LIVING ON THE EDGE: WOMEN IN KHALED HOSSEINI’S A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

AUTHOR – ADRIJA LASKAR, STUDENT AT SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, HYDERABAD

BEST CITATION – ADRIJA LASKAR, LIVING ON THE EDGE: WOMEN IN KHALED HOSSEINI’S A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 4 (2) OF 2024, PG. 73-78, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

“A man’s accusatory finger always discovers a woman like the pointer of a compass points north.” This statement exemplifies the female power disparity in Afghan society. He said that the struggle and carnage in Afghanistan, which has endured more than 50 years, has taken a toll in terms of both physical and human casualties. It also caused an almost permanent drastic shift in his socio-cultural framework. Dealing with the combined conquest of and oppression has been a challenging living. The mentioned novel by Khaled Hosseini chronicles the narrative of two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila who are both victims of patriarchy and married to Rasheed. The male binary oppressed Hosseini’s female characters until they struggled for their identities. Both male and female characters persecute, sexually harass, and suffocate the female characters, yet they fight the violence, nevertheless. There is a reminder for all women worldwide who are sufferers of female or male brutality that they may resist tyranny and subjugation. In the context of this work, this research project contends that the violence and conflict in Afghanistan during a critical moment in its history worsened women’s oppression. This study article tries to present an alternate view of Afghan women’s situations to the often-clichéd depictions by conceptualizing Afghan experiences of women in a specific set of political, sociological, and cultural components.

Keywords: Patriarchy, Afghan women, Oppression, Victimization, Gender Roles, Individuality, Marginalization