During the Cold War, Afghanistan was occupied by the Soviet Union. In 1988, the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan which began a period of instability. During this time, the Afghan group, the Mujahideen, were fighting to overthrow the communist government of the time. Once the communist government was overthrown by the Mujahideen and other militia groups, things got even worse because the different militia groups started fighting each other for power. Rockets and bombs were used to fight this war and about 25,000 Afghan citizens were killed. About 6 million Afghans fled to neighboring countries without knowing what was waiting for them. In the 1990s the Taliban gained power by promising to peacefully uphold traditional Islamic views. Unfortunately, the Taliban regime was not peaceful and they implemented strict laws against women and children.
Last Thursday we had the opportunity to see A Thousand Splendid Suns at ArenaStage. The performance was adapted from the novel Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. The play was set in Afghanistan between the 1990’s and 2000s, and it touches really tough topics such as war, loss, violence against women, oppression, and censorship. The play starts with the Afghan civil war and ends during the Taliban rule. The play is about two women, Laila and Mariam, that bond over the oppression from their husband, Rasheed. The two women fight for survival in a society where women have no voice and encounter violence and brutality in their day-to-day life.
The play is not only successful to portray the history of the country but was also able to portray the life of women in Afghanistan. According to Amnesty International, Afghanistan is one of the worst places to live if you are a woman and I believe this was successfully shown in the A Thousand Splendid Suns. All throughout the show we were able to see how women were mistreated by society, but a moment that specifically stuck out to me was when Laila’s daughter was reading all the new laws that the Taliban regime had implemented against women. Some of them were: Women cannot receive an education, or women cannot be seen outside their house without a male relative or they’ll be beaten up and sent back to their house. Another scene that really hit me was when Mariam was assassinated by the Taliban because she killed her husband to defend herself and Laila.
When I got out of the theater, I couldn’t help to feel extremely overwhelmed by how cruel the human race can be. When I got back to the hotel I researched more about the role of women in Afghanistan. It was really sad to see how even today the role of women in this country is to serve men. In the short documentary Girls Rising, the main character Amina says how in Afghanistan women are still silenced, disenfranchised, sold, and raped.
This performance left me speechless and I would totally recommend this performance because even though it has some heavy scenes, it is a sad reality that we should be aware of and fight to overcome.
References:
– https://www.arenastage.org/tickets/1920-season/a-thousand-splendid-suns/
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI3XHWO51T0&feature=youtu.be
– https://www.amnestyusa.org/the-worlds-worst-places-to-be-a-woman/
– https://www.arenastage.org/globalassets/education/school-programs/suns_study-guide-web.pdf