More sadness....

Soo I happen to be on page 294 as of right now. And a lot has happened in 70 pages. Like, a lot. Here, I'll make a list:

• Laila has her baby - a girl whom she names Aziza. Rasheed loses all respect for Laila for failing to produce a male.
• The tension that had held Laila and Mariam apart since the beginning is broken, and they become extremely close.
• Mariam and Laila attempt to leave Kabul and flee to Pakistan. Unfortunately they are exposed and sent back to Rasheed, who severely beats both of them. After beatings, Laila and Aziza are locked and boarded up in Laila's room; boards put over the windows, leaving them in complete darkness. Mariam is locked in the shed. They stay in their prison for at least a day (the book isn't specific with time) without food or water.
• The Taliban arrive, stripping Mariam and Laila of every imaginable right. Extremely strict rules are also laid down for both men and women.
• Laila becomes pregnant, this time from Rasheed. She eventually gives birth (is less than ideal conditions) to a baby boy. Rasheed is thrilled with the baby, but still dislikes Laila. The baby's name is Zalami.
  
• One example of Rasheed's abuse: When Aziza is about six, Rasheed demands that she become a street beggar. Laila refuses and Rasheed slaps her. She punches him with all her might, and he walks away, gets his gun, pins her up against the wall, and sticks it down her mouth.
• Laila discovers that her father died in 1987 (she finds out in 2000)
• Laila is forced to place Aziza in an orphanage in order to keep her fed and clothed. She tries to visit as often as possible, but when Rasheed refuses to accompany her, Laila is forced to pass the Taliban. They beat her and make her go home. [The Taliban did not allow women on the streets without a male relative]
• Laila returns home from the orphanage one day (accompanied by Mariam and Zalami) and finds Tariq on her doorstep. Rasheed had paid that man to come tell Laila that Tariq died so she would marry him)

I bet you didn't read all of that. I probably wouldn't if this wasn't my blog.

As I've said before, I cannot get over the issues this book deals with. I find it hard to remember that this book takes place over the course of about 20 years. The strangest this is the abuse and struggles people, and especially women, endure only get worse as the book progresses. Another thing that I, and I'm sure many other's don't realize was how horrible the Taliban really was. We've all heard of it, but especially for me, I had no idea the magnitude of their cruelty.