Gender Roles in Afghan Culture

Separation of Gender

Traditional Gender Roles within The Kite Runner

Dating and courting in both Genders

The roles of Afghan men and women have always been strongly differentiated.

• Women are expected to play a domestic role in the home and preform tasks such as taking care of children, making clothes, cleaning, washing and cooking.
• Men are expected to be the breadwinner and keep the honor of the family; they are not supposed to stay at home during the day. Men are expected to labor, holding as many jobs as necessary to support his family.

For Men;

• Marriage is an obligation, divorce is frowned upon and polygamy is acceptable if the wives are treated equally.
• Courting is very different from american customs; men are not allowed to be seen with the woman publicly without a parent or guardian as a chaperone.

For Women;

• Marriage is a requirement. An unmarried woman may be shunned by the community, and in some recent politically extreme cases, punished.
• Because women can only gain public access to things such as markets, and religious or social gatherings, an unmarried woman is basically constrained to her home.
• Dating and courting for both genders are hardly acceptable; afghans court to marry. They express no belief in experimental relationships for fun.

Some examples of Afghan culture of genders in the kite runner;

• Baba is the head of the family, in Kabul he doesn't have much to do with the children. He would never admit to fathering Sohrab b/c it would be dishonorable, and give his family a bad name.
• Khala Taheri chaperones Soraya and Amir in their time together, a typical practice.
• General Taheri is very protective of his daughter, as she also holds much of the family's honor.
• Baba initiates the engagement between Soraya and Amir, an even Amir would not have been present for; In a real Afghan marriage, Baba and Amir would have sat down with the Taheri's and discussed Soraya's dowry.

Politics

In Conclusion

Recently, there have been multiple protests gearing Afghanistan toward gaining rights for women. Some Regimes set by Taliban leaders;

• Women have been prevented from working or taking place in the workforce
• They are forced to wear a symbolic veil at all times within public eye
• They are not allowed to recieve education

How Afghan marriages are carried out

These oppressed women have fought back through ways such as;

• Tailoring clothes out of their own homes
• Entrepreneurship out of their homes
• Political protests and silence

Requirements of men are set by Talib rule as well, they are required to wear clothes called Perahan Tunban with also a turban and a full length beard.

• An older woman (usually a mother) will suggest that a son propose to a girl she deems fit. (Khala Taheri)
• A close male family member of the groom-to-be will go to the girl's home and attempt to arrange an engagement (Baba)
• If the girl accepts (with the permission on the father) the groom's family will have a meeting and discuss the terms of dowry (money saved for the woman by her family for her married life)
• If the woman's family likes the agreement and the man himself, the bride's family might send a token such as a piece of candy to the grooms family as a symbol of acceptance.

Women in Afghanistan

It is in Afghan tradition for the women and elders to be heavily respected - abuse is common but not tolerated by the community if made public.

Women are to wear long, floor length dresses called "Burquas' and a "chador" or, a covering of the head and shoulders.

In recent political tension, women may be punished for attempting to leave her spouse (for any reason, such as being abused or having experienced infidelity by her husband.)

The chapter in which the woman and man are stoned for adultery are very realistic in some parts of Afghanistan unter Taliban rule.

Gender Roles in Afghan Culture