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=Laila (A Thousand Splendid Suns)=

Laila is a character in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns (first published in 2007) by Khaled Hoessini. She is an ethnic Tajik. She is an attractive, well-educated girl born under her father, Hakim, who is a teacher, educated at University, and her mother, Fariba, who's relationship with her daughter sours after Laila's brothers perish fighting with the Mujahideen. Her name literally translates to "Night Beauty". Hosseini states that when compared to Mariam, the mother figure of the novel, Laila "had a much more fulfilling relationship with her father, her boyfriends and her childhood friend, Tariq. She expected to finish school and is looking for personal fulfillment. These are two very different representations of women." Her life becomes tied to Mariam's when she becomes the second wife of Rasheed, Mariam's husband. This originally draws resentment from Mariam, who "[feels] her territory infringed upon".

Early Life
Laila was born as the USSR invaded and occupied Afghanistan. Laila's early life was shaped by the Communist occupation of Kabul, and wider Afghanistan. She grew up learning in a Communist school, which taught her the ideals of the USSR, but also promoted gender equality of opportunity. She had a strong relationship with her father, who even after losing his job as a teacher to new, state-approved teachers, continued to encourage her to learn. She grew up alongside her best friend and love interest Tariq, an ethnic Pashtun. Despite their differing heritage, Laila is well-liked by Tariq's family, often preferring to eat with them. As she grows up, she is bullied for her fair appearance, in particular her blonde hair. One of these bullies, Khadim, went so far as to shoot urine out of a water pistol at Laila saying it "wouldn't show up on her hair." Khadim was later beaten up by Tariq, and didn't bother Laila again. She is held in high regard by her friends Giti and Hasina, who believe she will be on the front of a newspaper one day, whilst they are raising families.

After the Soviet Retreat
After the USSR pulled out of Afghanistan, warring factions of militia began vying for control of Kabul. During this time, Laila loses her childhood friend Giti to a stray rocket that kills her instantly. Laila's father becomes increasingly concerned about the escalating violence, wanting to leave Kabul, but stays because Fariba refuses to leave. Eventually, Tariq announces to Laila that he will be leaving with his family, as refugees. After Laila declines to go with him, they have intercourse as the pent up emotions boil over. Shortly after Tariq has left, Fariba finally agrees to leave, but on that same day, a rocket hits their house, killing Fariba and Hakim. The explosion injures Laila, leaving her drifting in and out of consciousness where she is rescued by Rasheed and Mariam.

Living with Rasheed
Rasheed and Mariam nurse Laila back to health over a few weeks. A man named Abdul Sharif arrives to speak to Laila, and informs her he met Tariq in hospital, where he had recovering after being grievously wounded in an explosion. He recounts how they were in adjacent beds and that Tariq would talk of Laila, before he ultimately passed away. Rasheed, upon hearing this, quickly moves to propose to Laila, and take her as his bride in order to "legitimise" the situation, much to Mariam's malcontent. Laila agrees. She reflects upon how she is pregnant with Tariq's child, and how the marriage is the only thing keeping her and her child from a refugee camp. After the wedding, she sleeps with Rasheed to pass off the pregnancy as his. Mariam and Laila spend a long while avoiding each other during the day, and being forced by Rasheed to eat together at night. In the spring of 1993, Laila gives birth to a girl, Aziza.

Raising Aziza
Aziza is adored by Laila, disliked by Rasheed, and is the catalyst that brings Mariam and Laila together. Laila believes that Rasheed suspects the baby is not his. Laila stands up for Mariam, stopping Rasheed from beating her, and the next day they share tea in the garden, which comforts Laila that they are no longer enemies. Mariam later opens up to Laila completely about the details of her life, and Laila too shares that she intends to run away. Mariam accompanies her, and they get as far as the bus station, where they ask a man and his family to accompany them on the bus. Instead, he turns them in to the authorities and they are sent back to Rasheed. Rasheed punishes her by locking her in a room with Aziza without water in the sweltering heat of the Afghan summer, although Laila's concern is not for herself, but for her child.

The Taliban
In September 1996, the Taliban arrived in Kabul. Laila witnesses the bodies of two soviet-era officials hanging in the square as the Taliban make their announcements. A she listens to the rules of the Taliban listed on the radio, Laila verbally disagrees with the Taliban's treatment of women, stating that it was ridiculous that they should keep half the population home. As the Taliban destroyed historical artefacts, closed Universities and scrapped art, Laila is glad her father is not alive to see it. Laila is forced to attend a women-only hospital to give birth, and must undergo a Caesarean-Section without anaesthetic. Thus, her son, Zalmai is born. Laila loves Zalmai as he grows, and he swiftly becomes Rasheed's pride and joy. Despite buying a TV, Rasheed insists that Laila send Aziza out to beg for money, which she flatly refuses. In the summer of 2000, "Titanic Fever" grips the city of Kabul. Rasheed's shop is burnt to the ground, and he is in and out of work whilst Laila and Mariam deal with his increased volatility. They survive on stolen food, and Laila fears her children will not survive. In order to make the situation more liveable, Laila is forced to send Aziza to a home where she is assured her daughter will receive an education. Rasheed refuses to accompany her to visit, so Laila risks beatings from the Taliban in order to see her daughter.

Tariq Returns
While Rasheed is away, Tariq arrives at the house to see Laila. She is breathless, confused and overwhelmed, having believed him dead. Mariam comes to realise that Rasheed had paid Abdul Sharif to tell Laila of Tariq's death to ease her acceptance of marriage. Tariq brings Laila up to speed with his life prior to his arrival, including how he shared a cell with a painter, and how he now has a goat named Alyona. He tells her how he now lives in Pakistan, and they both comment on how they don't recognise Pakistan. He recounts his time in a refugee camp, and how he was caught smuggling drugs for money. He reveals he wrote Laila countless letters, none of which she received. Tariq realises that Zalmai isn't fond of him, but Laila is more focused on everything he has said. He details how he got a job, after the trial period of which his boss gave him full pay and a new prosthetic leg. They part, and Laila tells him to meet her again when Rasheed is away. Zalmai later lets slip to Rasheed that Laila was visited by Tariq, oblivious to the repercussions. Rasheed moves Zalmai upstairs and proceeds to beat Laila and Mariam. He chokes Laila until she nearly dies. Mariam rescues her by killing Rasheed with a shovel.

After Rasheed's Death
Mariam and Laila hide Rasheed's body in the shed, so that Zalmai doesn't see. Mariam takes a night to plan her next moves, and Laila lies to Zalmai, saying that Rasheed had stormed out. In the morning, Laila realises Mariam intends to turn herself in to protect her. She desperately tries to dissuade her, but Mariam cannot be moved. Laila proceeds to take Zalmai and leave to pick up Aziza, which is the last time she sees Mariam.

Living with Tariq
Laila now lives with Tariq, helping with his nightly migraines as they sleep next to each other. They marry the day they arrive in Murree and live together at Tariq's shack in the hotel where he works. Their wedding reveals to her how much they have aged, but even though they are changed, they are still very much in love. She helps Tariq at his job, and Tariq and Aziza fall into being father and daughter easily. Zalmai, however, is not swayed easily by Tariq's affections. Both Laila and Aziza are haunted by dreams of living with Rasheed, and losing Mariam. They hear of the death of Massoud. They watch in fear as the footage of the 9/11 attack plays on the television in the hotel foyer. They discover that President Bush has declared war on Afghanistan and the Taliban. As time goes on, Zalmai comes to accept Tariq as someone he can trust. Eventually, Laila decides she wants to go back home, to Kabul. But first she wants to visit Herat, to see where Mariam grew up.

Back in Afghanistan
Laila leaves the children with Tariq and goes to see the Kolba where Mariam grew up, as a final goodbye. First, she visits the son of the Mullah that taught Mariam in her youth, and details her story with Mariam. He agrees to take her to where Mariam's Kolba lies. She goes alone as they arrive, retracing Mariam's steps to the building itself. She finds it in disrepair, though imagines it as it once was with near real vibrancy. She imagines a youthful Mariam, who would change into the Mariam she knows, to who sacrifice is second nature. She says good-bye as she leaves, in tears. The Mullah's son has a final gift, from Mariam's father, intended for Mariam. In the box is an envelope, a burlap sack, and a videocassette. Upon watching the video, she sees it is Pinocchio. Reading the letter, it is from Jalil, detailing his regrets and apologies. By 2003, the family is having a normal life, and Zalmai and Aziza both attend school. Laila now works at the orphanage as a teacher. She is pregnant, and has chosen the name if the child is a girl, heavily implying she will name her Mariam.

Hosseini's Inspirations
Hosseini stated in an interview that: "I had been entertaining the idea of writing a story of Afghan women for some time after I'd finished writing The Kite Runner. That first novel was a male-dominated story. All the major characters, except perhaps for Amir's wife Soraya, were men. There was a whole facet of Afghan society which I hadn't touched on in The Kite Runner, an entire landscape that I felt was fertile with story ideas...In the spring of 2003, I went to Kabul, and I recall seeing these burqa-clad women sitting at street corners, with four, five, six children, begging for change. I remember watching them walking in pairs up the street, trailed by their children in ragged clothes, and wondering how life had brought them to that point...I spoke to many of those women in Kabul. Their life stories were truly heartbreaking...When I began writing A Thousand Splendid Suns, I found myself thinking about those resilient women over and over. Though no one woman that I met in Kabul inspired either Laila or Mariam, their voices, faces, and their incredible stories of survival were always with me, and a good part of my inspiration for this novel came from their collective spirit."

Critical Opinions
A journal article written by Golubeva, Al Dagamseh and Abdullah regards Laila as a device to explore the sufferings of war against children, both of herself as a child, and her own offspring: "Readers are presented with stories of child soldiers, victims of landmines and bombs, youngsters growing up in a household which has become unstable due to the armed conflict, orphans, and abused teenagers. The most detailed account of how war affects a child is found in the story of Laila, who was born in 1978 at the time of the communist coup. This coup signals the start of a civil war which lasts until the present day. Thus, all of Laila's childhood was marked by the consequences of war. During her childhood and teenage years, Laila spends years in the shadow of her mother's depression and she experiences her family being destroyed by war. Some of Lila's best friends relocate in search of a safer place, while others are injured or killed. Laila's boyfriend, Tariq, is maimed for life by a landmine. Later, Laila's suffering from war is aggravated by her inability to maintain a safe and happy environment for her two children."