![]() ![]() The relatively progressive gender norms under communism change drastically with the arrival of the Mujahideen and, eventually, the Taliban. Men, like Laila’s brothers, are the ones who go off to fight, while the women stay home and often must deal with the repercussions of war. Gender relations can also depend on specific traditional or regional norms-Mariam, for instance, is required by her husband to wear a burqa long before this becomes law. At the same time, however, girls are discouraged from spending too much time with members of the opposite sex before they’re married. Babi celebrates this status and encourages Laila to take advantage of it. Under communist rule, for instance, girls are permitted to attend school and work outside the home. Gender relations differ throughout the novel depending on the occupying forces and the laws that accompany them. The novel, in fact, draws on the limitations imposed on women in Afghan life in order to explore how women have lived, endured, and subverted these constraints. ![]() ![]() By telling the story of A Thousand Splendid Suns through the perspective of two Afghan women, Hosseini can emphasize certain aspects of Afghan life and history that differ from the established historical narrative. ![]()
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