UNSPOKEN GRIEF OF AFGHANIAN WOMEN DEPICTED BY KHALED HOSSEINI (Pages 26-34) by Neenu. C and J. Jesu Latha in THE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SPECIALIST / ISSN: 2350-1499 (Online); 2350-0751 (Print)

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. This paper studies the vital subject of Afghan women’s experience as narrated in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns. In the light of this novel, this paper argues how during a critical phase in Afghanistan’s history, the conditions of violence and conflict magnified the oppression on its women. 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. Keywords: A Thousand Splendid Suns, Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini, Patriarchy, Oppression, Women.