In a 2007 interview, Hosseini said: "I had been cultivating the idea of ​​writing a story of Afghan women for some time... Although no woman I have met in Kabul I was inspired by Laila or Mariam, their voices, their faces and their incredible stories of survival have always been with me, and much of my inspiration for this novel came from their collective spirit. inspiration she captured from Afghan women with the nation's historical past to show what daily life was supposed to consist of for women In the novel, Soviet rule mainly had positive effects on Afghan women, as seen when Laila's father them. explains, “Women have always had trouble in this country, Laila, but they are probably freer now, under communism,” and have more rights than they ever had before” (121). Laila had the freedom and opportunity to progress as a woman during her teenage years as she bettered herself through education. Another example of the progress women were making was the fact that “nearly two-thirds of the students at Kabul University were women now” and women were even “teaching at universities, running schools, holding positions in governments.” Here, Hosseini paints a picture of a modern society, where women are offered equal opportunities to men. A