Cai, Henggao Period 8 March 13, 2012 An Informative and Picaresque Novel Islamic culture has been a dominate

part of Afghanistan for over a thousand years; however, the government did not become as extreme or radical until the 1990s when the Taliban took control. From violence against women to the extreme actions to eradicate traditional culture, Khalid Hosseini explores a radical Afghanistan in A Thousand Splendid Suns. In Hosseinis novel, the author informs the reader about Afghani culture toward women and tradition. One of the themes in the novel was the violence against women.
His powerful hands clasped her jaw. He shoved two fingers into her mouth and pried it open then forced cold hard pebbles into it. Mariam struggled against him, mumbling, but he kept pushing the pebbles deeper in, his upper lip curled in a sneer (Hosseini, P.94).

Imagery in this quote demonstrates the condescending attitude that some Afghani men have towards women. Even though his wife, Mariam, spoil a dish once, Rasheed treats the failure as if Mariam murdered someone. By shoving pebbles into Mariams mouth, Rasheed shows the reader that some Afghan men fail to treat women as humans. Dehumanization of woman also shows the womens inability to speak out against men. A Time magazine article that details the life of an Afghani woman supports this quote. The cover of this article shows a young woman with her nose cut off by her husband (Time Magazine). In this photo, the reader can see

that women in Afghanistan are usually married at a young age because their family could no longer support them. When they are married, their husbands treat them as childbearing servants. This photo directly supports Hosseinis novel about informing the world about the abuse of women by men. In addition to abuse towards women, Hosseini also informs the reader about marriage.
Its a common thing and you know it. I have friends who have two, three, four wives. Your own father had three. Besides, what Im doing now most men I know would have done a long time ago (Hosseini, P191).

The practice of polygamy in Afghan society supports the claim that men dehumanize some women in Afghanistan. Afghan men dehumanize women by treating women as expendable objects. The fact that men in Afghanistan have multiple wives shows that they have a supercilious mindset towards women. They never saw women as their equals, so they feel justified to have multiple marriages. When Rasheed found out that Mariam could not give birth, Rasheed treated Mariam worse than before the attempted birth surgery. This shows that some conservative Afghan men treat women like objects because they only think about children as a reward for marriage. Khalid Hosseini wants to reinforce the fact that women have no status in Afghanistan. However, his goal is to inform the reader of this problem, and he wants to make the solution come from the readers mind.

In addition, Hosseini also informs the reader about the unfairness of young women getting married off in arranged marriages. Shes fourteen. Hardly a child. You were fifteen,[sic] remember? [Sic] My mother was fourteen when she had me and thirteen when she married[sic] (Hosseini, P.191). Rasheed explains to Mariam that it is normal for a woman to marry at a young age. Typically, a woman in Afghanistan will marry at a young age because a woman lives in a country where the average life span is shorter than the average life span of other countries. Even though Rasheed tries to justify polygamy with social Darwinism, belief where one race is superior to another race, abuse and neglect cannot be justified. Dehumanization of women is also shown in the quote because women are portrayed as worthless. Women can be married off at any age because they have no longer have any use to their birth family. This quote also supports Hosseinis claim that he wants to inform the reader about the Afghan womens ability to endure. Hosseini admits that the abuse of women is embedded in Afghan culture, but he also tells the reader that the problem must be solved. Finally, Hosseini tells a historical story through the giant Buddhas at the Bamiyan valley.
A month before Laila had learned that the Taliban had planted TNT in the crevices of the giant Buddha in Bamiyan Valley and blown them apart , calling them objects of idolatry and sin(Hosseini, P.278).

The giant Buddha in Afghanistan represents the ancient Afghan culture and its ties to the ancient Silk Road. By destroying these Buddha, the Taliban shows its Islamic superiority over traditional tribal culture. This type of attitude is similar to the attitude they have towards women. To the Afghan men, women and tribal culture are weak and must be subjugated or destroyed. Hosseini takes an evaluative and informative role on this issue because he writes countries across the world from the United States to China to criticize the Talibans actions. He also wants the reader to understand the cultural consequences and the impact of destroying culture. The reference to idolatry and sin show the reader the narrow-mindedness of some Muslim men. Afghanistans new attitude toward old traditions and women is told as a picaresque novel. Khalid Hosseini entertained the reader and educated about the need for reform in government and society. He also implies and embeds the number one rule of Anthropology, which is no culture is above another culture. He explains the number one rule of anthropology by citing the giant Buddha and the mens use of Islam superior to other cultures, religions, and people.