Literature grants a voice for an individual to project their thoughts, feelings, and experiences enabling them to escape from reality. In both ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ and ‘The Kite Runner’ the novels explore the impact of relationships in a war-stricken Afghanistan as a mechanism to convey the voice of the people in Afghanistan. Hosseini centralizes the female narrative at the heart of ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ to project the sufferings of the females who were forced to conform to a life of domesticity and silence. Females in Afghanistan were constantly stripped of their freedom and independence exacerbated by the seizure of Afghanistan by the Taliban. The lives of Mariam and Laila are at the heart of the novel, established as foils through their contradicting childhood, experiences from their marriage, love, and devotion lead to the formation of a beautiful female bond as they find solace in their companionship. Mariam and Laila find escapism from their traumas within their relationship that guards them from the extreme hypocrisy within the phallocentric society of Afghanistan. In ‘The Kite Runner’ Hosseini centralizes the depths of relationships he emphasizes the importance of choices in a relationship that can have everlasting consequences on the character and life of an individual. Similar, to ‘Thousand Splendid Suns’ the ‘Kite Runner’ also explores the friendships between Amir and Hassan just like Mariam and Laila. Set in Afghanistan, Amir is desperate to win the local kite competition, his loyal friend Hassan assists him
to win the competition but during the competition Amir witnesses the traumatic incident of the rape of Hassan but chooses to remain silent, years later he returns to Afghanistan to gain redemption and atone for his sins. Both novels are set in Afghanistan, and demonstrate the effects of political and religious turmoil, showing victims of the repressive regime of the radical Islamic group the Taliban, whose fundamental belief in Sharia law is acknowledged by many as a misinterpretation of the Quran. In the novel, Hosseini portrays the torture inflicted on the females by the Taliban with graphic, poignant imagery. These extreme measures ensured conformity to their regime, from a feminist perspective the exploitation of females by reducing them to their biological function is a significant concern. Feminists argue about the liberation of females who can live in a society that allows them their freedom and independence this contradicts the highly patriarchal beliefs of the Taliban. Therefore the fundamental principles of Sharia law serve as an instrument that articulates a phallocentric society, manipulating the terms that are laid out in Sharia law to justify the misogynistic mindsets of the males. The males are the main beneficiaries of these measures as they protect their supreme position in society, upholding patriarchy by punishing the females. Both texts portray the justification of religion as a tool to corrupt cultural beliefs, the manipulated interpretations of the Quran are employed to uphold patriarchy, which is criticized by Hosseini in the novel.