I'm Reading...
posted by Jen | 11:50 PM
I just finished reading (more like devouring) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. He also wrote Kite Runner, which of course is incredibly popular. I really like his writing, although of course the settings of his novels are somewhat depressing. I think novels like these are extremely helpful in putting a human face on the history of a country that looms large in the news.
Hosseini's latest book deals with the lives of women in Afghanistan, whereas Kite Runner dealt almost exclusively with male characters. I've read some articles about womens' issues in Afghanistan in the past, and the issues that figure in the novel were not surprising to me. But it makes me so sad. Why do so many people feel that opressing others (women, ethnic sects, castes, homosexuals, whatever) bolsters their self-worth? I just don't understand it.
I always wonder what I would think and feel about feminism if I was born and raised in a part of the world where women are not valued as anything except mothes and wives. Would I be a Mariam that accepted my lot in life placidly, depressed but uncomplaining? Or would I be a Laila, convinced that there was a better world out there and I could help it become if I dared?
I do know one thing: I am a feminist for my myself. Because I have been told that "girls don't do that", and it makes me angry. I am a feminist for my daughter. Because I want her to grow up in a world where she never has to be angry about the same ineqalities that I was.
Hosseini's latest book deals with the lives of women in Afghanistan, whereas Kite Runner dealt almost exclusively with male characters. I've read some articles about womens' issues in Afghanistan in the past, and the issues that figure in the novel were not surprising to me. But it makes me so sad. Why do so many people feel that opressing others (women, ethnic sects, castes, homosexuals, whatever) bolsters their self-worth? I just don't understand it.
I always wonder what I would think and feel about feminism if I was born and raised in a part of the world where women are not valued as anything except mothes and wives. Would I be a Mariam that accepted my lot in life placidly, depressed but uncomplaining? Or would I be a Laila, convinced that there was a better world out there and I could help it become if I dared?
I do know one thing: I am a feminist for my myself. Because I have been told that "girls don't do that", and it makes me angry. I am a feminist for my daughter. Because I want her to grow up in a world where she never has to be angry about the same ineqalities that I was.
Labels: books
3 Comments:
... and I'm a feminist because I am not discriminated against the way my mother was, thanks to the feminist movement. And because equal rights for women are a mere blip in history that I don't want to see disappear.
You should try "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi, if you haven't already. Becca gave it to me to read, so should have it around somewhere.
I read about 1/4 of "Reading Lolita in Tehran". Unfortunately, I've only read 1 of the 3 or 4 books that Lolita references, and I found that much of the allegory was incomprehensible without knowing the classic literature. I decided I'd go read the other books and then try again, but I haven't made it far (anywhere) on that little literary project.
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