Feminism

                The longest fought war is still going on

Gender equality has been the longest fight women have fought since time. Throughout history, women all around the world has fought for gender equality and women’s rights. The women that have fought for women rights are considered feminist. Feminists strongly believe that women and men should have equal rights. Women that are deprived of their rights do not understand that they are in deed a feminist, when they want gender equality. Laila’s restrictions to education, choices and liberation also restrict her great potentials due to the male dominated world.  In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, a young woman named Laila stresses over the rights women were not given. Laila’s early life shows great potential in education throughout school, many opportunities and free from everyone’s words and ownership. This all soon changed as she grows up and people in her environment considers her a woman and no longer a mere girl. As she becomes a woman, she also becomes a feminist.

Firstly, throughout Laila’s life she has struggled to obtain freedom from any man. As Laila becomes a woman, she slowly sees the position she sits in the world. The ideas of women rights are obsolete.  Laila finally realizes that the world is male dominated. Women are considered properties to men in this world. Rasheed, a very domestically violent 60 year old husband of Laila, explained very clearly that “A women’s face is her husband’s business only” (Hosseini  48). This quote gives an example of a male warning a female, Rasheed to Laila, that he is the owner over Laila. When Rasheed goes through rough time, the comfort of Laila was not appreciated nor respected. “The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside” (Anthony 13 June 2012). As Laila tries her best to satisfy Rasheed, she was nothing but a “fireside”, something Rasheed will pull out and use when needed. Laila is only another piece of property Rasheed uses like a car, a house or a gun. Laila’s only use was granting Rasheed a child. This is considerably the argument stated in which women are only properties to the male superior.