Afghanistan history timeline & facts
Alexander the great Afghanistan as the gateway to India 700’s- Islamie conquerors
1300-1400’s- Genghis Khan and Tamerlane conquered the country
1839-1842- Angle- Afghan war
1878- 1880 Anglo- Afghan war
1893- UK established an unofficial border separating Afghanistan from British India
1919- Afghanistan became independence
1926- Emir Amanuilah founded an Afghan monarchy
1950’s- Afghanistan developed close ties Soviet Union during the cold war
1978- Military coup Afghanistan became a Marxist regime
1979- Soviets launched an invasion of Afghanistan 1989- Soviet withdrawal
1992- Islamie rebellion- in- fighting between rebel groups
1996- A group of Islamie students calling itself the Taliban seized control of Kabul
1996- The Taliban took over the government of Afghanistan but the government was only recognised by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
August 20, 1998. US cruise missiles struck a terrorist training complex in Afghanistan believed to have been financed by Osama bin Laden
September 2001 anti- Taliban guerrilla leader Ahmed Shah Masoud of the group referred to as the Northern Alliance was killed by suicide bombers
September 11 2001- Taliban terrorist – al-Qaeda members- attacked New York’s World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon.

Afghan Culture
Characterized by oppression, revolution and revolt. The people are constantly. Pulled between forces and maintaining alliances to one’s region are prominent. The religious rule id fundamental and rarely is contexted but it is the degree of perception/ perversions that comes into play. Sharia law
The use of Kabul as a character
-the author born in kabul
-to compare various types of people, ranging from the most modern (who are highly influenced by the West) to the most traditional
-how Afghan civil war can damage a person (Fariba)
- A Woman's right in Kabul, Lower than a House Cat's
-The War-Wearied Women of Kabul Scarlett Baron
Q: One of the men in your novel dreams of coming to America, as your family did. He sees America as a kind of golden, generous land. Is that something many Afghans dream still of?

KH: The way Afghans view America and Americans is complex, I think. On the one hand, America is seen as a bastion of hope for Afghanistan. The notion of the American troops packing up and leaving strikes fear into the hearts of many Afghans, I believe, as they dread the chaos, anarchy, and extremism that would likely follow. On the other hand, there is also some sense of disappointment and disillusionment. There is lingering bitterness, I think, about the way Afghans feel they were abandoned by the West --- and America in particular --- when the Soviets left, a period that was marked by the factional fighting that destroyed so much of Kabul. In addition, there is a growing sentiment, rightfully or not, that promises made by America are not being kept. The average Afghan, I think, had hopes of drastic changes in quality of life, in security conditions, and economic options, when the Americans came to Afghanistan after 9/11. Many Afghans feel that these hopes have not been realized. They feel that the war in Iraq, undertaken so soon after the campaign in Afghanistan, channeled attention, troops, and resources away from Afghanistan. Still, I think most Afghans remain hopeful about their country’s partnership with the U.S. and many echo the sentiment of Babi in A Thousand Splendid Suns, viewing the United States as a desirable place to live, and as a land of opportunity and hope.

Q: The women in your story suffer deeply and personally from being oppressed because of their gender, in their