Beyond Silent Suffering: Trauma, Intersectionality, and the Transformative Trajectory of Agency in Post-Conflict Afghanistan

Abstract

This study critically investigates the double marginalization of Afghan women as portrayed in Khaled Hosseini’s seminal novel A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007), foregrounding the intersecting oppressions of gender, class, socio-political instability, and cultural patriarchy. Employing a multidisciplinary theoretical framework that integrates Feminist Theory, Postcolonial Feminism, Kimberlé Crenshaw’s Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991), and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s Subaltern Theory (Spivak, 1988), the research unpacks the layered subjugation endured by female characters, particularly Mariam and Laila. These characters are emblematic of a broader sociocultural reality where women are doubly silenced—first by patriarchal domestic structures and then by overarching political and religious systems. The analysis reveals how Hosseini crafts a narrative of suffering, complex trauma, endurance, and eventual resistance through the intimate portrayal of his protagonists’ lives. The study demonstrates how their struggles are not isolated but are deeply rooted in Afghanistan’s tumultuous history, marked by civil war, Taliban oppression, and socio-religious conservatism, which collectively deny women autonomy and voice. The analysis utilizes Trauma Theory to trace the trajectory from internalized subjugation and "silent terror" to "purposeful resistance" (Asghar, 2023). Crucially, the study deepens its application of Intersectionality to compare the distinct forms of oppression faced by Mariam (rooted in illegitimacy and class stigma) versus Laila (rooted in the devastation of war and loss of privilege). It affirms the novel’s literary and political significance, especially in light of Afghanistan’s ongoing gender crisis, and calls for sustained scholarly engagement with localized female experiences in postcolonial narratives.