Socio-Cultural Practices in Afghanistan: An Analysis of the Oppression of Women in Nushin Arbabzadah’s Afghan Rumour Bazaar: Secret Sub-cultures, Hidden Worlds and the Everyday Life of the Absurd and Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed
Abstract
Afghanistan is a country ridden with multiple socio-cultural practices which are at a great disadvantage for girls or women in the country. Women in Afghanistan endured extreme forms of subjugation, violence and cruelty due to the patriarchal domination. They were relegated to the position of ‘hopeless women’, ‘illiterate women’ or ‘worthless women’ by the Afghan men to preserve the male hegemony which has been prevalent over the centuries in most parts of Afghanistan. The study explores how the traditional socio-cultural practices perpetrate multiple forms of repression of women or violence against women, with reference to Nushin Arbabzadah’s Afghan Rumour Bazaar: Secret Sub-cultures, Hidden Worlds and the Everyday Life of the Absurd and Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed. The study also proposes to probe into a few approaches emraced by woman to create a niche for themselves in a socio-culturally stringent world.
Key words: patriarchal, women, oppression, social practices, culture.
Afghan women have been controlled by the patriarchal rules, which have been long established in the country from many centuries. These established norms were so much in favour of men that most men ensured they governed the lives of girls or women at home. Although some girls or women, accepted the set rules, because of the immense threat or opposition imposed in the society, there were a few spirited and resilient women, even amidst severe opposition and dangers involved, endeavoured in getting education, taking up jobs or starting a new business. They paved their way to emerge triumphant in the gloomy world of patriarchal system in Afghanistan. Interestingly, Afghan women found several ways to bring themselves to the forefront and became a part of the nation building process. Though women endeavoured to elevate themselves and many other women to a better position, they were condemned severely. To the illiterate women community, men would use religion as a device to instill the belief that women are not supposed to take up certain tasks. Many illiterate minds would accept the inequality as part of their life. The study explores how the socio-cultural practices hamper the girls’ life and manifold schemes employed by women to create a ‘visible space’ for many women with regard to Nushin Arbabzadah’s Afghan Rumour Bazaar: Secret Sub-cultures, Hidden Worlds and the Everyday Life of the Absurd and Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed.
Arbabzadah brings out the trauma of women caught in the institution of marriage. Girls in Afghanistan had no liberty to choose their husbands of their choice as it was not accepted in the rigid male-controlled society. Even after marriage, they had to undergo humiliation and suffering because of their husbands who ill-treated their wives. This led to grim consequences for women. As Arbabzadah opines, “Forced marriages and maltreatment by husbands and fathers is often cited as the cause of the despair that leads women to use household fuel to set fire to themselves” (121). Unfortunately, due to the cruelty of the fathers or husbands, women had to become the victims. It can be deciphered that, even in highly critical situations, women had no courage to voice out their innermost feelings in a society which considers women’s feelings or opinions are immaterial. Consequently, women took such extreme steps of ending their life. At least in their death, probably, they did not want to be silent. They spread the message that the women are extremely ostracised in Afghan society. Unless, people change their perception towards women and they are not given the privilege to enjoy the social rights, it is extremely difficult for government or non-government organisations to achieve attainment of women’s rights in the society. Meera Kosambi rightly remarks,
The problem of violence cannot be resolved without changing the basic view of women as inferior, servile, self-sacrificing and as essentially instruments of sexual gratification and reproduction. . . . As the underlying socio-cultural values are intricately woven into all forms of violence perpetrated against women, in the absence of a fundamental change in the existing patriarchal values, such violence will continue both in its familiar forms and in newer disguises. (25)
Essentially, it becomes the responsibility of every Afghan to safeguard the human rights to witness the nation in a better condition. Unless the women in the country enjoy the basic human rights, it is not possible to have a socially conducive atmosphere in the country. More importantly, the men should come out of their patriarchal dogmas and accept women as their counterparts within their families and in the external world.
Arbabzadah also exposes the plight of young girls and their families in Afghanistan. The young girls are extremely susceptible to rape, especially by the men who belonged to upper class. In some cases, when it was informed to the police, they would bluntly reply, “No one is going to listen to your story. Go home” (Arbabzadah 122). Unfortunately, most families would not disclose the secret to anyone. They would consider that the girl has brought disrepute to the family name. They would even kill the girl child in some cases. Arbabzadah rightly points out -
The bravery of Afghans is limitless, but when it comes to honour or namoos, the lions of Hindukush turn into the trembling rabbits of South Asia. In our society, it is not the perpetrator of the act of violation who carries the shame of dishonour. It is the victim, who’s condemned to an eternally cursed life. A girl’s family killed her a soon as they discovered that she had lost her namoos. (123)
It is unfortunate that the stigma associated with the rape victims results in such heinous deeds by the own family members. Unless the society changes its discernment towards the rape victims and their families, the innocent victims bear the brunt of inhuman behaviour by the members within and outside the family. Also, the legal system in the country should safeguard the citizens from threats and insecurity prevalent in the society.
The women in Afghanistan suffered during the Taliban rule immeasurably. The women were forced to remain within the four walls at home. This deprived them of educational opportunities or any job prospects. Nevertheless, some courageous women dared to support the Afghan government in their demonstration against the Taliban. Arbabzadah states that in 1982, Malalai Kakar started her service in Afghan police force and she was considered as courageous and nationalistic. But the Taliban had no such views regarding the women’s empowerment. Unfortunately, Kakar had to succumb herself amidst inhuman and inconsiderate Taliban. The pronouncements of male domination are evident in Afghanistan. This reflects the position of women in the last few decades. Dating back to a century, there were many decisions taken by the leaders in the country to uplift the status of women. Thomas Barfield in his book, Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History, mentions about the radical measures taken as early as in 1920 to elevate the status of women in Afghanistan and ensure even women enjoyed the social privileges just as men. He reveals that, “Amanullah’s most controversial reforms were those mandating the equality of women, a more secular legal system, and interference with customary practices related to the family” (233). Though there were major decision taken in order to bring in equal opportunities for both men and women in the early previous century, the stringent patriarchal ideologies still govern the lives of women in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is a country which mostly restricts women from expressing their deep love towards their lovers. They are still not given full freedom to express their intense desires or strong opinions. The male domination in the country hampers the growth of women in multiple ways. Arbabzadah talks about Rabia, the first female Afghan poet, who had to see her death at a very young age as the conventional norms did not allow girls to fall in love and express their longings in the form of poem. Immediately after Rabia’s brother got to know about her love sickness and poetic expressions, he ordered his servants to cut both her wrists and leave her to die in the bathroom. The most insane and senseless behaviour of the Afghan women has been portrayed. Arbabzadah writes a letter to Rabia -
Dear Rabia,
I am writing to you across centuries – from the land of the living to the realm of the dead. The year is 2012 and you were murdered exactly a thousand and sixty-nine years ago. . . . Let me tell you that the year is 2012 and Afghan brother still kill their sisters. Let me tell you, Rabia, that we have not changed. The love-hate carnage still goes on. (89, 90)
The letter written to Rabia serves as an authentication of the family honour killings in the country. Unfortunately, the girls are deprived of several basic human rights in the country. Arbabzadah writings reveal the sad realities of the country. Sadly, even after ten centuries after Rabia’s tragic death, the honour killings continue to exist in a much more progressed country in comparison to the scenario ten centuries back. Ruth Francis Woodsmall discourses that, “The social position of women is undergoing a fundamental change slowly or rapidly according to different factors in different countries. The variation in the degree of social change as it affects women is very great throughout the East, but it is a variation in degree rather than in kind” (39). Similarly in Afghanistan, the social changes are only in degree rather than in kind. There is a dire requirement to bring in effective social reforms which are followed by every citizen in the country. Though there are lot of privileges given to men and women in Afghanistan, they are mainly on official records. The harsh realities of extreme subjugation of women is still a certainty. The family members should give complete support and work towards the betterment of women’s position.
Having looked into the various aspects of the women’s position in Afghanistan, as depicted by Arbabzadah, it is essential to look into Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed and explore the various aspects of women’s subordination in Afghanistan. Hosseini has emphasised on both the disempowerment and empowerment of women in Afghanistan. He construes how the societal norms in the country restrict the women to create an independent identity of their own. He also shows how women strive to enhance their position in the society by employing various strategies.
In And the Mountains Echoed, Hosseini has brought out how the patriarchal conventions constrained women to write poetry. Just as Rabia in Arbabzadah’s Afghan Rumour Bazaar: Secret Sub-cultures, Hidden Worlds and the Everyday Life of the Absurd, Nila Wahdati in And the Mountains Echoed ventured to break the conventional socio-cultural norms in the patriarchal society. Wahdati’s poetry formed as the basis for the silent rebellion against the male-controlled notions in the society. In response to her poetry, Etienne Boustouler remarks about Wahdati and her father,
He was a patriarch, was he not? And you were a direct challenge to all he knew, all that he held dear. Arguing, in a way, through both your life and your writing, for new boundaries for women, for women to have a say in their own status, to arrive at legitimate selfhood. You were defying the monopoly that men like him held for ages. . . . You were conducting a small, one-woman revolution, one could say. (Hosseini 241)
Women in the ancient and the contemporary times, used poetry to show their opposition towards the male dominated society. Although there is so much threat for the women to write and especially if their writings are against the cultural norms of the society, a few writers with fearless attitude have exposed the appalling conditions of women. As a corollary response, many organisations have come forward to help the battered Afghan women. Also we can witness the changes in the religious practices too. As Miriam Cooke discloses, “Until recently, it was men whose sermons were taped, but during the 1990s women preachers have gained access to the mosques and their sermons are beginning to circulate, even if not commercially but rather by word of mouth or by personal tapes” (xv). This transition brings to the forefront, the slightly changed scenario in the religious practices. The unofficial inclusion of women to be a part of religious sermons should gradually sanction women a visible space along with men. Also, it is essential for the traditionally bound Afghans to accept women in the changed gender roles. Unless the perception towards women changes, it is difficult to see any transformative changes in the country.
In the conventional Afghan society, the girls are mostly dependent on their fathers and the wives on their husbands, due to the socio-cultural construct of Afghanistan. This makes the girls to lose their confidence when they are deprived of the male protectors in the family. This traumatic experience contributes to the feeling of insecurity and anxiety in their life. Hosseini has brought this out very beautifully in his And the Mountains Echoed. He brings out the frustration of the young girl, Pari who was always under the shade of her father and is about to lose him. In And the Mountains Echoed, in extreme distress voices out to her ailing father, “All my life, I have lived like an aquarium fish in the safety of a glass tank, behind a barrier as impenetrable as it has been transparent. . . . when it [glass] breaks, when I am alone, I will spill out into the wide upon unknown and flop around, helpless, lost, gasping for breath” (447). The imagery of the aquarium fish and the glass tank very clearly denotes how the societal norms make the girls or women too dependent on their male family members. And, in the absence of the male protector, the girls go through a state of helplessness. Through this imagery, Hosseini strongly wants to convey that the young girls and women should be raised to be independent in life. As a consequence, women will be able to manage their life self-reliantly without the male family member, if such a situation arises.
To conclude, the patriarchal doctrines govern the life of most Afghan women. The societal conventions are rarely challenged by the women community in a very aggressive way. The societal conventions which have been established over the centuries are accepted by most women. However, a few women started writing poetry to express their abhorrence against the improbable dictates of the men. In spite of several threats against their lives, a few women still pursued careers in male dominated spheres. Although a miniscule of women triumphed, some retaliators had to succumb to the inhuman male dominated world. The onus lies on every Afghan to bring about changes in the attitude towards women and in the multiple socio-cultural practices in the country.
Works Cited
Anupama B.N, Research Scholar (English), School of Arts & Humanities, REVA University, Bengaluru. (Karnataka) India. Email: anupamabn81@gmail.com
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Dr. Payel Dutta Chowdhury, Professor & Director, School of Arts & Humanities, REVA University, Bengaluru. (Karnataka) India. Email: payeldutta.c@reva.edu.in