Post B # 5

"You think I want it this way [a Caesarian-section for Laila's second baby, without any pain medications]? What do you wan me to do? They won't give me what I need. I have no X-ray either, no suction, no oxygen, not even simple antibiotics. When NGOs offer money, the Taliban turn them away. Or they funnel the money to the places that cater to men (258)." Rashid begins to suspect that Aziza is the baby of Laila and Tariq. He taunts Laila about it, but says that he won't give her or Aziza away for death or imprisonment. Laila is now in the hospital with Mariam, and Laila is going through labor with Rashid's baby. It has been too long for the baby to be had normally, and a C-section is necessary. The only thing is, Laila will have to go through it without anything to nullify the pain. Because of the Taliban, almost every decent-to-good hospital is only for men. There is one hospital for women, and the Taliban have depleted that hospital of all of it's resources. Hardly any operation conducted there would be safe, much less pain-free. I'm willing to bet that needles would be used and reused, spreading blood diseases left and right. From this quote, I get the impression that this hospital had literally, nothing to use. The Taliban did many horrible things to the Afghan community as a whole, but it specifically targeted women with a long list of highly restrictive rules. After the Taliban took over, girls had to wear burqas, could not speak unless spoken to, could not laugh in public, and were not allowed to be educated. There is no wonder why Laila wanted to take Mariam and Aziza to Pakistan.