Women's Rights In The Kite Runner

Women’s lives in America are often overlooked when compared to women’s lives in Afghanistan. The ability to wear your choice of clothing and leave your home whenever you please is the complete opposite of life for a woman in Afghanistan. Almost nothing is up to them and the men make all of their decisions. On a daily basis, they are neglected and seen as nothing but worthless objects. Hosseini Khaled’s novel The Kite Runner demonstrates the limited rights for women in Afghanistan by showing how they are treated with such disrespect involving culture, individuality, and family. It is apart of Afghan culture for none of the women to have freedom with anything. Most of these cruel ways are actual laws made by the Taliban. The lifestyle of a …show more content…
Women are usually cherished for their virginity and without it, men will not go after her to start a family. Once her reputation is tarnished, it cannot be taken back. It is different for men when it comes to a reputation. Maintaining a clear reputation isn’t taken as seriously and to redeem themselves, they can perform a type of honorable settlement or revenge. According to an article on rape in Afghanistan, rape is considered a “cultural” issue rather than a legal one. The victims get more of a negative outlook than the perpetrator. The victim can be charged with adultery, homosexuality, and other crimes even though they were the actual victims. Rape is also used as a form of humiliation to make the victim feel weak. An example of this is when Hassan refuses to give Assef Amir’s kite and as a result, Assef’s friends pin Hassan down and Assef proceeds to rape him. Before he did it, he stated “Before you sacrifice yourself, would he do the same for you?”Without a husband, a woman’s life will be worse than it would be with one. There will be no main source of money to take care of herself. When a woman has a family, the men are the ones to go out and bring home earnings to supply for the family. Most of the women live in poverty and can do absolutely nothing about it.
The Kite Runner is an eye opening novel that shows how the roles of men and women impact the society in Afghanistan with the position of women, social issues, and the overlook of major conflict. The way Hosseini combined all of these topics in this story of two brothers was a great way of expressing Afghanistan culture and how their lives are lived. Even though some of the aspects in the novel are tragic and unfair, it is definitely the reality of life in