The Taliban ruled over Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Among all the worst things to happen in the world, this was one. With the Taliban in control, this gave every man the right of power to control their wives, but sadly also took almost everything from every female. For every female once had a choice of their own and a chance to create a future worth living for, but could not, for it was ripped away from their grasp. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, we see that Rasheed, a widowed shoemaker, remarries two women. Mariam when she was only fifteen and had just lost her mother, and later on to Laila when she was just fourteen, alone, and pregnant. With the Taliban and the culture of Afghanistan in his hands, Rasheed was given the higher power in his own life, which he used to his liking.
Burqa. A black article of clothing is worn by women to hide their identity, covering them from head to toe with only an opening for their eyes. The burqa is a symbol of imprisonment. “A woman’s face is for her husband’s business only,” said Rasheed, who tells both Mariam and Laila to wear. At first, Mariam thinks this is a way of him demonstrating that she is his but later finds that he is a hypocrite looking at other women’s naked photos. As for Laila, she stated that she felt that the burqa gave her freedom in a slightly different way. It gave her a way to hide from others, so they would not see the embarrassment and sadness of being married to Rasheed. “Attention all women: You will stay in your homes at all times. You will not, under any circumstances show your face. You will cover it with a burqa when outside. If you do not, you will be severely beaten.” This was one of the numerous laws that were written when the Taliban arose.
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Rasheed’s masculinity in public could be described as being a whole other person. At the beginning of the book, he gives Mariam a chance to settle into her new life as a wife, but after a certain point, would has to fulfill the ideal wife duties that he requested of her. He bore gifts to her and even took her out in public to show her around and offered to buy her something of her liking. Also, he gave off the impression to ongoing bystanders, that he was friendly and a people person. He would stop on the streets and have a small decent conversation with them. But all that changes when we are taken to his territory.
With the Taliban still in high power, Rasheed enjoyed having not only their control but also his power over both his wives. This fed into his masculinity and gave him the power to treat both of them in any way he desired. When either one of his wives made some kind of mistake, he’d beat them until they were bruised, choke them with his stone-cold hands wrapped around his neck, throw and pin them to the ground while he yelled in their faces, and whip them with his belt. Afterward, he calmly walked away from the scene leaving them either limped, shriveled, or frightened to the core. Now, how the women wear burqas, I cannot help but wonder that that is another reason why he beats on his two wives, for when the two of them wear their burqas, they are completely covered. No one ever noticed the bruises left behind, the tears that have stained their faces from weeping in agony, and the whip slashes that leave behind nothing but a scar and a painful, terrible memory. As people would pass by their house, no one knew what lies behind those doors. People could make assumptions that things are peaceful within, but never really know that a demon has been released from the inside of a man.
Once the book concluded, it did a phenomenal job of showing the readers what life was like during the time the Taliban took over and how men had different forms of masculinity. From Rasheed acting friendly in public outings to two desperate women trying to protect themselves from the demon that escaped from the burning depths of hell when he is in his own home, he is a person that someone should not be around or be trusted, for no one truly knows what happens behind closed doors.
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