The Depiction of Women’s Oppression and Resilience: A Comparative Analysis of Gender Inequality in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns

Abstract

The research paper examines the contrast between the suffering of women and their fighting spirit in Khaled Hosseini's novel, “A Thousand Splendid Suns” (2007). Khaled Hosseini, in his novel, depicts a turbulent political situation to show how Mariam and Laila face oppression from a patriarchal society as well as the struggles of war and the growing power of the Taliban. In this paper, the researcher analyzes the way Hosseini portrays complex forms of tyranny faced by women through the forces of arranged marriages as well as physical abuse and societal restrictions and additionally depicts their capacity to rise against these hardships. This paper analyzes character experiences to study how gender controls with power systems and considers the mental and emotional burdens of oppression along with the strategies women use to reclaim their due rights. The author positions the book in global gender discrimination frameworks through feminist theory and gender criticism to show the way the story moves past its Afghan society while addressing women's universal challenges across the world. This paper demonstrates that A Thousand Splendid Suns presents powerful depictions of women's misery while simultaneously showing their fighting spirit through their enduring ability to defy patriarchal control.