Women In A Thousand Splendid Suns

4 out of 5 Muslim women in the middle east are mistreated, most of the time by their husbands or other men in their lives. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini talks about how the lives of women are mistreated and how they have no choice but to stay in their horrific households. Two characters in the story are Mariam and Laila. Mariam is a quiet and thoughtful girl, who runs away from home at the age of 15 after her mother commits suicide. She is then shortly forced into marriage by her father, to a man named Rasheed. Laila is a smart and intelligent young women who falls in love with her childhood friend Tariq but has to leaves because of war. Soon after an explosion is blown up near her, Rasheed and Mariam find her and take her into their home. But since Rasheed saved her life he wants her to marry him as token of his kindness. This essay will discuss how Mariam and Laila are devalued …show more content…
“Now you know what your rice tastes like. Now you know what you giving me in this marriage. Bad food,and nothing else.”(Page 94, Hosseini) Rasheed is very violent toward women and as a result he shoved pebbles into Mariam’s mouth and broke a molar just because she cooked him bad rice. But he’s just not disrespectful to her,he is also threatening towards his other wife Laila. There was an incident that Mariam,Laila and her daughter Aziza tried to run away but a man they thought they can trust turned them into the police. Rasheed got mad and embarrassed when he had to pick them up from the station.And when they got home he threatened them,“To Mariam first,then to her,you last. I’ll make you watch. you understand me? I will make you watch.”(Page 243,Hosseini) ,beat them, and locked Laila and Aziza and a shed two whole days with no food or water.He was threatening Laila that he will kill her daughter Aziza and Mariam in front of her if they ever tried to escape from him