Within this passage, there are key points that Hosseini touches on that shows historical context. One key point is the fact that it mentions Daoud Khan’s coup which is described in the link provided. Daoud Khan was the president of Afghanistan in the 1970’s. He supported women’s rights and wanted to discontinue the use of the burqa. However, he was killed in the soviet coup in 1978. Khan wanted to make good relations with the Soviets but when the revolution began, things changed. The coup began raids against the Afghan government. Khan and his family died during these raids. Once this happened, the new government created conflict with Muslims and the arrests and torture began. From this, the Mujahideen was formed. I think this was important to include it helps me to understand the time period and what was going on. The Soviets had already invaded Afghanistan and their lives were going to change quickly. In addition, Assef calls Hassan "Hazara" rather than his actual name. I found a New York Times articles that discusses the life of Hazara's now. I believe that this article helps me to understand this reading much more because it discusses the cultural values of ethnic divisions. In the opening of the article, it clearly states, "For much of this country's history, the Hazara were typically servants, cleaners, porters... and in some instances, massacred, by Pashtun rulers." This allows me to get a better understanding of how other Hazara's were treated because Hassan lived slightly differently. This is because Baba and Ali had such a close relationship that Baba took care of them and weren't treated as harshly as other Hazara's. This article also talks about Hazara's now and things are progressing. For instance, Hazara's didn't receive the education that they needed in the past. Many were illiterate and couldn't read. Now, they are getting the education they need. Afghanistan had the lowest female literacy rates and now one in seven women over the age of 15 can read and write. In all, this article helps me to understand this passage because it allows me to see how far the Hazara's in Afghanistan have come. Their lives are slowly getting better and they get to do things they didn't usually do.
