☀️Afghanistan War through the narrative of Khaled Hosseini.
A Thousand Splendid Suns, a read that will not leave you indifferent.
I am by far the least suitable person to tell the story of the war in Afghanistan.
In fact, if you are looking for a detailed account of the events that shaped two decades of conflict and political upheaval, I am not the person to guide you.
As a global observer (neither Afghan nor American), I witnessed, like millions of others, the war that consumed Afghanistan for two decades.
My understanding comes from a distance, pieced together through television broadcasts, news reports, documentaries, and even films (Hollywood touches everything). These sources painted a fragmented picture of a period that profoundly impacted global memory and history.
In my mind, I carry scattered fragments of that conflict: televised images of bombings, battles, glimpses of traditions, and the struggle to reclaim freedoms. Alongside this are faint impressions of Afghanistan’s geography, history, and culture, incomplete but striking.
If you, like me, feel a similar sense of ignorance, where these facts are no more than a collection of guesses, then you must read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-American doctor and writer widely recognized in the literary community for his deeply emotional works that address social and political conflicts in the context of his native Afghanistan.
In his second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007), a historical fiction and dramatic novel, Khaled Hosseini delves into a journey through two decades of Afghan history, interweaving historical events, such as the Soviet invasion, the Taliban regime and the civil war, with the lives of two women, two fictional characters: Mariam and Laila, whose paths cross in unexpected circumstances, creating an inseparable bond that will transform their destinies forever.
A novel that deeply touches human emotions, resilience, hope, dreams, traditions, sisterhood and the rawness that oppression against women can reach.
So, why should you read A Thousand Splendid Suns?
A Thousand Splendid Suns leaves us with a positive and hopeful message about the future of its characters and the destiny of Afghanistan itself.
However, it could also be interpreted as a dream shared by a country, as a kind of prelude to the time to come under the control of the United States, in its occupation of Afghanistan for more than two decades, in the recovery of spaces, freedoms, in the healing of the wounds of an entire people, and in the constant fight against the Taliban regime that ruled.
🚨Spoilers Alert
From this point on, and in the spirit of providing a critical and personal opinion about certain aspects of the novel, I must refer to both historical facts (of common and general knowledge) and the narrative itself, thus revealing part of its plot, although I will make an effort to do so as little as possible.
However, dear reader, if you are one of those who detest this type of spoilers, I invite you to enjoy the cover of the novel below and immediately stop reading my article right at that point.
I am convinced (or I hope) that I have provided the minimum information, or at least a seed of curiosity, strong enough for you to undertake the enjoyment of this novel on your own.
🚨 SPOILERS ALERT — POINT OF NO RETURN
Burka
Of all the Islamic veils, this is the feminine garment that is considered by far the most restrictive due to its characteristics.
It consists of a single piece of cloth (usually blue), which completely covers the body and face except for a small slit or mesh at eye level, so that the world can be seen through it.
In Afghanistan, it is the obligatory clothing imposed on Pashtun women (from the Pashtun people) when they are outside the home.
Its use varies according to the perspective or branch of Islam, so for example, the most orthodox say that it is a strict rule that MUST be followed, however, the most liberal do not consider it that way; in any case, its use points to respect and modesty regarding showing the body in public.
In A Thousand Splendid Suns, both main female characters (Mariam and Laila) are forced to wear this garment at some point in their lives. For both, it was a traditional garment that was known, but never worn.
So her first encounter with this garment at a very early age resulted in an uncomfortable and rather heavy experience to wear, especially when walking, fearing to trip over any object in her path and fall.
However, for Mariam in a rather bizarre way and difficult to understand without the proper context of the character, wearing a Burka, far from offering her restrictions, offered her a strange feeling of freedom.
The freedom offered by anonymity, the freedom to go out into the street (several steps behind her husband of course), and for no one to recognize her eyes through that small mesh, and, above all, the freedom for no one to know that she was a bastard daughter, that her very presence and the audacity of being born, would have offended and stained many.
Mariam inherited from her mother, and from her illegitimate birth with an ideological Burka: A cloak that prevented her from having access to a normal life, to the love of a family, to the presence of a father, to everyday and mundane things.
So ironically, wearing a burka, which met the strictest and most orthodox requirements of Islam, allowed Mariam to experience, even if only through a small mesh, a world that until then had been forbidden to her by birth.
No one would point her out because it was impossible to see her.
How many burkas do we wear at birth that do not belong to us or deserve?
Domestic violence
A widely known term that refers to violent acts carried out between members of a family group.
It includes a wide range of actions, such as physical violence, verbal violence, harassment, stalking, intimidation, etc. that occur within a family.
In the modern world, domestic or family violence, whatever its nature, is an uncivilized and dehumanizing act that we humans unfortunately do to each other. It is harshly judged and severely punished in many countries.
It is simply not allowed and there should not be room for these situations to occur.
But they do occur.
Mariam and Laila, as wives of Rashid, a man much older than them, rough, violent and extremely orthodox (a terrible combination), share much more than forced love relationships, they share a hell where insults, mockery, contempt and humiliation are the order of the day, and where any “fault” or any disregard for obedience translates into punches to the point of losing consciousness.
But under the regime, there is no room for complaints. Or at least, not for these.
The climax of this story of violence is when Mariam is facing Taliban justice.
For the death of her husband.
By her fist.
Then in front of a jury totally biased and slanted by the regime, all the understanding (if you can call it that) that Mariam receives after describing the horrors committed by her husband for decades is something similar to: “I’m sorry that your husband was a man with a bad temper.”
Her sentence, death.
How many Mariams are there in the modern world who have “stumbled upon a door”?
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Patriarchal society
In general terms, a patriarchal society is understood as a system where men have the predominant power in every aspect of said society: leadership, privileges, control, etc.
A system based on historical and cultural structures and ideologies, limiting, to say the least, the recognition and opportunities of women.
Both Mariam and Laila are subjected, one because of her condition as an illegitimate daughter, and the other, as a result of circumstances, to arranged marriages by male figures like any other negotiation or transaction with a man (Rashid) who was much older than her.
This totally patriarchal system subjects them (willingly or by force) to the decisions of men. Leaving any intention, any motivation, any dream or desire of both women in ashes.
Educational limitations for women
As a result of a society with a marked patriarchal ideology and under a strict Taliban regime, both Mariam and Laila see their opportunities to access an education completely truncated.
Mariam, on the other hand, and due to her status as an illegitimate daughter, never in her life had access to formal education: school, university, books, etc.
Although she had the support of some of her mother’s friends for her religious education mainly, her pre-adolescence, along with any aspirations, was abruptly cut short by a forced marriage to Rashid.
For her part, Laila, being the daughter of an academic, a university professor, had the opportunity to access education. She liked going to school very much. Until later under the control of the Taliban regime, spaces began to close, in all aspects, and especially for women.
Finally, Laila ends up receiving her last classes from her father, in the secrecy of her home when a traditional education in school was no longer viable, for fear of reprisals, punishment or even death.
Today, UNESCO prescribes in the declaration of universal human rights, in its article 26, that every person has the right to education. https://www.unesco.org/en/udhr
It is totally understandable that for certain regimes, certain types of governments and structures, thinking, having one’s own judgment, making one’s own decisions and being critical, is very dangerous and puts the control of the masses at risk for said regimes, that is why it is so important to uproot those hopes as soon as possible.
“An ignorant people is blind to its own destruction.” Simón Bolívar, a hero of Venezuelan independence.
Criticism of the War
Afghanistan is initially shown as a prosperous, vibrant and lively city that is transformed into a battlefield, between ruins and death; especially in the city of Kabul, where an important part of the story takes place.
Thanks to Khaled’s impressive narrative, it is possible to be in the front row through the eyes and skin of Mariam and Laila, and have a closer perspective on the horrors of war: the tense atmosphere, the political changes, the hopelessness, the constant military confrontations, the shortage of food, the poverty, and the flashes of bombings in the distance, and above their heads.
As a consequence, forced displacement to other territories, emotional uprooting and the loss of loved ones become the order of the day, further fueling the harsh rules of the Taliban regime, especially on women.
Now what?
The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan began in May 2021.
Finally after 20 years, US combat forces completed their full withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, with the evacuation of OTAN forces from Afghanistan.
Who won?
Does anyone win this game?
A Thousand Splendid Suns, a reading that will not leave you indifferent before a harsh reality unknown to some, distant to others, but deeply (and sadly) authentic for many.
Thank you in three steps…
1. I hope that by the end of this reading I have gained a little more knowledge or at least a little more curiosity. If so, my job is done.
2. Feel free to share what caught your attention or any thoughts you have, and don’t hesitate to comment or reach out.
3. I look forward to seeing you again! 🚀 😎🙃
