A Thousand Splendid Suns

pulled tightly back and tied in a bun so that, when Khala Rangmaal
turned around, Laila could see the dark bristles on her neck. Khala
Rangmaal did not wear makeup or jewelry. She did not cover and
forbade the female students from doing it. She said women and men
were equal in every way and there was no reason women should cover if
men didn't.
She said that the Soviet Union was the best nation in the world, along
with Afghanistan. It was kind to its workers, and its people were all
equal. Everyone in the Soviet Union was happy and friendly, unlike
America, where crime made people afraid to leave their homes. And
everyone in Afghanistan would be happy too, she said, once the
antiprogressives, the backward bandits, were defeated.
"That's why our Soviet comrades came here in 1979. To lend their
neighbor a hand. To help us defeat these brutes who want our country to
be a backward, primitive nation. And you must lend your own hand,
children. You must report anyone who might know about these rebels.
It's your duty. You must listen, then report. Even if it's your parents, your
uncles or aunts. Because none of them loves you as much as your
country does. Your country comes first, remember! I will be proud of
you, and so will your country."
On the wall behind Khala Rangmaal's desk was a map of the Soviet
Union, a map of Afghanistan, and a framed photo of the latest
communist president, Najibullah, who, Babi said, had once been the head
of the dreaded KHAD, the Afghan secret police. There were other photos
too, mainly of young Soviet soldiers shaking hands with peasants,
planting apple saplings, building homes, always smiling genially.
"Well," Khala Rangmaal said now, "have I disturbed your daydreaming,