Quarter 4: Week 7, Post A

This past week, I continued to notice a lot of cultural differences in A Thousand Splendid Suns, even in these last few chapters. I found several examples in the story that demonstrated again the inequality between men and women. One instance occurred when Laila and Mariam tried to escape from Rasheed but they were caught by Afghan officers. Laila and Mariam know they are in deep trouble because it is a crime for women to run away from their homes. Officer Rahman tells Laila that he must send her back home because he has a "responsibility to maintain order" (238). However, when Laila begs him not to send them home for fear of Rasheed's abuse, the officer is indifferent. "'As a matter of policy, we do not interfere with private family matters, hamshira.' 'Of course you don't. When it benefits the man'" (238). The Afghan authorities do not care about the possible dangers Laila would face in returning home; instead they focus on making sure women know that men must be respected at all times as rulers of the household. This is very different from American culture where there are laws in place to incriminate men who abuse their wives. Abuse still occurs, but it is definitely not tolerated as it is in Afghanistan. Women's and men's rights are much closer to equal here in the U.S. compared to Afghanistan. Another example of the discrepancies in the rules for men vs. women is shown when Laila is visited by Tariq. After years of living with the belief that he was dead, she finally learns the truth--he was alive and thinking of her the whole time. However, even though the two are childhood friends, and maybe more than just friends, Laila still feels shameful at her enthusiastic welcome towards Tariq: "It embarrassed her now to think of how she'd thrown her arms around his neck and wept into his chest...Had she acted too eagerly, she wondered, too desperately?" (294). Laila worries about the affection she showed Tariq because it is considered unproper for women to show such affection for men other than their own husbands. This point is emphasized by Rasheed when he later asks Laila, "'I suppose you let him see your face?'" (301). When Laila must admit that she did indeed show Tariq her face, Rasheed becomes even more angry. This situation shows the restrictions placed on women's behavior in Afghanistan. There is a long list of written and unwritten rules that must be followed in order for them to uphold their honor and respect in society.