A New Perspective

We read a lot of books throughout the month of February, but the one that hit me the hardest was A Thousand Splendid Suns. I had never really looked into the Muslim culture, nor given their people much thought outside of the context of the 9-11 tragedy. However, this book opened my eyes, and certainly made me grateful for the lifestyle we have here today. Having spent this entire unit on women in literature, and the nature of their oppression, I find it amazing to note that we in America are concerned with the wage gap between men and women, and our objectification in the media, while in the Muslim culture women are literally considered objects. It was hard for me to read about Mariam being signed over to a much older man when she was barely a teenager by her own father, and to recognize that there was no choice for her in the matter. She became his property, and from then on had no rights of her own. Even harder was watching true love be ripped from Laila with the war killing most of her family, and to her knowledge, Tariq. The way that Rasheed paid someone to break Laila’s heart in order to gain her for himself was sickening.

I also never expected to find the level of domestic violence that was present in the story. It never occurred to me that in another culture it could be acceptable for a man to beat his wife, that it was even justifiable because his job was to “keep her in check”. What got me the most, however, was that Mariam killed Rasheed in self-defense, and to save Laila’s life, but she was still sentenced to death. This blows my mind. A woman had so little rights that saving her own life was valued less than the life of the man who beat her. Domestic violence is an issue that we raise a lot of awareness for in America, not just for abused women but also for abused men. I can’t believe that another culture could take it in stride the way it was in the book.

While reading the novel, there were many times I was in tears about the injustices the women faced, and the overall violence of the world they lived in. Every time they turned around, another militant group was taking over their area and changing the rules. Some gave women more rights, and some reverted back to traditional Muslim values. All however, came in and were subsequently overthrown with incredible violence, which destroyed many families and killed far too many innocent people. Reading this book gave me a new perspective on the bombing of the twin towers. I assumed, as a child, that the country on a whole hated us, and that was why the attack had happened. It never occurred to me that it could just be a small, radical faction with a vendetta, and that the rest of the country was powerless to their rule, as much as they didn’t agree with what was happening.

This book gave me a perspective I hope never to lose- that I am so incredibly lucky to live in a country where I am free to dress the way I like, marry who I love, and get the education I desire.