The Swallows of Kabul

Atiq expresses disgust at children, people begging, and elderly people. What are his reasons for disliking each of these groups? How are the material conditions of these groups affected by the Taliban rule?

Considering the nature of a proxy war, how does Moulessehoul portray the issues of foreign intervention? What conflicts are discussed outright, and how do these conflicts explain Kabul’s situation in the novel?

What is Mirza’s role in the novel? What elements of life under the Taliban are explained through Mirza’s perspective, and why does Atiq avoid growing closer to him?

What does Qassim’s mother represent? How does Qassim’s mother compare to Musarrat? To Zunaira?

What do each of the three execution methods depicted in the text reveal about the nature of crime and punishment under the Taliban? Why might a woman accused of sex work be stoned to death, while a woman accused of killing her husband is shot? Use evidence from the text to show different characters’ views on these crimes.

Both Mohsen Ramat and Zunaira are educated in law and politics, but Zunaira is no longer allowed to work under the Taliban. Why is Mohsen unemployed? How might he have used his education to gain favor with the Taliban, and why does the novel suggest that he was unable to capitalize on his education?

What does Mullah Bashir want to do? According to Mullah Bashir, what are the problems facing Afghanistan, and why might the crowd be divided in their support or rejection of his perspective?

How does Zunaira’s past inform her present, and how can her experiences be used to predict what she might do following the rally? In the prison, why does she refuse to leave, and what changes after the rally so that she feels ready to abandon Kabul? Is it possible she stayed in Kabul?