A Thousand Splendid Suns: Oppression of Women and The Veil Controversy

The veil controversy is not just restricted to France or Europe however it has spread everywhere throughout the world. In any case, the veil is not only confined to overall debate yet it has extended to give a superior portrayal in a range of texts in literature. It has turned out to be such an extraordinary issue at present that comparable sort of episodes, however in selected texts, are utilized as a theme or subject-matter in the works of the contemporary scholars and enriches the literature. Afghan writer Khaled Hosseini handle this consuming issue of shroud discussion in his novel A Thousand Splendid Suns individually with incredible expertise.

There is the portrayal of veil controversy in the novel. In this novel Hosseini presents the wearing of hijab and hence the burqa discussion amid the reign of the Taliban in his nation. In the novel the Taliban government made burqa mandatory for all the Muslim women in Afghanistan. The dissent originated from the devotees of the radical Northern Alliance. Prior to the rule of the Taliban, it was not authoritatively compulsory for the Muslim women to wear burqa. Khaled Hosseini has shown or introduced in this novel, an expansive number of female characters who used to wear burqa amid the rule of the communist government just before the Taliban came in power. For example, towards the start of the novel, one could discover the presentation of burqa through the protagonist Mariam’s mom, Nana, who “wore her best hijab for him (Jalil)”. Mariam is additionally discovered wearing “a green hijab over her hair” preceding and amid the season of her marriage which she utilized as a weapon to shield herself from “all the shameful secrets of her past”. All the three spouses of Jalil-Khadija, Nargis and Afsoon additionally wore burqa; and the women who much of the time visit Jalil’s home are likewise found in “hijabs.” All these women wore the burqa either out of their free decision or because of the family weight however the government never meddled in this issue. In such manner, Mohd Asim Siddiqui aptly brings up that “It is to Khaled Hosseini’s credit that he does not offer a simplistic perspective on veiling, his ideas guided by his concern for verisimilitude” (Siddiqui, 84). There is immense complexity in such manner between the country and the urban style of life of the women. In the provincial territories the greater part of the women “covered fully” yet the women in the urban regions are “modern”:

Yes, modern Afghan women married to modern Afghan men who did not mind that their wives walked among strangers with makeup on their faces and nothing on their heads.

However, when the Taliban came to control the presence of such freedom arrived at an end. They passed another arrangement of guidelines for the women with a particular notice of burqa as the clothing standard of the Muslim women. As indicated by the new laws, the women are not permitted to roam all over in the city without reason. In the event that any woman leaves her home, she should oblige a “mahram” that is a male individual from the family. And above all under no conditions a woman can expose her face and she should not neglect to wear burqa. “You will not under any circumstance, show your face. You will cover with burqa when outside. If you do not, you will be severely beaten”.

It has startled the women so much in Afghanistan that even the women who are secular minded dare not go outside without wearing burqa. In this setting one can can refer to the case of Laila’s class teacher, Shanzai who is likewise prominently known as Khala Rangmal by her students. Amid the season of the Leftist government, “She did not cover and forbade the female students from doing it. She said women and men were equal in every way and there was no reason women should cover if men didn’t”. Even that exact woman is found in burqa under the rule of the Taliban government.

Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns centers around the predicament of women in Afghan culture which powers women to wear the veil (burqa). This veil is a veritable image of both the harsh idea of male dominance and the stifling impacts of accommodation with respect to women, much similarly that dresses of specific hues and uncommon caps that women are made to wear in Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale confine women’s development, opportunity, and even vision and cut them off from specific encounters. For instance, Offred in the Handmaid’s Tale is not permitted to talk except if addressed and is not supposed to make eye contact unless commanded to do so. A comparable situation is displayed in A Thousand Splendid Suns. The burqas in Afghanistan are utilized to make women submissive to their husbands. Mariam rapidly takes in this from her husband, Rasheed, that he also will uphold this work on, saying, “But I’m a different breed of man, Mariam. Where I come from, one wrong look, one improper word, and blood is spilled. Where I come from, a woman’s face is her husband’s business only. I want you to remember that. Do you understand?'. Women are to be totally secured by their burqas at all times, except if at home with their husband, isolated and separated from society. Women are hushed by this thin layer of fabric that encompasses their bodies and powers them into submission.