Discussion Leader pgs: 181-214 (Johanna)

1. Why do you think that Leila was so embarrassed to be in a class with boys?

Leila has been brought up under the Taliban regime and wearing the burka in public is all she knows. Letting other males outside her family see her face is a foreign thought to her, so when she walks into a classroom full of boys it comes as quite a shock. All her life, Leila has been told that it is wrong to expose her face to men, and suddenly throwing this ingrained practice away leaves her feeling cheap and indecent.

2. What is your opinion of Sultan's treatment of Leila and Sonya? Why do you think he places higher value on his young wife than his sister whom he has known his whole life?

Sultan was the favorite child when he was young and this “special treatment” has made him drunk with power. He feels he can treat people however he wants and that all the women of the house should be at his beck and call. In addition to this, Sonya is a novelty because she has only been with them a few years and the honeymoon isn’t over for Sultan. Leila, his baby sister has always been the one to do the work in the house and he isn’t about to lighten her load just because there’s an new pair of delicate hands in the house.

3. Would you consider it a blessing or a curse that Sultan "fired" Fazil and sent him home?

There are positive and negative sides of Fazil being sent back home. His mother was very upset at first, but soon she realized that Fazil was no longer trapped under Sultan’s rule, and he could get an education. If he had been working in one of the bookstores, there wouldn’t be time for school. However, Fazil dreams of becoming a successful business man and although he is getting an education, he doesn’t have an income at all, and it is hard to get anywhere without money.

4.  What do you think will become of Aimal, who has been robbed of his childhood and is a slave to his father?

At 12 years old, Aimal is no longer a carefree kid, but an adult who has been sucked into the monotony of a dead-end job. He has no time to play or study, though he desperately wants to go to school. But of course, Sultan forbid him and forces him to work instead. Without an education, Aimal will probably be trapped in similar jobs for the rest of his life. Sultan said he could go to school “later,” but it seems doubtful that there will ever be time. Also, Aimal has become depressed and has developed a sallow complexion. If his childhood continues to be taken from him, this condition could worsen and lead to many consequences. Working in the shop is both mentally and physically damaging.