The Kite Runner: The way Women are Treated

Now further into the Kite Runner Amir and his father travel a tough journey out of Afghanistan and make it to the United States with the hopes that they will not have to face the dangers of violent militaries of Russians or Taliban taking over their streets and shooting at random to strike fear into the citizens and to show their power. With these hopes of a safe life it came true but living a lavish life like back in Afghanistan, this unfortunately did not happen. Although there was no big house to have parties in, Amir’s father kept his charm and personality that was just able to draw groups of people to be around him whenever they wanted, and due to this Amir and his father were once again able to surround themselves with fellow Afghans in the flea market. Here they would all be selling things and speak with each other of their hardships of what happened in their country and it is here where Amir meets a special girl.

The special girl that Amir meets goes by the name of Soraya. Now although they are now living in the United States this doesn’t change the fact on how Soraya is treated or in fact how women are treated. The women in this story and Soraya are still treated the same way as they would be treated back home in Afghanistan. So the problem with the Afghan way is that there is a double standard between Afghan men and women as Soraya explains. “Their sons go out to nightclubs looking for meat and get their girlfriends pregnant, they have kids out of wedlock and no one says a goddamn thing. Oh, they're just men having fun! I make one mistake and suddenly everyone is talking nang and namoos, and I have to have my face rubbed in it for the rest of my life." (Hosseini) Although women are still treated this way that doesn’t mean everyone treats them like that, and by that I mean Amir does not treat Soraya like that. Amir treats Soraya like a human, someone who is imperfect and makes mistakes like anyone else, and this may be due to the guilt that fills Amir because of the mistakes he made in his past.

To go along with how Soraya is treated, her father is strict and keeps a watchful eye on her with who she talks to. But with Soraya she also helps her father with business which is how she is able to meet and speak with Amir many times. The reason to why Soraya’s father is like that is because he is protective of what man would be a good suitor for his daughter as explained by Amir. “And no father, especially a Pashtun with nang and namoos, would discuss a mojarad with his daughter, not unless the fellow in question was a khastegar, a suitor, who had done the honorable thing and sent his father to knock on the door.” So the reason why Soraya’s father keeps an eye on her is to see if there are any suitors that have not asked for his permission and went straight to his daughter so it is like a sign of being overprotective. But aside from how she is treated by her father we learn that both Soraya and Amir are similar in how they are both not so proud of their past as Soraya left her family to live with her boyfriend and disappoint her parents and how Amir betrayed Hassan many times.

Therefore the difference in how men and women are treated in the Afghan culture as portrayed in this story and time it took place are treated very differently as there is a double standard for women and men are allowed to do pretty much anything they want which is unfair.