents often beat people for unimportant reasons just like Rasheed hits Mariam for insignificant things. In Afghanistan, the Taliban almost encourages the abuse of women by beating them for every little thing done wrong: “Many [women] reported having been beaten by the Religious Police for such offenses as not wearing the burqa, not covering …show more content…
This is an absurd practice by society. If women were asking for rape, then it would not be called rape. Many women have been victims of rape, but receive no justice because our court systems blame the woman and not the man. Very few men will go to jail for rape, and this usually happens when the male is of lower class than the female. This book portrays what will happen to society if women are constantly blamed for everything. Women will think of themselves as useless and men will treat them as inferiors. Soon, women will be reduced to almost nothing like they are in Afghanistan. Women have very few rights, and they are beaten for every little thing that they do wrong. Women must be equal to men for society to take them seriously. America was founded for equal rights for all, but often people forget that and exclude women from this