Summary: Aziza began to really like Mariam in these chapters. In addition, the war around Afghanistan and especially Kabul intensified. Rockets dropped in the streets, people were shot, and war hung over everyone’s heads. When the fighting ceased, Mariam told Laila her story, to which Laila responded with her own story about Tariq, and an invitation for Mariam to join Laila and Aziza in running away. They escape to a train station one day, and ask a man to let htem travel with him. The law said that women could not travel without a male relative. The man betrayed them to the police, taking most of their money. When the police returned Mariam, Laila, and Aziza to Rasheeds’s house, he beat them severely. Rasheed locked Mariam in the shed, and locked Laila in her room, where she almost died of dehydration. Rasheed eventually let the two of them free, but not after what seemed an eternity to them.
Analysis: : Aziza’s care for Mariam made Mariam feel like a mother, which she never had a chance to be. It gave her a feeling of importance, and a reason for her to be nice to Laila. The two run away, indicating the view of the Afghan women of their position. Their escape shows that afghan women resent their predicament but that most are too afraid to leave. It also shows the demands and restrictions placed on women, they can’t travel alone, they are beaten for disobedience etc. Rasheed’s almost murder of Laila and Mariam and the fact that he wasn’t punished further shows the decreased importance and the view of women in Afghanistan.
