1996

1996 was the year the Taliban seized Kabul, ending the Mujahideen civil war and imposing a draconian Islamic regime that radically curtailed women's rights, a transformation that directly shaped the lives of Mariam and Laila.

The Taliban Takeover

On the morning of September 27, 1996, Mariam awoke to the sounds of shouting, whistling, firecrackers, and music. She ran to the living room and found Laila already at the window, with Aziza mounted on her shoulders. Laila turned and smiled, saying, "The Taliban are here." That day, the four of them—Mariam, Laila, Rasheed, and Aziza—went out to greet their new leaders. In every battered neighborhood, people materialized from the rubble and moved into the streets. An old woman wasted handfuls of rice, tossing it at passersby. Two men hugged by the remains of a gutted building. Boys perched on rooftops set off firecrackers. The national anthem played on cassette decks, competing with the honking of cars. Everywhere there were shouts of "Allah-u-akbar!" and signs proclaiming "zendabaad taliban!"—Long live the Taliban.

Public Display of Brutality

Later that day at Pashtunistan Square, Mariam saw her first Taliban. A slender, bearded young man in a black turban stood on makeshift scaffolding, holding a rocket launcher. Beside him, two bloodied men hung from ropes tied to traffic-light posts, their clothes shredded, their bloated faces turned purple-blue. Mariam recognized one as Najibullah, the former communist president. The young Talib shouted through a loudspeaker, "He killed many, many Muslims! His crimes are known to everybody. He was a communist and a kafir. This is what we do with infidels who commit crimes against Islam!" Rasheed was smirking. In Mariam's arms, Aziza began to cry.

The New Laws

The following day, Kabul was overrun by red Toyota trucks. Armed bearded men in black turbans sat in their beds. From each truck, a loudspeaker blared announcements, first in Farsi, then Pashto. The same message played from loudspeakers atop mosques and on the radio, now known as the Voice of Shari'a. Flyers were tossed into the streets; Mariam found one in the yard. The laws decreed that all citizens must pray five times a day; all men must grow beards at least one clenched fist beneath the chin; singing, dancing, playing cards, chess, gambling, and kite flying were forbidden; writing books, watching films, and painting pictures were forbidden; if you steal, your hand will be cut off at the wrist. For women, the laws were even more severe: they must stay inside their homes at all times; if they go outside, they must be accompanied by a mahram, a male relative; they must cover with burqa when outside; cosmetics, jewelry, and charming clothes were forbidden; they must not speak unless spoken to, not make eye contact with men, not laugh in public; girls were forbidden from attending school; women were forbidden from working; if found guilty of adultery, they would be stoned to death.

Rasheed's Embrace of the Regime

Rasheed was not bothered much by the Taliban. All he had to do was grow a beard, which he did, and visit the mosque, which he also did. He regarded the Taliban with a forgiving, affectionate kind of bemusement. Every Wednesday night, he listened to the Voice of Shari'a when the Taliban announced the names of those scheduled for punishment. Then, on Fridays, he went to Ghazi Stadium, bought a Pepsi, and watched the spectacle. In bed, he made Laila listen as he described with a queer sort of exhilaration the hands he'd seen severed, the lashings, the hangings, the beheadings. When Laila called them savages, he replied, "You think? Compared to what? The Soviets killed a million people. Do you know how many people the Mujahideen killed in Kabul alone these last four years? Fifty thousand! Is it so insensible, by comparison, to chop the hands off a few thieves?" He also used the Taliban's authority to threaten Laila, saying he could go to them and say he had his suspicions about her, and that their word would be believed over hers.

The Legacy of the Year

The year 1996 marked a definitive rupture in the lives of the characters. The Taliban's arrival ended the chaos of the Mujahideen civil war but replaced it with a systematic, state-enforced oppression that confined women to their homes and stripped them of education, work, and public life. This regime would shape the next five years of Mariam and Laila's existence, creating the conditions of hunger, isolation, and desperation that would lead to the novel's climactic events. The Taliban's laws, as Rasheed noted, effectively did to Mariam and Laila what he had already done to them in his own home, making the state's oppression a mirror of domestic tyranny.