United World College of the

Adriatic

Hamidullah Wafakaish

Candidate Number: (000197-090)

Research Question:
To what extend does the portrayal of afghan

women reflects the real-life treatment in Kite

Runner?

The Afghan Women in Kite Runner

Table of Contents

1. Abstract 3

2. Introduction 4

3. How afghan women were through the history? 5/6

4. How Taliban’s abused women rights in comparison to other Islamic

countries? 7/8

5. How impacts of education of women were in family/society? 9

6. How were the involvement of women in social and economic

development? 10

7. Conclusion. 11/12

8. Bibliography 13

2
 The Afghan Women in Kite Runner
ABSTRACT

Through the novel of Kite Runner apart from any other circumstances such as
changes in political regimes and transformation of leaders, the situation of afghan
women is concerning and has deep sorrows behind it.

As an interpretation of Kite Runner through the passage of history the kings and
monarchs of Afghanistan have also made some efforts to empower and to promote the
women but unfortunately the existence of provincial extremists and the misuse of
religion have caused several assassinations of Monarchs and Presidents which ended
up to failure of these endeavors such as when BABA says “ Russians invaded our
country and Mujahidin invades our souls”.

The over view of kite runner describes the most prominent situation and lifestyles of
Afghan people through the novel along with some details from the past and some
details from the usual and common behavior of “Men world” history in the novel.

As a brief overview of real life situation of afghan women in the Kite Runner, it could
be said that, the life which an afghan woman is having outside the country as
“Soraya” is totally far from the real fact of those who lives inside Afghanistan.

The picture which “Khalid Hosseini” has drawn to describe the woman in Kite
Rrunner describes the social impacts of Afghans on education for both boys and girls
and also it describes the impacts of social and race imbalances through the novel by
picturing “BABA” as “chief or head” [pashtun] and Hassan “ servant or poor”
[Hazara].

The life and situation of women in Kite Runner still remains un answered because,
there have been attempts and discriminations against women through the period of

3
mujahidin and Russian invasion but yet there is not such a response to the past and
coming future of afghan women in both Kite Runner and real life situation.

The political and social situation of Afghanistan and its impacts on Afghan women are worthy to
be focused, because the tough situations and circumstances, which Afghan women have faced,
have deep sorrows in the past and in the current situation of Afghanistan. Afghanistan may be the
only country in the world where during the last century kings and politicians have promised
struggles relating to women’s status and their rights but all failed and promises remained
unfulfilled. The above introduced points such as the discrimination of women rights as a result of
political, economical and social occurrences which had happened and it is still on practice on
Islamic states certainly in Afghanistan will be discussed on details through this topic.

The challenges and difficulties which afghan women have faced according to “Kite Runner”
during the three decades of civil war are very painful and simultaneously it might bring changes
to the perspectives of many who are concerned about the global human rights certainly women
rights in Afghanistan.

Recently, the situation of women under the Taliban regime has been center stage. The situation of
women came to symbolize to Western military powers a justification of war in the name of
freedom of women. But the situation of women in Afghanistan today is not only the result of the
Taliban’s policies.

The troubles and discrimination through the history of afghan women starts since the Islamic
State of Afghanistan was created in 1919 after the withdrawal of British Government. There is a
history over the centuries of women’s subjugation. Even in more recent times the Mujahidin 1’s
(1992-1996) record is worse than the Taliban’s, because Taliban only enforced the previous law
of mujahidin which was to deprive women from society and community for example: according
to Kite Runner “Hassan’s2 Mother desired to have a peaceful and democratic life but she had
never had the chance to feel real freedom in her life and the government responding to a demand

1
Taliban and Mujahidin will be referred to as Islamic Fundamentalists.
2
“Hassan” Ali’s son and the second protagonist of kite runner after Amir son of Baba.

4
from society and vice versa on society were twisting the concept of freedom and imposing on her
to wear “Burqa” or veil and when a woman was disagreeing to do so, she would be given
different name such as prostitute. These restrictions finally resulted in her fleeing with a group of
freebooters.

The women of Afghanistan have been withdrawn from the society as a result of political, social
and economical changes during the dark three decades of civil war which locked the Afghan
women under the roofs of their houses for years and years like “Hassan’s mother(Sanawbar) who
had secret relationship with Amir’s father(Baba) but, she could not reveal it because of social
repercussions, which would result in her death.

According to Sharia (Law of Islam) the women are free and have their rights to decide upon their
daily activities but the political anarchy during the three decades of war and before that, left the
women behind of technology and education.

The fact of Afghanistan being a traditional Islamic country run by men, had its strong impacts
on women’s situation through the history, the women were considered to be weak creature in
terms of not being able to work hard like a man, weak in decision making, problem solving and
other habitual activities in the society like “Soraya when she could not have the right to choose
her future husband”3 however, she had the same ability and courage as the other men have but,
the traditional society had made her unable to express herself. The old Islamic tradition which
keeps the women inside their houses and imposes them to wear “Burqa” or “veil” and even they
are not able to decide about their future, is still practiced in afghan families and society which
has its unbearable effects on the empowerment and development of women in Afghanistan and
the climax of women prestige are the workers and cleaners of the houses or at most a baby sitter.

The evident of real situation of women in Afghanistan during the Taliban has also been shown by
an Afghani film called “Osama”. The film Osama expresses and identifies the common law and
behavior of Taliban war lords and draws the image of a women which has no one except Allah or
God to help her from Taliban. The picture which Osama draws is the real tough circumstances
and moments which a female human kind can have in their life like working for livings, cutting
her hair to become like a boy, imposed marriage with mosque priest and having no right defend
her rights to choose.

3
Kite Runner;

5
According to Kite Runner the transformation of the Afghan government differed from one
president “Najibullah”(Regime) “Communism” to other or from one King “Zahir”(Party)
“Kingdom” to other for example “Taliban [1996-2001]” the most conservative regime and
“communism [1978 - 1989]” the less conservative political regime.

The changes in political regimes on the one hand were promising for freedom of women but the
other hand it was abusing the rights of women, for example; communism in Afghanistan was
proclaiming for human rights but according to Kite Runner the Russian wanted to rape the
women on the way to Pakistan “ these roussi are not like us. They understand nothing about
respect, honor”4. Mujahidin or Taliban were useless for women rights through the history “
flogging women for wearing high heels”5. The differentiation of state of being of ethnic and tribal
figure had also its impacts on the life of women and society in Afghanistan because women of the
more influential tribes had more prestige and more credit among the other women in the society
such as “Ali” however, he was a man but still he related to the minority group of Afghanistan and
he used to be as “watch man” of the other related tribe people according to Kite Runner “
massacring of Hazaras”6.

The impact of society and backward behavior of people with gender balance issues caused a
women in a family did not have the same rights as other male of the family had as Amir says in
Kite Runner “Fathers and sons could talk freely about women. But no afghan girl”7, because it
was the way that, the males gender of the family or the head of the family believed that women
were the housekeepers, and the male member of the family had the right to decide about the
female member of the family according to Kite Runner, where “General 8” decides everything in
the house including whether Soraya should marry Amir khan or not?.
According to the book [Ahmed-Ghosh]9 “Women are accurately points out that, the issue of
women’s rights in Afghanistan has been historically constrained by (a) the patriarchal nature of
gender and social relations deeply embedded in traditional communities and (b) the existence of a
weak central state, that has been unable to implement modernizing programs and goals in the face
of tribal feudalism”. In addition, It can be argued that, foreign interference by the British, Soviet
Union and the United States of America, dating to the 1880s, critically impeded social
development in Afghanistan. The tribal leaders blocked reform efforts that aimed to separate

4
Kite Runner; page 107; paragraph 2.
5
Kite Runner; page 261; paragraph 2.
6
Kite Runner; page261; paragraph 2.
7
Kite Runner; page 136; paragraph 1.
8
General; father and head of Soraya’s family.
9
Ahmed Ghosh; http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~ghosh/

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women’s identity from that of her family and tribal community, and ultimately any attempts at
modernizing the state.
Afghanistan is very rugged in its topography and various ethnic, religious, and tribal groups
sparsely populate it. In (1998) the population of Afghanistan was approximately 32 million.
In addition, interferences by western countries “Russian invasion on Afghanistan 1979”10 and
countries bordering Afghanistan have contributed to the Breakage of the Afghan purity. In many
instances, tribal politics is still determined by ethnic loyalties to bordering states. Although there
have been sporadic attempts to bring opponent tribes together, at no point has the Afghan nation
experienced a strong centralized state with a common legal system for example; “communism
invaded Afghanistan and promised to develop the country but instead they sabotaged the country
or when mujahidin took over by the name of God or (holy warriors) to protect Islam in
Afghanistan but what happened? They brought Islam into the war fairs and did crimes under the
shelter of Islam11”.
Instead, rival ethnic groups have had political ambitions to capture Kabul and, through well-
armed tribal leaders (supported by external funds), created their own autonomy.
Ethnically based rivalries, combined with open and varied interpretations of Islam, have created
fractious cultures.
The impact on women has been especially harsh, since women’s lives have often been used as the
common goods as Kite Runner is the evident of this issue, “which a women is been harassed by
Russian soldier on the way to Pakistan and no one can prevent of his action” because as the
feelings and reactions of her husband shows that, not only him is unable to react but also this
occurrence draws the picture of all women which were being harassed by Russians soldiers
during the reign of Russians in Afghanistan. According to Kite Runner, women in afghan culture
plays the role of pride and honor among the families and people and that’s why “BABA” could
not see that an Afghan women is being harassed in his existence on the way to Pakistan.

Tribal laws and sanctions have routinely taken precedence over Islamic and constitutional laws in
deciding gender roles, especially through kinship hierarchies in the rural regions. Tribal power
plays, institutions of honor, and inter-tribal shows of patriarchal control have put women’s
position in jeopardy. Tribal laws view marriages as alliances between groups; “women are

10
Kite Runner; page 102; paragraph 2.
11
Political frailty and foreign interferences by DR. Nabi Musdiq; London(UK) New
York(US); 2006

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pawned into marriages and not allowed to divorce, total obedience to the husband and his family
is expected”12.
Through the 500 years of Afghan history, the women of Afghanistan did not have their complete
rights as a result of political and social changes13 till Amir Abdur Rahman Khan “the Modern
Monarch of Afghanistan” who ruled from 1880-1901 “gave the first right to women of Pashtun
tribe to divorce their husbands and discriminated the rights of other tribe of Afghan women such
as the discrimination of Hazaras and Tajiks”.

During the eleven years of Abdur Rahman’s reign the women of Pashtuns developed and got the
better chances to be educated and found the rights to be employed in governmental
establishments but, from the other side the modern king of Afghanistan killed, tortured, hanged
and sold the young girls of Hazaras and Tajiks in for coin to the volunteer groups as he says
“when I first succeeded to the throne of Kabul my life was not a bed of roses. Here began my first
severe fight against my own relations, my own subjects, my own people.14" or in other words, the
king of Afghanistan sold the young girls priceless to other Pashtuns to avoid the influence of
other tribes to reach to power by the increase of their population and according to kite runner
“Taliban were whether kidnapping or by force taking the young girls or young boys to rape” and
the evident of this issue is shown in Kite Runner “ when Amir arrives to orphanage and finds out
that Sohrab is already been “taken away”. The picture which has been drawn in Kite Runner
shows that, during the reign of Taliban on Afghanistan, there were no place for orphans in the
country but if there were, it would have been extremely poor or used to keep alive the orphans.

Mahmood Tarzi “ [The writer who acknowledged the liberalization of women in Afghanistan for
the first time]” He was strongly influenced by modern interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence and
by liberties of Turkey and Syria where he was educated. Tarzi viewed women as people who
deserved full citizenship; he claimed that educated women were an asset to future generations and
concluded that Islam did not deny them equal rights but according to the “hidden face of Eve”

Due to Tarzi’s15 liberal influence Habibullah khan [ the successor of Abdurahman Khan] opened
a school for girls with English curriculum. The influence of Tarzi’s ideology were on practice till
12
Wikipedia; why afghan women prefer death to marriage; 05/03/2009;
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=310968&page=1
13
Amiri, Rina. .Muslim Women as Symbols.and Pawns.. In The New York
Times; New

York, NY; Nov 27, 2001.

14
http://www.afghanan.net/afghanistan/abdurahman.htm
15
Tarzi; is the biggest human science professional in Afghanistan in 21ST century.

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1979 but after that, as it is viewed in Kite Runner, that girls left the colleges and schools as well
as the boys because of political and social anarchies.

The liberation and independence of women in Afghanistan unfortunately faced and suffered from
old traditions and Islamic ancient customs which did not allow women to be involved in
community and social activities which finally caused Habibullah khan to be assassinated
(20/02/1919 )by Mullahs16 and Islamic fundamentalists this a result of women liberation or self-
dependent policies and as “Baba says”, “Russian invaded our independence and Mujahidin
invaded our souls”. It means that both regimes were useless in terms of education and democracy.

There have been many attempts and struggles for the liberation and modernization of women in
Afghanistan in twenty-first century. The existence of Islamic fundamentalists or in other words
the existence of (mullahs) and tribal leaders causes and jeopardizes the empowerment and
developments of women in Afghanistan. All the attempts for the liberation of women have been
frustrated by Islamic fundamentalists or tribal leaders for self-enhancements and profits. The
main causes and reasons for the discrimination of women rights are the empowerments of tribal
leaders and foreign interferences. According to the book (Afghanistan and Foreign Interferences)
the tribal leaders were being supported financial and by foreign countries mainly by Pakistan and
to be involved in conflicts with each other to in force their aims which was to bring Taliban in
Afghanistan.

Many conservative Afghans felt that the reforms from central government to improve women
rights were too “western” for their society and forced changes were against the doctrines of
Islam. People in the country side were unable to comprehend the changes being imposed on them
in haste, especially when men saw these changes as challenging their familial and tribal authority.
Resistance was strongest to the abolition of bride price and polygamy, and to the introduction of
education for girls.

1920s were the time when the conflict between modernists and traditionalist tribes began to work.
The main connection of this conflict was changing the status of women. What caused this war
was the abolition of bride price and giving freedom to women to choose their partners and finally
fathers of young women saw such a law against the provincial and social status, familial control
and financial security.

16
Mullah: could be called the “Islamic fundamentalists”, or the priest of mosque.

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The tribal and ethnical rights abuse by the central Pashtun government has caused the regional
tribal leaders “ which plays the role of protector” to resist against the government and constitute
their own laws which not only affects women’s rights but also it affects the economical and
social situation.

The respect which the central Pashtun government had toward Pashtun women is quite far away
from the torture and irrational behavior which they had committed to other tribes or ethnic’s
women in Afghanistan. The evident of this situation was viewed by “RAWA.ORG”
( revolutionary association of women Afghanistan) which a Hazara woman was shoot on the head
because of walking without a family member.

According to the “Hidden Face of Eve”17 the regime which Taliban had created for their political
strategies in the name of Islam is quite far away from the real fact of Islam. Before the creation of
Islam the people of ancient times were burying their daughters because they were thinking that,
women as human being is a shame for the family toward their society and the they were making
efforts to hide the face or bury the new female born child. The ancient Arabic traditions had
taught the people to hide the face of the women to survive among the unpopular society.

As the conclusion we can say that, The Kite Runner follows the maturation of Amir, a male from
Afghanistan who needs to find his way in the world as he realizes that his own belief system is
not that of his dominant culture. As an adult, Amir also needs a way to atone for a childhood
carelessness, when an act of cowardice costs him more than just a friendship. The novel is Set in
Afghanistan and the united states, the kite runner is a story that illustrates the similarities as well
as the differences between the two countries and the two vastly different cultures. It is the story of
both fathers and sons and friends and brothers, and it is a novel about right and wrong and the
nature of evil.

the picture which is drawn in Kite Runner, it really characterizes the main impacts of social
changes as well as the human rights and history through the book. Khalid Hussaini emphasizes on
the passage of afghan history and his life time in Afghanistan more anything else in the novel.
The efforts of Khalid Hussaini is more on human right abuse through the history of Afghanistan
certainly when, the situation and life of afghan women were the prior figures of changes in
political and social deficiencies in Afghanistan.

17
Nawal al Sadawi; Hidden Face of Eve[ the women in Arab World].

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Afghanistan as a traditional Islamic state could not gain its independence from the foreign
interferences because through the passage of history the monarchs and presidents were dependent
on foreign supporters or it was a puppet of foreign powers (US, British, USSR) which mainly
aimed to destruct Afghanistan instead of construction and what Kite Runner describes is the
portion of afghan history and Human Rights abuse mainly women rights abuse in Afghanistan.

According to (Afghanistan and Foreign Interferences) the transformation of presidents and

Monarchs along with their laws and regulations which were totally different from each other
( Sharia law, Communism, democracy,) caused the afghan people not to have any constitution
which would protect the rights of a civilian against each other. The dependencies of leaders of
Afghanistan on external supporters led the people to disobey the government and laws which
gradually caused the women to keep away of society and public as a result of family impacts.
Those women who were publicly visible throughout the history of Afghanistan belonged to
royalty and elite and represented a very tiny population of the country. They do show the
involvement of women in the society but it has never shown the complete independencies of
women in Afghanistan. Taliban claim to follow a pure Islamic ideology, but the oppression they
perpetrate against women has no basis in Islam. In entire world of Islam the women is a great part
of society which allows them to have equal right as men but according to Taliban women are the
slaves of men18. Simultaneously the invasion if Soviet on Afghanistan aimed to give equal right
to the citizens of Afghanistan but what was not expected “ human rights abuse” happened and
total system of government changed which resulted civil war in Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, democracy and women independence could be achieved when there is

potentially strong government based on economic growth, education and diplomatic stability
which both men and women would be involved. For bringing a complete and pure democracy
which will be responsible for human rights or certainly women rights, takes many generations to
changes the view of people which is full of violence and cowardice and this aim only can be
achieved when there will be efforts on education and social life. In Afghanistan, democracy will
occur as a process of complete social change which the afghan nation really needs to undergo.
When the democracy comes to practice in Afghanistan, the democratic oriented ideology will call
women as equal life partner.

18

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Bibliography:

1. Kite Runner; Khalid Hussaini; 2003 by riverhead publishers.

[12/05/2009] Kabul.

2. The hidden face of Eve; Nawal el Sadawi; (the women in Arab

world); [01/06/2009] Kabul.

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kite_Runner;[25/06/2009]
Kabul.

4. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419887/[ 13/07/2009] Kabul.

5. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-119738412.html;
[ 26/07/2009] Kabul.

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6. http://thearabobserver.blogspot.com/2009/02/short-story-from-
kite-runner.html;[ 30/07/2009] uwcad

7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Afghan_Women; [01/08/2009]
uwcad

8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_Runner;;[05/08/2009] uwcad

9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan;
[ 08/08/2009] uwcad.

10. http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=310968&page=1;

[05/09/2009] uwcad.

11.http://forum09.faithfreedom.org/viewtopic.php?
f=18&t=2362#wrap

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