The Resilience of Friendship: Hasina and Giti

Follows Laila's childhood friends Hasina and Giti, their fates, and how their lives contrast with Laila's.

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Childhood Trio

Three Girls in Kabul Hasina's Mischief Hasina is older, worldly, and jokes about beans to repel suitors. She is forced to marry a cousin and move to Lahore, then to Germany. She writes to Laila but eventually communication stops. Giti's Seriousness Giti is shy, serious, and falls in love with a goalkeeper named Sabir. She dreams of marriage. She is killed by a stray rocket at age fourteen. Laila's Vow Laila sees her friends' fates: one trapped in an arranged marriage, one dead. She vows to be different. But her own path is also shaped by war.

Giti's Funeral

A Waste of Youth The Rocket Giti is walking home from school when a stray rocket hits her and two classmates. Her mother collects pieces of her body in an apron. Laila is devastated. The Fatiha Laila attends the funeral. She sees Giti's mother; she is unrecognizable. Giti's death is a stark reminder of the war's random cruelty. Laila's Grief Laila cries for Giti, and also for the loss of her own innocence. She sees that no one is safe.

Hasina's Fate

A Different Life Forced Marriage Hasina's father takes her to Lahore to marry her cousin. She is unhappy but makes the best of it. The family later moves to Germany. She writes to Laila once, then silence. A Contrast Hasina's life is not one of violence, but it is a life without choice. She represents the many Afghan women who are married off young. Laila's Determination Laila thinks of Hasina when she makes decisions. She refuses to simply endure. She chooses to escape, to marry Tariq, to return to Kabul. She breaks the pattern.

1980s, before the civil war

June 1992, after Giti's death

1992, after Hasina leaves Kabul