The Kite Runner Blog Post #3

         One thing I love about the Kite Runner is that how much the books content relates to real-life Afghanistan. Many of the social and political issues that are prominent in the novel also are occurring in present day Afghanistan. One example of a real life issue is the harsh rule of the Taliban. When Amir was a kid, growing up in Kabul, there was no Taliban. However, after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in the 1980s, the Taliban began to form originally to drive the Soviets away. Once they did successfully, they began to rise as Afghanistan's leaders. The Taliban enforced strict sharia law. Some of the laws were unjust and unfair, as Amir observed once he returned to Afghanistan. Textual evidence supporting this is, "I accompanied Farzana jan to the bazaar to buy some potatoes and naan. She asked the vendor how much the potatoes cost, but he did not hear her, I think he had a deaf ear. So she asked louder and suddenly a young Talib ran over and hit her on the thighs with his wooden stick. He struck her so hard she fell down. He was screaming at her and cursing and saying the Ministry of Vice and Virtue does not allow women to speak loudly," (pg 216). This shows how unjust the Taliban can be. They beat up a young woman just because she spoke too loudly. That's not fair at all, and she hadn't done anything wrong.

          Even though that last incident I had mentioned was fictional, many instances similar to that happen in current day Afghanistan. The Taliban do have a strict code of conduct, a citizen here may find unjust and unnecessary. Some of the items/practices that are banned include music, TV, books, clapping during sporting events, and taking photographs. The Taliban have also been noted for their abuse against women, and their part in human trafficking. Even though the author's purpose is to entertain the audience, the author also wants to inform. He wants to inform some of the issues in Afghanistan, as mentioned above, and raise awareness towards the continuous violation of human rights that the Taliban inflicts on the Afghan citizens.