THE KITE RUNNER COMPANION CURRICULUM - TakePart

HANDOUT 4.4A
THE IMPACT OF FUNDAMENTALISM ON HUMAN RIGHTS
CASE STUDY #1:
LAYLA
On May 29, [1997] Layla living in Khairkhana, Kabul, who was five months pregnant left her
house for a routine pregnancy check-up at the nearby Parwan Maternity Clinic. She was dressed
head-to-foot in the prescribed chadari [also called burqa] which only allowed a grill through which
she could look out but even her eyes could not be seen. She had to wrap her self carefully in the
chadari, as allowing her dress to be seen was against the imposed dress code. Halfway to the
clinic she felt suffocated and felt an urgent need for fresh air. Turning into a deserted lane she
raised her veil and drew deep breaths, relishing the feeling of relief. Suddenly a scourge-wielding
Taliban militiaman screaming abuse materialised out of nowhere. “Why have you bared your face!
Why have you bared your face!” he kept screaming while he poured out the vilest invectives. His
whip hand was raised and before Layla could say anything the blow landed on her distended
abdomen. Layla could only scream “Bradar jan, [brother, dear], don’t hit me, I am with child, I am
going to the clinic” but the frenzied Taliban kept raining down blows on the miserable woman.
The pain and the terror made Layla sit down on the dirt and the Taliban went away after a few
more vicious blows of the lash. None of the few passers-by could dare to intercede. By now
Layla was bleeding but both she and one or two passers-by knew that she could not hope for a
helping hand as there were no women around and it is against Taliban ‘ethics’ and edicts for a
male to touch any female other than close family members. Any man extending a helping hand
to a woman in need was sure to receive the same treatment that had been meted out to Layla
a moment ago. Layla could only drag herself to the clinic where she passed out. When she came
to she was drenched in blood and the nurses told her that she had had a miscarriage. They
sounded very worried about her own condition and it was not long before she lost consciousness
again. The following day she developed a soaring temperature and doctors diagnosed peritonitis.
They recommended abdominal surgery but before they could obtain the necessary go-ahead
from the Taliban authorities Layla breathed her last.
Quoted from “Reports from Afghanistan, 1997” available online at
http://www.rawa.org/recent.htm#5
CRITICAL
THINKING
QUESTIONS
1. Does this case study involve human rights violations?
2. If so, use the worksheet in HANDOUT 4.5 to document which of Layla’s
human rights were violated
3. Do you believe that the passers-by had a responsibility to Layla? Why?
4. In your opinion, after reading about what the Taliban would do to a male
who touches a female in public, do you think that the male passers-by are
complicit in committing a human rights violation by not helping Layla to
the hospital?
5. If there was no option of dialing 911, and there was no other help in sight,
and you were a male witnessing Layla bleeding to death, would you feel
responsible for her and her child? How would you have handled the situation?
6. Layla lost the baby and fell very ill in the clinic, yet she could not undergo surgery
because she could not get the approval of the Taliban. Is the right to adequate
healthcare a human right?
7. Who should be able to decide whether or not a person can exercise his/her
human rights?
8. Do you believe that the Taliban or any government or leaders should have the
authority to determine whether or not someone can receive healthcare? Why? Why not?
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APPENDIX 4