Voices of Gender Discrimination: A Feministic Analysis of Khaled Hosseini's a Thousand splendid suns

Abstract

THE RESEARCH FEATURED BY A BRIEF STUDY OF THE AUTHOR AND HIS NOVEL A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS TO UNDERSTAND THE NOVEL. IT IS OUR HOPE THAT THE RESEARCH HERE WILL ELEVATE THE READER TO ENRICH THEIR QUEST FOR CRITICAL APPRECIATION. THE PERSISTENT CONDITIONS OF CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN AFGHANISTAN, CONTINUING FOR ALMOST FIFTY YEARS NOW, HAS CAUSED HUGE DESTRUCTION IN TERMS OF HUMAN AND MATERIAL LOSSES. IT HAS ALSO LED TO A RADICAL TRANSFORMATION IN ITS SOCIO-CULTURAL FABRIC ALMOST IRREVERSIBLY. BECAUSE OF THEIR VULNERABLE POSITION IN ITS SOCIETY, THE AFGHAN WOMEN HAVE ENDURED A TOUGH EXISTENCE AS THEY CAME TO GRIPS WITH A DOUBLE SUBJUGATION IN THE FORM OF PATRIARCHAL AUTHORITY AND THE OPPRESSION EMANATING FROM THE PERSISTENT CONDITIONS OF THE CONFLICT. HOWEVER, THERE IS OFTEN A TENDENCY TO CAST AFGHANISTAN AND ITS PEOPLE IN ESSENTIALIST TERMS BOTH IN ACADEMIC AND NON-ACADEMIC ENDEAVOURS. BY CONTEXTUALISING THE AFGHAN WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE IN A SPECIFIC SET OF HISTORICAL, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS, THIS WOULD HOPEFULLY OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF THE CONDITION OF AFGHAN WOMEN RATHER THAN THE USUAL STEREOTYPED DESCRIPTIONS. I CONCLUDE THAT THE RESEARCH MAY BE IMPERFECT AS IT IS NOT ABLE TO SATISFY EVERY READERS AND THEIR TASTE.