 In the book, both Mariam and Laila are forced into accepting marriage to Rasheed, who requires them to wear a burqa before it is implemented by law under the Taliban.He later becomes increasingly abusive.A "Riverhead Trades Weekly" review states that the novel consistently shows the "patriarchal despotism where women are agonizingly dependent on fathers, husbands and especially sons, the bearing of male children being their sole path to social status."